858: Xiao Qiao + Wang Yi = Invincible
Beverley missed the three, seemingly giving the Kings a good start.
Barnes missed a three next, then Wang Yi missed a three, and Beverley missed another.
Their threes just weren't falling.
That made the Lakers even more determined to stick with their zone defense.
Meanwhile, the Lakers' Monk drove into the Kings' paint twice in a row and threw down dunks, stealing the spotlight. As he passed Wang Yi, he kept trash-talking him.
"I heard this is your turf. Today, I'm going wherever I want on your turf. Your turf's my backyard. Got a problem with that?"
Wang Yi just shook his head.
He ignored Monk completely and said to Xiao Qiao, "Xiao Qiao, get to the free-throw line."
There were three ways to break a zone defense.
One was to shoot threes, another was to run the fast break, and the third was to have a big man who could pass take up position at the free-throw line and facilitate the offense.
Xiao Qiao understood what Wang Yi meant, so he moved to the free-throw line on their next possession.
After Wang Yi passed him the ball, Xiao Qiao didn't lower it. He held it high above his head.
No matter how many opponents ran past him, he kept the ball raised.
That alone earned praise from plenty of basketball fans.
Director Zhang said, "Jordan Jackson knows how to play. Young players like him tend to lower the ball after they catch it. But look at him—he keeps it raised the whole time. The defenders can't get to the ball. To reach it, they have to jump. Once they jump, hey, he can get past them. That's what we usually call a big man playing high and going high."
"On that