dribbling along the edge of the logo, Chen Xi watched Pope, whom he had drawn out to guard him, but he still didn't rush to attack.
Instead, he kept running down the clock. Only when there were 10 seconds left in the possession did he finally make his move.
Lowering his center of gravity, Chen Xi protected the ball with a series of crossover dribbles and advanced step by step. When he was two steps away from the three-point line, he took a Drag Step to the left, then immediately followed with a Front Crossover and drove right.
Pope didn't bite on the fake. He stayed with him right away.
But this, too, was a feint!
After taking just one step, Chen Xi immediately pulled off his signature between-the-legs stop-and-pullback. Then he gathered the ball, jumped, and shot.
Pope quickly regained control of his body and got back into position to defend, then leaped up and tried to block the shot.
But in the end, he couldn't get the block.
Every choice he'd made on defense had been the right one.
He'd successfully anticipated Chen Xi's move and reacted in time.
But his hand still couldn't reach the ball.
And, as everyone knew, Chen Xi's ability to shoot over defenders was among the best in the League.
This shot was no different.
The ball left his fingers and flew straight toward the basket, then dropped cleanly through.
Another clutch shot as steady as ever. Another one-on-one attack with no answer.
A defender of Pope's caliber was still destined to be nothing more than a background prop...
Swish~~
Three-pointer!
The lead was back to five.
That seemingly insurmountable gap felt like it had never changed.
In fact, if not for the earlier questionable call, the Nuggets would never have managed to