He drove two more steps inside against Strus, then stopped hard, absorbed the contact, gathered the ball for a fake, and spun into a jumper.
A textbook case of a bigger perimeter player exploiting a smaller defender.
First, he used his athleticism to back his defender down into a spot where he felt more comfortable. Then he created space through contact, used a fake to dictate the rhythm and keep his opponent dancing to his tune, and finally seized a quality opening for a composed shot.
His approach was crystal clear, and his movements flowed smoothly.
Unfortunately, the shot didn't fall~~
Tutu's consistency from mid-range still fell well short of a monster like Chen.
The ball quickly bounced off the rim, and Hartenstein secured it before passing to Strus.
Strus advanced to the top of the key in the frontcourt, where the Celtics hit him with an on-ball double-team. He immediately passed to Chen Xi on the wing.
After catching the ball, Chen Xi used a shot fake to force Brown to come farther up from the lower side, then delivered a bounce pass to Ethan as he cut in from the corner.
Tari Eason caught it and took a long stride inside, drawing Robert Williams's attention before passing to Hartenstein in the middle.
Hartenstein caught the ball and tried to finish immediately with a close-range floater.
The ball struck the back rim, bounced up, and dropped back down.
Thankfully, it went in.
Isaiah Hartenstein scored his eighth point of the night, shooting four-for-six. All four makes had come from that soft close-range floater.
The Knicks had executed that possession beautifully.
They made full use of Chen Xi's threat—the only player posing a major danger from outside on a night when the team's collective shooting touch had deserted them—and