Jayson Tatum held the ball, facing Ethan one-on-one.
After a probing move from the triple threat position, he put the ball on the floor and drove, leaning into his defender as he pushed inside.
He reached the elbow, gathered the ball, then spun into a shot fake.
When his defender failed to bite, he simply jumped and took a fadeaway midrange jumper.
Clang!
The ball bounced off the rim.
Ethan's wingspan played a crucial role on that possession. He successfully disrupted Tutu's shot.
Meanwhile, beneath the basket, Hartenstein firmly boxed out Porzingis, who had charged in from the right corner to chase the rebound.
Toppin then secured the board without trouble and put the ball back into Chen Xi's hands.
Chen Xi dribbled into the frontcourt again and settled into another half-court possession.
With the team playing at a good rhythm, a capable floor general's priority was, of course, to keep things rolling.
He reached the top of the key and called for another pick-and-roll with George.
He drove around the screen, drew a double-team, then passed the ball back out.
George popped out to the perimeter and caught the pass. With Brown switching onto him, he called for another pick-and-roll.
He waited for Ethan's screen, got White on the switch, then put the ball down and drove.
He gathered on the move and went straight into his steps toward the basket. Finally, fighting through White's pressure, he managed a difficult pass to Toppin in the corner.
Toppin caught the ball, turned toward the perimeter, then handed it off to Ethan.
After receiving the ball, Ethan gave a shot fake.
But Brown didn't bite, so Ethan had to find Chen Xi again and pass it back.
The string of pick-and-rolls had failed to produce a good opening, and the ball