Zone defense wouldn't work, switching would leave them vulnerable to mismatches, and man-to-man coverage had trouble handling the pick-and-roll.
As ridiculous as it sounded, DeRozan was actually the worst three-point shooter in the Raptors' starting lineup.
So when the next possession began, Chen Xi deliberately gave DeRozan room to shoot from three, then pretended to double-team him, forcing the other Raptors to pass the ball before he recovered to defend DeRozan.
It had some effect, but not much.
DeRozan was also a great one-on-one player. Chen Xi couldn't stop him, only limit him—and occasionally hold him off for a possession or two.
Meanwhile, the Thunder were having problems on offense.
Aside from Chen Xi, two players couldn't shoot, and two others were missing their shots.
So with just over eight minutes gone, the only points anyone besides Chen Xi had scored came from a few of Westbrook's drives to the basket.
A little over eight minutes in, the Thunder trailed the Raptors 24–17, and Donovan finally decided to make some substitutions.
He brought in McDermott for Roberson, Deron for Westbrook, and Harris for Gordon.
The idea was to create more space and build around Chen Xi, who had been the team's hottest shooter in the first quarter.
The lineup change got the Thunder's offense going again.
But their defense took a major hit.
Deron was getting older, and he was struggling to keep up with Lowry one-on-one, so Chen Xi had to help out now and then.
McDermott and Harris weren't exactly defensive stalwarts, either.
As a result, the Thunder were still losing the shootout against the Raptors, albeit by a narrow margin.
The first quarter ended with the Thunder trailing the Raptors 32–26.
Chen Xi sat out the second quarter while Westbrook led the team, continuing to chip away