Fortunately, the Nuggets managed to hang on in the end.
A former defending champion still had the mental toughness for that~~
Now the pressure was back on the Knicks.
With Chen Xi off the floor and Jokic still out there, could the New York Knicks hold on?
The Knicks held on.
Although by the end of the First Quarter, the score had gradually shifted back to 41–36, a five-point difference,
they had still managed to preserve their lead, so Chen Xi's efforts in the First Quarter hadn't gone to waste.
The player who stepped up during the three and a half minutes Chen Xi was off the floor was none other than Lonnie Walker, unexpectedly called in at the last minute.
Coming off the bench, he showed excellent form.
First, he cut to the basket, took Rose's pass, and powered in a layup for a 2+1.
Two possessions later, he came up with a steal on the defensive end, intercepting Bruce Brown's pass.
Three points and one steal—without a doubt, he was the Knicks' MVP for those three minutes~~
After the First Quarter ended, the Second Quarter got underway soon after.
This time, the pressure was back on the Nuggets.
Jokic went to the bench to rest, but Chen Xi returned to the floor early.
At this point, all Mike Malone could do was tell his players to double-team Chen Xi more aggressively and pray that his shooting touch would cool off...
After all, Jokic was a center. He couldn't match Chen Xi's minutes the whole game.
Especially with Chen Xi playing under Thibodeau~~
That old man really might make Chen Xi play the rest of the game straight through. It wasn't as if this was the first time he'd done that~~
And if the Knicks hadn't been doing