Horford secured the rebound, and the Knicks turned around and went on the attack.
After receiving the pass, Chen Xi quickly brought the ball across half court. Before the Thunder Team could set its double-team, he seized the opening and drove hard into Cunningham, forcing his way forward.
One step inside the three-point line, he slowed slightly and shifted sideways to seal off his defender, then looked up to read the changes in the Thunder's defensive alignment.
Seeing that the Thunder's defenders had held back from collapsing farther inside out of fear of his passing, Chen Xi immediately pounded the ball into the floor again and took a long stride toward the free-throw line. After a brief pause, he sprang forward and released an unexpected floater.
The floater came from slightly farther out than usual, but fortunately, it still activated the [Floater Master] badge's boost, and the ball dropped smoothly through the hoop.
Two points!
The Knicks' lead was back up to three.
As one of the league's very best scorers, Chen Xi avoided the problem Durant faced, where his own extraordinary offensive efficiency actually reduced his teammates' willingness to move and participate in the offense. The biggest reason was that he could switch back and forth between scoring and orchestrating the offense at any moment.
His offensive efficiency was among the best in the league, but no one could overlook his equally elite court vision and passing instincts.
In fact, thanks to the enormous defensive pressure opponents often put on him, he sometimes had an even easier time "racking up" assists.
His rebounding numbers were a different story. They fluctuated wildly from game to game because he rarely made a special effort to chase defensive rebounds.
In the vast majority of cases, when an opponent put up a shot,