Give me the ball with one second left!
Meanwhile, over on the Kings' side, the score was tied, so the head coach was no longer as tense.
De'Anthony told the players, "We need to set up our defense carefully. We have to stop them here..."
But before he could finish, Wang Yi cut him off.
"Coach, we need to foul."
As soon as he said that, all the players turned to look at him.
Head coach De'Anthony knew exactly what Wang Yi had in mind.
He wanted to foul and send the Nets to the line, then hit the game-winner.
But there were still thirteen seconds left in the game.
If they didn't foul, they could just play solid defense and force the Nets to shoot from outside.
Whether the shot went in or not was hard to say.
But if they fouled, the Nets only needed to make one free throw, and then the Kings would have to make their next shot.
Clearly, the odds of making a field goal were far lower than the odds of making a free throw. So to most people, Wang Yi's suggestion to foul was downright incomprehensible.
But what seemed incomprehensible to most people made perfect sense to Wang Yi.
He explained to his teammates and coach:
"As long as they aren't trying to attack, leave them alone. Wait until the last three to five seconds before fouling and sending them to the line. Then I'll hit the game-winner in the final second. That's the plan."
He sounded completely relaxed as he spoke.
It was like two friends casually chatting.
The players all nodded, their trust in Wang Yi shining through.
Over the past two years, Wang Yi had made the right call almost every time things came down to the wire.
No