Zhang Jiacheng felt a faint jolt in his heart, too.
Brother Yi trusted him and had asked him to feed him the ball. He had to make sure he completed the task.
The Raptors began inbounding the ball.
Curry said, "We've already analyzed a lot of their sideline-ball plays. Now let's see whether they'll give the final shot to Wang Yi or use the badly injured Wang Yi to draw the defense."
As he spoke, Charlie Hannum went to the sideline to take the ball.
Zhang Jiacheng went to receive it near the top of the arc.
Wang Yi didn't come to get the ball or move to draw the defense. Instead, he went straight inside the three-second area and under the basket.
It was completely unexpected.
After all, the defense around the basket was tight. And with Wang Yi's right ankle badly sprained, it would be difficult for him to make a backdoor cut. There was almost no chance they could pass the ball directly to him under the basket.
Besides, the Celtics had initially planned to guard Wang Yi on the perimeter. They knew his right ankle was badly sprained, and that continuing to play would be very bad for both him and the Raptors. So the Raptors were highly likely to have Wang Yi take a game-winning three from outside.
But now Wang Yi had suddenly gone inside, throwing their defense into disarray. After a moment's hesitation, they still assigned Morant to guard Wang Yi, with Tatum roaming nearby, ready to help defend Wang Yi or anyone else.
But that left the perimeter defense loose, and Charlie Hannum easily passed the ball to Zhang Jiacheng.
After catching the ball, Zhang Jiacheng glanced at Wang Yi inside and saw that he had no intention of moving at all.