After landing, Chen Xi teased Booker with a grin, then casually turned to get back on defense.
Interestingly, perhaps because he finally saw hope of taking another step forward this season, Booker had actually improved somewhat on defense as well.
At least on that last possession, Booker had done quite a few little things well. Chen Xi could no longer score so easily with that overly dismissive, relaxed approach.
He had to take things a little more seriously, at least.
And it had to be said that defense and defensive effort did not seem to be the only areas in which Booker had grown.
Even his mentality seemed to have improved.
Faced with Chen's teasing now, he did not flare up at the slightest provocation as he once had. Instead, he stayed calm, turned around, and threw himself straight into the next offensive possession.
For Phoenix, that was probably a good sign worth even more than a short-term victory...
The Suns quickly brought the ball into the frontcourt again.
Haliburton called for another pick-and-roll with Ayton at the top of the key, repeating the same drive-and-kick play.
Ayton caught the ball on the roll, this time meeting a hard hedge from Adams. He put the ball on the floor, took two steps toward the basket, then gathered it again for a pump fake.
He successfully drew Adams up, then jumped to lay it in.
But Chen Xi came over to help from the side and yanked the shot down.
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The referee blew his whistle, signaling a shooting foul on Chen Xi.
Ayton stepped up to the line to shoot his free throws.
Meanwhile, Chen Xi showed no frustration over the foul. He went straight over to Adams and quietly gave him a few instructions.
"Don't jump. You were right