On the court, Chen Xi stood on the right wing, at a forty-five-degree angle and two steps beyond the three-point line. He raised his right hand and watched the ball drop through the hoop, then turned toward his own bench and flashed a three-point gesture in celebration.
Before he could take more than a few steps toward the backcourt, the whistle sounded behind him again. The Lakers were calling timeout.
The gap between the teams had reached 15 points. The Lakers were in serious trouble.
For Los Angeles fans, the games over the past two days had been a crushing disappointment.
It didn't matter whether they rooted for the Clippers or the Lakers. Both fan bases felt the same.
The Two Titans of Los Angeles had each faced the New York Knicks over the past two days—and both had lost.
The Clippers' loss could at least be considered understandable. They weren't exactly a powerhouse and were still in the midst of rebuilding.
But the Lakers had LeBron James and a Big Three. How could they lose too—and by 21 points to the Knicks?!!
The Clippers had only lost by 17!!!
For many fans with fragile nerves, a result like that was absolutely impossible to accept.
The game on the night of November 9 had undoubtedly become another one in LeBron's career that deserved to have its "tape confiscated."
In the second half, after Chen had led his team on a powerful scoring run, the Lakers never managed to regain control.
With five minutes left in the game and his team trailing by a whopping 24 points, Darvin Ham wisely pulled his starters and called it a night early.
When the final buzzer sounded, the score stood at 131–110.
Many Lakers fans had been prepared for a loss to the