Sun First, Yao Follows!

Swish!

Unfortunately, even Buddha's prayers failed to work at this moment.

Sun Hao's three-pointer still went in!

"God!"

Although they had seen Sun Hao perform countless times before, watching him score 18 points in less than half a quarter was still a shocking visual spectacle.

And there was something people had overlooked: up to this point in the playoffs, aside from scoring 50+ in one game against the Spurs, Sun Hao's performances had not been particularly dazzling.

On social media, fans had talked more about Paul, James, Yao Ming, and the others.

Compared to last year's playoffs, it was practically a world of difference.

This was clearly not a matter of Sun Hao being out of form, but because the other Lakers players had all performed well.

Against the Thunder in the first round, Yao Ming had dominated the paint. Against the Spurs in the second round, the Lakers had performed superbly as a whole.

There had been no need for Sun Hao to step up!

Now that they were facing the Warriors, though, the others had cooled off, so naturally it was Sun Hao's turn to come forward.

In a way, that perfectly aligned with Lambis's triangle offense.

Lambis's triangle offense was designed to let role players contribute more during ordinary stretches, then have Sun Hao and Yao Ming take over the game in the clutch.

Looking at it now, hadn't Yao Ming and the other Lakers players' performances over the first two rounds been the "Regular Season"?

When it came time for a truly critical battle, a well-rested Sun Hao stepped out and slaughtered everyone in his path. It was too logical—almost too perfect.

The LED screen replayed the previous possession. When Thompson's praying silhouette appeared in the background, the crowd stirred.

That was way too damn real!