From the weak-side sideline, he cut all the way down to the corner, then turned and moved toward the paint on an off-ball cut.
After reaching the paint without finding a quality opportunity, he continued to use Drummond's off-ball screen, shook off Jae Crowder's chase defense, quickly curled out from the forty-five-degree angle on the other side, and received the ball again.
Meanwhile, Hart, who had just run a symbolic pick-and-roll with Strus, immediately sent the ball back to Chen Xi upon seeing this.
Chen Xi caught the ball, turned to face up, and found himself matched against Jae Crowder's defense.
Holding the ball in a Triple Threat stance, he threw a Jab Step, dribbled back for a slight retreat, then immediately exploded into his move and drove left.
In just two steps, he cleanly blew past the slower-footed Jae Crowder.
Then, after easily penetrating the paint, Chen Xi rose for another jumper over Maka's token help-defense contest.
Basketball dropped cleanly through the hoop—another two points.
After finishing and landing, Chen Xi slowly lowered his right hand and strode toward the backcourt.
At the same time, Jae Crowder, still standing in place, muttered an angry curse under his breath.
On that possession, he had failed to put even the slightest pressure on Chen Xi and had been beaten off the dribble with absurd ease.
For a player known for his toughness and one who made his living on defense, that was undoubtedly a huge blow.
Even if he was already thirty-three years old, a full-fledged veteran.
By the career standards of most role players, thirty-three was indeed getting up there in age.
But the cruel reality was that once you stepped onto the court, no one cared about those objective factors.
All people saw was whether you had fulfilled the