Judging purely by individual performance, Chen—who had looked merely average and unremarkable early in the quarter—had actually put up more eye-catching numbers than Giannis, thanks to his three-point shooting.
The problem was that, aside from Chen Xi, everyone else on the Knicks was terribly inefficient.
By comparison, even after Giannis went to the bench, the Bucks' remaining players continued to score consistently and keep their offense running efficiently.
Chris Middleton alone had put up six points, one rebound, and three assists in a single quarter—a thoroughly impressive performance.
He had served as the glue between Giannis, Brook Lopez, Allen, and the others, helping bring the team's offensive approach together.
Aside from Lillard, who had looked out of sorts in the first quarter and seemed disconnected from the team, the Bucks had truly displayed the full extent of their strength.
And against such a powerful opponent, the Knicks were having a hard time keeping up.
Chen Xi was still Chen Xi—if anything, he was even better than he'd been back then. But the Knicks were no longer the Thunder of those days.
They didn't have a defensive anchor like Davis in the paint to contain Giannis, nor did they have an elite slasher like Westbrook on the perimeter to disrupt the opposing defense.
Worse still, their bench didn't have a plug-and-play Sixth Man of the Year like SGA!
Once the game moved into the Second Quarter, that disadvantage quickly became apparent.
Early in the Second Quarter, the two teams' bench units traded baskets in a 9–2 run.
Though Lillard, who was leading the team during that stretch, still wasn't playing like the team's second star, the Bucks got a huge lead thanks to a brief explosion from Portis off the bench.
Meanwhile, New York suffered through several consecutive failed possessions, managing