Akur took off with the ball, jumping from just inside the free-throw line. He soared high through the air and slammed it home, drawing a foul in the process.
He made the free throw.
In the final three minutes of the first quarter, the Lakers' reserves hadn't stretched the lead by much, outscoring the Pistons' bench by just three points.
That was fine by everyone on the Pistons, from head coach Billups to the bench players.
The reserves stayed on the floor for another three minutes in the second quarter.
The Lakers' reserves continued to play quite well during those three minutes.
The Pistons' bench, meanwhile, had played above expectations today, scoring just one point fewer than the Lakers' reserves over those three minutes.
So when Wang Yi came onto the floor with nine minutes left in the second quarter, the Lakers led the Pistons by six.
It didn't look like much.
In other words, the Lakers' reserves had outscored the Pistons' bench by four points in six minutes. That hadn't really caught the Pistons' attention.
Then, on Wang Yi's first possession after checking in, he got the ball off a screen and charged straight at the opposing center, Antoine, trying to draw a foul.
But after facing off against Wang Yi earlier, and watching footage of Wang Yi's matchups with Wemby, Antoine had learned his lesson.
When he saw Wang Yi drive in, he didn't immediately go up to block the shot. Instead, he stood off to the side, waiting to see whether Wang Yi would dunk, lay it in, or attempt a layup.
Only after Wang Yi committed to one of those moves would Antoine rush in for the block. That made it much less likely he'd foul.
With his height, wingspan, and leaping ability, he had plenty