Wang Yi's performance on both offense and defense instantly dampened the Pistons' momentum.
Meanwhile, the Raptors' momentum soared to its peak. The thunderous cheers from the 20,000 fans in attendance were like wind fanning a fire, making the entire Raptors team even more fired up.
That one-two punch had the whole Raptors team buzzing over the next few minutes, and everyone got a chance to shine.
The game flowed exceptionally smoothly.
Meanwhile, with their momentum sagging, the Pistons turned the ball over repeatedly and missed shot after shot over the next few minutes.
As a result, the lead quickly ballooned to 12 points.
Pistons head coach Bickerstaff immediately called a timeout.
During the timeout, he furrowed his brows and glanced at the defensive coach, Scott, beside him.
Scott frowned too, then asked Donnie Donnie and Bryce, "Did you two do what I told you?"
Donnie Donnie and Bryce both nodded.
"We did. We've been praising him the whole time."
Scott shook his head, looking perplexed.
"That doesn't make sense. We've praised him so much. He shouldn't be going so hard against us."
He looked toward Wang Yi over in the Raptors' resting area, then turned his gaze back to the Pistons.
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head.
"I get it!"
Everyone looked at Scott.
Scott explained:
"Bryce and Donnie have been praising Wang Yi, so he hasn't gone hard against them."
"And since Antoine and the others haven't praised Wang Yi, he's gone hard against those three—especially Antoine."
"Antoine is the Pistons' Absolute Core, but he hasn't shown Wang Yi any respect or praised him. So Wang Yi's performance on offense and defense was a warning to you."
"So, Antoine, do as I say from now on. Once you're back out there, say a few nice things to