The duel between the two Chrises officially began with Doncic's difficult mid-range jumper.
At the other end, it was the Knicks' turn to attack.
Chen Xi initiated the offense with the ball at the top of the key.
He launched into a Crossover Step, accelerated into mid-range, then pounded the ball into a retreat dribble, gathered it for a fake, and spun into a fadeaway jumper.
The two-pointer dropped cleanly.
Then came the Mavericks' possession. Doncic held the ball on the perimeter and called for a Pick-and-Roll, driving around the screen. After two strides, he stopped abruptly with a hop, chained a Front Crossover into a Step-back, and launched a Three-Point Shot over Ethan's outstretched arm. It, too, swished through the net.
Chen Xi had scored ten straight points, cranking his second-quarter offense up to full throttle.
But Doncic immediately answered at the other end, scoring five straight with absurdly accurate shooting to steady his team.
The score stood at 53–61.
Knicks possession.
Chen Xi dribbled across half court, encountered a double-team at the top of the key, and backed up two steps before passing again to Strus, who had come up to receive the ball.
This time, he did not keep trying to shift the Mavericks' defense.
Instead, Chen Xi turned as though he intended to take up a position along the left sideline, then suddenly turned back and came up to the top of the key for a handoff.
An attack initiated off the ball!
After receiving the pass, Chen Xi kept moving right without breaking stride.
He accelerated sharply, dragging Little Jones two steps to the right with him, then abruptly stopped and pulled back, gathering the ball as he rose for a Three-Point Shot.
The sudden change of pace rooted Little Jones to the spot. It