There were 1 minute and 45 seconds left in the game.
The Lakers trailed the Trail Blazers 118–120, down by two points.
The Lakers head coach was furious about the Lakers giving up three rebounds in a row, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of rebounding to the players.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers head coach was arranging the defense.
"You need to defend two players. One is James—stop his drives and stop his threes. The other is that Number 1. You absolutely have to stop his threes. If necessary, double-team him. Don't give him any chance to shoot a three!"
Wang Yi's three-point threat was simply too great.
Although he had missed four consecutive threes recently, at this crucial moment, the Trail Blazers head coach would rather give other Lakers players open shots than let Wang Yi attempt a three.
At that moment, every fan in the arena stood up.
Many fans clasped their hands together and prayed in silence.
The fans watching in front of their screens also felt their hearts race and their adrenaline surge.
After the Timeout, James initiated the offense.
The DJ rallied the twenty thousand fans, and a unified chant rose through the arena:
"Defense!"
"Defense!"
"Defense!"
The perfectly synchronized shouts of twenty thousand fans carried immense momentum and pressure.
They nearly crushed the breath out of the Lakers players.
Almost every Lakers player once again felt as though the whole world was against them.
The Trail Blazers did not double-team him.
James's drives were nowhere near as sharp as they had been during his peak period.
There was no need to double-team him.
James brought out his bulldozer style again.
After a simple crossover, he used his body to power through Anthony and charged toward the paint.
Nurkic had long been waiting in the paint.
Lillard