Meanwhile, on the other side...
Maxey had just picked himself up off the floor when he turned and saw his own leader get posterized right in front of him...
He couldn't help covering his head with one hand.
As a teammate, he couldn't help feeling the pain himself. At the same time, Chen Xi's brutality left him somewhat shaken.
As the player matched up most directly against Chen Xi tonight, perhaps nobody understood that feeling of helplessness better than he did.
As for Embiid, after Chen Xi knocked him over, he simply lay on the floor for quite a while. Only when the referee's whistle sounded did he slowly sit up.
His already dark complexion seemed to have turned even darker, practically glowing.
He wanted to vent his frustration, but there was no suitable outlet. After stewing for a long time, he could only swallow his anger.
Then he took Tucker's outstretched arm and got back to his feet, before heading to the bench with a sour expression.
The many sides of basketball had all been on display in that brief half-minute.
During the timeout, the Knicks made their usual adjustments.
Over on Philadelphia's side, they decisively made some personnel changes. Old Li finally began emphasizing the defensive strategy of double-teaming Chen Xi to his players as well.
It had to be said, both coaches had been rather slow to react during tonight's game...
Soon, the timeout ended, and the players returned to the court.
The 76ers took Kemba Walker out and replaced him with Danuel House.
At 6'7", this former Rockets forward had impressive athleticism but relatively rough skills. It was obvious Old Li had put him in specifically to limit Chen Xi.
He had finally realized that continuing to use Little Horse to guard Chen was a very