On this possession, Chen Xi chose to run a simple trailer play with Grant following behind him.
After receiving the ball, he kept moving forward without slowing down, using his body to block Bojan as he stepped up on defense. Then he fired a between-the-legs bounce pass to Grant behind him.
Jerami Grant caught the ball and immediately launched a three from the top of the key, shooting right over Chen Xi's body.
Swish~~
A crisp sound rang out.
The three-pointer swished through the net!
3–0.
Thanks to Chen's reliable Ten Dimes badge and Grant's—so far, at least—decent touch from outside tonight, the Knicks scored the first points of the game.
Then came the next possession.
The 76ers' response.
Maxey continued bringing the ball up the court, then passed it to Embiid at the top of the key. Embiid caught it and went right back to work against Hartenstein's one-on-one defense~~
The opening move was exactly the same. What changed was how Embiid chose to finish this time.
He held the ball in a triple threat stance, then gave a probing shot fake before Big Butt drove to the basket.
He took two steps to the right, then abruptly stopped and half-turned. After a series of shoulder feints, he launched a turnaround jumper.
The fadeaway from two-point range dropped cleanly.
At 2.13 meters tall with a 2.28-meter wingspan, he was simply too much when he could shoot a turnaround fadeaway from the free-throw line.
Hartenstein couldn't get anywhere near the shot. All he could do was watch Embiid take it.
That was a problem most big men in the league had to face when guarding Embiid.
He often came with all kinds of off-court and on-court baggage.
But there was no denying that he was extraordinarily gifted and incredibly difficult