Jordan's Official Recognition
Harden changed his layup into a floater, trying to avoid Wang Yi's block, but Wang Yi's vertical leap was terrifying.
When he jumped, half his head was already above the rim.
His hands shot out like a volleyball player going up for a block, swatting at Harden's floater.
In the end, he caught the ball firmly in both hands.
As soon as he landed, he was ready to start a fast break.
Harden was furious. He grabbed Wang Yi by the arm.
He could accept getting blocked, but being cleanly blocked with both hands by a guy shorter than him was humiliating for anyone.
That was why, in his anger, he grabbed Wang Yi's arm.
But Wang Yi accelerated too quickly, with too much force.
Harden managed to grab Wang Yi's arm, but Wang Yi's momentum spun him halfway around and sent him crashing to the floor.
At the same time, the referee's whistle sounded.
The referee made the signal for an offensive foul—Wang Yi had committed a charging foul.
Wang Yi immediately protested, spinning around to face the referee. "You're sure that was a charging foul?"
The referee pointed at Harden, who was lying on the floor. "You're sure it wasn't?"
Seeing how certain the referee was, Wang Yi stopped arguing with him. Instead, he turned toward De'Anthony on the sideline and raised one finger, tracing a circle in the air to signal that he wanted to challenge the call.
De'Anthony had also gotten a good look at the play.
In his view, Harden had clearly tried to pull Wang Yi and failed, only to get dragged down himself.
So without the slightest hesitation, he called a timeout and signaled for a challenge.
Using a timeout just a few minutes into the game to get a