Then, the Hawks went back on offense.
Trae Young received the ball in the backcourt, dribbled it across the center line, and advanced into the frontcourt before passing to Okoro at the top of the key.
He quickly moved off a screen and received the ball again on the right wing.
He turned and found himself facing Chen Xi, who had switched onto him.
The 1.85-meter-tall Trae Young was now up against the 1.98-meter-tall Chen Xi.
The enormous difference in their builds looked a little comical, even on a court full of giants.
But that was also one of the things that made Young worthy of admiration.
To make his mark on a court like this despite his height was no small feat.
And now was the moment for Trae Young to truly test his limits.
What could he do against a defender of Chen Xi's caliber, one who was arguably among the best perimeter defenders in the entire League?
A straight-up challenge was out of the question.
Even Durant, over on the other team, occasionally called for a pick-and-roll when he faced Chen, didn't he?
What had Trae Young ever done to think he could take Chen one-on-one?~~
So Young dribbled back two steps without hesitation, waved Collins over to set a screen, then drove past him.
Using the screen, he got into the paint.
There, he quickly performed two small, consecutive double crossovers in front of his body, misleading Davis about his intentions. Then he spun smoothly and sent the ball away with one hand.
The ball zipped past AD and into Okongwu's hands beneath the basket.
Okongwu took the pass in stride and easily laid it in.
2–2.
On the other end, Collins's screen had sealed Chen off completely, keeping him from chasing after Young right