Ultimately, it came down to the player executing the play simply being strong enough.
When a brief opportunity like that opened up, Chen just made the shot! And he did it with incredible efficiency!
That ability to capitalize on chances that other players could hardly manage was the biggest difference between Chen Xi and those All-Star players.
Basketball had evolved to the point where it was no longer about low-post one-on-one battles, with players pounding away and clawing at each other.
In today's game, with offenses encouraged and transition play emphasized, efficiency was what mattered most.
And Chen Xi was undoubtedly the god of efficiency this century!
As long as his team could consistently create suitable space for him to shoot, he'd reward them with efficiency among the best in the world.
That was the real reason Chen had topped the scoring charts for several years running.
Anyone could get hot, but Chen was the only one who could stay hot!!
The Nets called a timeout.
They'd called another timeout.
Atkinson had lost count of how many times Chen Xi's spectacular play had forced him to call one.
Now he could completely understand Mike Malone over on the other side...
There was nothing he could do. He was out of ideas.
A dead ball had given Harden the chance to return to the floor, but possession had still gone back to the Thunder because of Chen Xi's defensive play.
Then, right afterward, Chen Xi had used his individual skill to knock down another three.
The gap between the teams had now grown to 18 points.
If they didn't call timeout and steady their offense on the next possession, the deficit would soon reach 20-plus, and the Nets might as well surrender...
Unfortunately, calling a timeout was easy. Solving the