Of course, the Trail Blazers' head coach had also noticed Wang Yi's chest heaving and the sweat covering his face as he left the court.
That showed just how much energy Wang Yi had expended.
In the second quarter, he would probably need a few extra minutes of rest, and those minutes would be the Trail Blazers' chance.
So as soon as the second quarter began, the Trail Blazers launched a fierce offensive.
Although the Trail Blazers ranked near the bottom of the league in average offensive efficiency, they played very smoothly over those few minutes.
They scored twos, hit threes, and drew fouls to earn free throws.
The Raptors, on the other hand, were built around Wang Yi, with the other four players all playing off him.
With Wang Yi on the bench, the team's play grew somewhat disorganized.
And with Locke, the core of their perimeter defense, gone, they could no longer put much pressure on the opposing perimeter players.
On top of that, Wang Yi had repeatedly warned his teammates not to push themselves too hard and to let some plays go.
As a result, during the first four minutes of the second quarter, the Raptors couldn't score and couldn't defend.
The Trail Blazers cut the lead to just seven points.
Wang Yi had planned to rest for five or six minutes in the second quarter before returning.
But in this situation, he had no choice but to check back in immediately.
As soon as Wang Yi came on, he steadied things with a Logo three-pointer and a chasing three-pointer after a steal.
He stretched the lead back to 13 points.
His teammates cheered and applauded him.
Even Dako, the coach on the sideline, clapped vigorously again and again to encourage Wang Yi.
The spectators in the