At the other end, it was the Knicks' turn to attack.
Rose dribbled to the left wing at a forty-five-degree angle, then held the ball and waited.
He had intended to keep things methodical and run a pick-and-roll with Hartenstein, but suddenly saw Chen Xi moving over from the other side to ask for the ball. He passed it over without hesitation.
On the New York Knicks, no one turned down Chen Xi when he called for the ball.
After catching the pass, he turned to face Shorter's defense.
Chen Xi adopted a triple threat stance again, then swept the ball low in both hands and circled it up over his head, continuing to watch Shorter's defensive movements.
When his defender did not immediately raise his center of gravity and try to pressure him, Chen Xi simply jumped and released the shot.
He had not dipped the ball at all, yet its trajectory was still absurdly accurate.
Under Shorter's somewhat regretful gaze, the ball soon nestled into the net.
It was another three-pointer forced home against tight defense.
Chen Xi immediately hit Harden back with an Answer Ball!
That instantly drew cheers from the many Knicks fans who had taken over the home crowd's turf.
It was the Nets' possession again.
Compared with Chen, who was all smiles but showed no mercy with his play, Harden seemed much less competitive.
Having passed "that age," Harden did not choose to get into a personal duel with Chen. Instead, he methodically initiated another standard Nets possession.
A pick-and-roll on the left wing.
He accelerated around the screen toward the top of the key, then quickly passed to Durant on the wing.
Durant caught it and swung it on to Shorter in the corner.
Shorter stood still with the ball and watched