With so much attention on the game, if it turned into garbage time as early as the third quarter, it would surely hurt the NBA's reputation.
It could even affect the market value of the owners' other businesses.
So the referees had to keep the game under control.
After that player was called for a shooting foul, Charlie Hannum complained to the referee, but the ref ignored him. He had no choice but to return to the backcourt and defend.
Maybe because the foul hadn't been called, Charlie Hannum played with a trace of anger. For the rest of the game, his feet moved a little faster on defense, and he also showed his strength when fighting for rebounds.
On this defensive possession, Wang Yi made an adjustment too. The five Raptors on the court switched to a zone defense.
The Celtics had no choice but to settle for an outside jump shot, but this time they missed.
When Charlie Hannum went for the rebound, he somehow fought off three Celtics players under the basket and wrested the ball away from them.
The Raptors came back on offense, but failed to score. Then the Celtics attacked, and the Raptors stuck with their zone defense.
This time, though, the Celtics moved the ball around the top of the three-point arc and eventually passed it inside.
But as the player under the basket tried to score, Charlie Hannum came up from behind with a merciless block, swatting both player and ball to the floor.
Celtics player Umuwein was furious. Sitting on the floor, he complained to the referee, but the official ignored him.
Even when the crowd's chant changed from "Fuck King" to "Black whistle," the referee still paid no attention.
After all, the referee knew exactly what was going on.
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