But his touch really was off today.
This shot still bounced off the front of the rim.
The other team got the rebound.
The ball was thrown to Wemby again.
By then, Wemby had already taken off downcourt after rushing at Wang Yi.
He caught the ball and immediately dribbled toward the basket.
Wang Yi cursed under his breath.
Then he turned and chased after Wemby.
Wemby dribbled up ahead.
Wang Yi sprinted after him with his head down.
The moment Wang Yi lowered his head and accelerated,
it was already a foregone conclusion that Wemby wouldn't be able to dunk the ball.
By the time they reached midcourt, Wang Yi had caught up to Wemby.
Now he just had to figure out how to knock the ball loose,
or block it before Wemby could dunk.
That wasn't difficult for Wang Yi.
After all, he had elite steal skills.
Finally, when Wemby reached the three-point line in the frontcourt,
just as he was about to gather the ball, Wang Yi spotted his chance.
He suddenly lunged forward.
Then he swiped at the ball.
It bounced off Wemby's foot
and rolled out beyond the baseline.
Even though Wemby tried to bend down and scoop it up,
it was already too late.
Seeing this,
the spectators erupted in cheers.
Even though this was the Lakers' first successful defensive stop of the game,
Yang Yi, the commentator from China on the sidelines,
said, "Hopefully the Lakers can use this play to boost their morale and get things going."
Director Zhang nodded beside him. "That's right. The Lakers got off to a rough start today.
"Now Wang Yi has made a successful defensive stop with his outstanding defense.
"The Lakers' morale should get a boost from this, and hopefully they can get things going."