Meanwhile, Chen, the former official, stood with his hands on his hips by the sideline, discussing with another referee whether there might have been a mistaken call on that free throw.
In Chen's view, Grant hadn't really invaded SGA's cylinder on that play. SGA had moved inward on his own, trying to expand his cylinder and draw the foul.
Of course, he had made the ensuing layup purely through individual skill, and that deserved credit.
However, whether or not the sideline referee agreed with Chen Xi, he obviously couldn't change the call himself. Still, he understood what Chen Xi meant, so he simply nodded and left it at that.
He knew this was just a mild attempt by Chen Xi to apply pressure.
On the court, SGA stepped to the free-throw line and calmly made the extra shot.
The ball then returned to the Knicks.
The lead was back to six.
Chen Xi received the ball at the top of the key again and launched an attack.
He waited in place with the ball until Toppin came up to set a screen. Then he dribbled one step to the right, suddenly rose up, and launched a deep three!
Dang!!
Missed again!!
A very rare sight.
Chen Xi had failed to make a crucial shot to cut into the lead!
But the curious thing was that the long rebound once again fell into Hart's hands.
Chen caught the ball outside again, then used a shot fake to get Barrett in the air and drove inside. Finally, from the long two-point range, he pulled up for a mid-range jumper.
This time, it went in cleanly.
"Josh Hart! After earning the head coach's trust, he's delivered! He's grabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds!"
"And Chris has now exploded for 50 points in tonight's game!"