Lillard quickly brought the ball across half court again.
To his surprise, Chen Xi did not keep up the intense ball pressure on this possession. Instead, he gave him a little more than half a step of space, leaving him some room to work with the ball.
That left Lillard puzzled, but also prompted a few rueful thoughts.
Chris really doesn't seem willing to burn energy on defense for long. Looks like I really did have a problem. I actually let his high-pressure defense intimidate me—or rather, I fell for this DPOY's defensive strategy. Damn it! Damn it, Damian! This isn't your style!! Get it together!
He initiated the offense with the ball on the left side of the top of the key.
Lillard turned to run a pick-and-roll with Brook Lopez, then accelerated around the screen and drove into the paint.
Chen Xi was still incredibly quick at getting around screens. Even someone as solidly built as Brook Lopez could not hold him up for long.
His body twisted nimbly, as supple as a water snake, and he continued the pursuit.
Still, Brook Lopez had delayed him enough to leave him trailing Lillard.
That allowed Lillard to remain a threat at the rim and draw Toppin over to help protect it.
Lillard then decisively passed to Giannis on the other side.
Giannis took one dribble forward after the catch, then gathered, leaped, and finished with a delicate finger roll near the rim.
The two points cut the deficit back to nine.
The Bucks seemed to have rediscovered their offensive rhythm.
But immediately afterward, it was the Knicks' turn to attack again.
Paul George brought the ball across half court and waited at the top of the key for his teammates to move, then used Toppin's screen to fake