The gap is even bigger than last year.

When it was time for someone to step up and score in one-on-one, they proactively took the lead, but not every shot could strike as the last attack of the first quarter did.

Just before the official timeout of the second quarter, the James-Hughes duo launched a counterattack again. Yang missed two consecutive one-on-one shots, but the overall strategy of the Bobcats was not affected. Sometimes, the key one-on-one plays don't necessarily have to score to be useful. After all, even players like Jordan and Kobe didn't make every clutch shot; most of the time, they missed.

At that time, it was commendable when someone dared to absorb a wave of pressure by taking on those shots and continuing the offensive rhythm for their team.

Yang handled the two shots before the official timeout without disrupting his team's offensive flow. After the timeout, the Bobcats widened the gap created by the 7-2 spurt from the James-Hughes duo by 5 points.