Sure enough, Little Wagner on the wing and Ma Wei inside both rushed over to double-team him, trying to trap him.
But they were still a step too late.
Spotting his opening, Chen Xi identified the best passing lane almost instantly, then fired a straight pass to Strus in the corner.
At this crucial moment, Chen Xi still chose to trust his teammates.
Strus, however, did not shoot right away. Instead, in what looked suspiciously like passing the buck, he swung the ball out to Josh Hart above him.
Hart caught it and immediately rose for a three.
Swish!
The ball swished through the net!
Josh Hart knocked down a crucial three-pointer!
He might have cost Chen an assist, but at least he had not let him down!
The deficit was back down to eight!
The Kings then called a timeout.
Sacramento reacted immediately to the fierce offensive surge led by Chen Xi.
With the role players getting involved and knocking down threes, the Kings decisively made an adjustment.
They brought their starters back onto the court right away, beginning the final showdown ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, the Knicks were hardly sitting idle. They made substitutions of their own.
Soon, the timeout ended and play resumed.
New York now had Chen Xi, Strus, George, Ethan, and Hartenstein on the floor.
Unlike in the first half and third quarter, New York's coaching staff once again adjusted their lineup.
It still bore the hallmarks of a wing-heavy lineup, with Chen filling in at point guard.
The difference was that, with Toppin injured, they had to settle for keeping Strus on the floor.
Although his perimeter shooting had not been particularly good tonight, Strus was still the Knicks' most obvious floor spacer.
In other words, even with his outside shot off tonight, the