Thunder Couldn't Stop Chen Xi, but That Didn't Mean They Were Bad on Defense; They Couldn't Stop Him Either...

The trouble was, Ghost Brother's overzealous defense ended up giving Chen Xi an opening.

He quickly pulled the ball back, then softly sent it to his side.

Hart, who was right behind Chen Xi, immediately caught the pass and accelerated toward the paint.

He reached the free-throw line, gathered the ball, took three steps, and finished with a simple floating layup, sending the ball into the hoop as quickly as he could.

That also spared him the risk of Westbrook chasing him down for a vicious block...

Over the first two possessions, the Knicks went on a 4–2 run and cut the deficit back to seven.

It was perhaps a promising start.

The next possession began.

The Thunder were on offense.

Westbrook controlled the pace with the ball at the top of the key.

The Thunder players immediately started moving actively off the ball.

But once again, the Knicks' defensive rotations were excellent.

The Thunder tried repeated drives, kick-outs, and ball movement, but couldn't find an opening.

The clock wound down to the final six seconds, and the ball returned to Cunningham.

There was no time to run another play.

C.C. had no choice but to grit his teeth and take Chen Xi on one-on-one, facing him up.

After a crossover, he drove left. The instant Chen Xi cut him off, Cunningham abruptly pulled the ball back and took a small step-back to create some space. Then he pushed the ball right with a change of direction and drove again.

But frustratingly, Chen Xi's footwork remained impossibly steady. He kept his body firmly between C.C. and the basket.

With no other option, Cunningham powered into Chen Xi and took two more steps forward before dropping his shoulder into him, hoping to use his momentum to create room for a shot.