And that was not all. Once the game entered the third quarter, Butler's phenomenal performance continued.
With his outside shot fully dialed in and his own scoring settling into an incredibly smooth rhythm,
the Bucks belatedly realized, to their astonishment, that they could no longer contain Butler!
It was as though some strange bloodline had awakened within him, suddenly turning him into an all-around monster.
If they tried to shut down his scoring with double-teams, he found the holes in their defense and tore it apart with pinpoint passes.
If they let him go one-on-one, he kept making shot after shot.
Under the force of Butler's phenomenal play, the game gradually veered off the course Milwaukee had planned.
And so, when the third quarter ended, the Bucks fans who had come to cheer on their home team could only stare at the 97-86 score in disbelief, utterly speechless.
With Butler leading the charge, the Philadelphia 76ers had clawed their way from a five-point deficit in the first quarter to an eleven-point lead.
That commanding advantage made Philadelphia's chances of winning Game 1 look incredibly strong.
Manhattan, New York.
Sitting on his sofa at home, Chen Xi picked up the teacup in front of him and took a small sip of the supposedly "authentic Tieguanyin." Then he shook his head with a smile, stood up, and headed toward the bathroom.
"You've already made up your mind?"
Nearby, George, who had accepted Chen's invitation to come over, turned toward Chen Xi with a puzzled look.
The fourth quarter of the Philadelphia 76ers-Bucks game had only just begun...
"More or less. At least tonight, I don't think the Bucks can turn this around."
"Oh?"
"Jimmy's playing out of his mind. You don't often see him hitting ridiculous threes like those... Of course,