After dribbling to the top of the key, Rose waved for Drummond to come up and set an on-ball screen, then used it to launch his drive.
He made his way to the mid-range area, then suddenly flicked his wrist and sent the ball to Grant, who had moved to the top of the key.
After catching the ball, Grant faced Nembhard's mismatched defense. He performed a Triple Threat move on the spot, then rose straight up and took a three-point shot.
Dang!!
The ball didn't go in.
With Chen Xi as a teammate, Grant often found it very easy to get mismatches.
But if he kept failing to capitalize on those opportunities, that would be a problem.
It wouldn't be good for either him or the Knicks.
Fortunately, Drummond had slid inside and grabbed the rebound.
He immediately jumped again and tried to score at the rim.
Smack!!
Myles Turner!
A timely block!
He'd recorded a high-quality defensive stat in the very first possession of the game.
He swatted the ball out of bounds.
The referee promptly signaled that it would be a frontcourt ball.
But Drummond clearly wasn't satisfied. He spread his hands and stepped forward, trying to argue that it should have been a shooting foul.
Unfortunately, the referee didn't pay him any attention.
So the Knicks took the ball out from the frontcourt.
Rose went to the baseline and took the ball from the referee, then hurled it forward.
At a forty-five-degree angle to the right of the top of the key, Chen Xi leaped and caught the ball one-handed.
He landed and held the ball in place, waiting for his teammates to spread out before starting the offense again.
Once again, he waved Drummond up for an on-ball screen, then suddenly accelerated into a drive.