It was the Bucks' turn to attack.
Lillard dribbled over half court and came to the top of the key, where he held the ball and waited.
When Giannis came up, Lillard passed to him.
Then Giannis caught the ball on the right side of the top of the key, once again facing Chen Xi's defense.
Chen still chose to "lead from the front," taking on Giannis's face-up attack directly on the perimeter.
At least in this series, fans could easily see the unparalleled leadership radiating from Chen.
Attack the player you're best at defending, and defend the player who's best at attacking you!
It was something many stars in the League could never bring themselves to do.
But Chen Xi intended to keep it up for the entire series!
Of course, while Chen's defensive approach could certainly be called "courageous,"
he was no god.
Limited by his physical talent, Chen simply couldn't reliably shut down Giannis's offense every time.
This possession was a case in point.
When Giannis once again tried to power his way past Chen Xi and into the paint, he still managed to score another hard-fought layup.
Drummond's help defense came a beat too late, and Chen Xi couldn't get a hand on the ball because of his positioning...
After Giannis's layup went in, Chen walked out of bounds without expression, picked up the ball, and passed it to Hart before continuing up the court.
Not being able to stop Giannis was normal.
In fact, it would have been more unusual if he'd actually shut him down.
A historic talent like Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn't going to be completely contained.
And forget Giannis—even against Lillard, Chen Xi couldn't completely shut him down one-on-one. At most, he could make his numbers look a little worse...
Superstars became