There was either a lot to say or nothing at all. After a 15-minute break, the third quarter began.
The Raptors had made a change to their starting lineup, going with one big and four smalls. That lineup made JJ Redick feel a little uneasy.
As for the crowd, including Magic Johnson, they all thought the Raptors' lineup now had an obvious weakness and would struggle to stand up to the Lakers.
The Raptors got the first possession as soon as play resumed.
They failed to score.
The Lakers took possession and attacked.
As the Lakers set up their half-court offense, the Raptors defended the matchups Wang Yi had called for.
They abandoned their zone defense and switched to man-to-man.
Wang Yi took Doncic as his primary assignment.
Big Lock Rock guarded King Arthur.
Crazy Tiger Tiger guarded Little Rivers.
Zhang Yu guarded the Lakers' power forward, Jose Morgan.
Dauding took their center, Mien Bush.
Seeing the Raptors switch to man-to-man, Doncic took the ball and went one-on-one against Wang Yi.
Doncic never relied on speed to beat his man. He used changes of pace to get past defenders, or shook them off before pulling back for a three.
But Wang Yi defended him very well. He could keep up with Doncic's footwork with ease and wasn't easily fooled by his fakes.
As Doncic dribbled, Wang Yi kept making contact to disrupt him, throwing off his dribbling and shooting rhythm.
Doncic dribbled around until he reached the mid-range, but even after a series of fakes, he couldn't shake Wang Yi or find a chance to shoot.
With no other option, he passed the ball to Little Rivers.
With Mad Tiger Tagore breathing down his neck, Little Rivers' dribbling grew unsteady too.
So when Mad Tiger Tiger bumped him off balance,