NBA: Rising Superstar!

...

After a day.

The G4 of both teams continued to heat up at Denver's home court.

Domestic fans were already glued to their screens, eagerly awaiting.

"Come on, come on, waiting for the Nuggets to take down the opponent."

"Xingyang is under a lot of pressure, this game has to be won."

"If the Warriors make a comeback today, it will be dangerous, the situation will become very severe."

"The Warriors were really fierce in the last game, it seems like the Nuggets have played all their cards, not sure if there's anything new in this game."

Fans were passionately discussing online, everyone was filled with anticipation and anxiety about this game.

The fans at the scene were not stingy with their enthusiasm either, they tried their utmost to cheer for their home team, the cheers and shouts were deafening, attempting to inject powerful energy into the Nuggets with the home atmosphere.

The game started quickly.

The Nuggets made an initial lineup change: Zeng Xingyang, Pope, Galinarli, Grant, Jokic.

Mike Malone placed Harris on the bench because his offensive capability was a bit lacking against the Warriors. In the last game, the Warriors deliberately left him open, creating several open shot opportunities for him, but he couldn't capitalize on them.

Mike Malone wanted to try putting Galinarli, the "Italian Cannon", on the court to see if it could bring a different effect for the team.

Galinarli has excellent three-point shooting ability, which might help the Nuggets stretch their offensive space.

The Warriors did not make any changes, continuing with the starting lineup of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green, Bogut.

In the first quarter, both teams continued the intense confrontation from the last game.

The atmosphere on the court was as tense as a tightly stretched string, with each offensive and defensive play full of explosive tension.

Galinarli's appearance indeed opened up some space inside for the Nuggets, his three-point threat kept the Warriors' defense from collapsing too much.

Yet, the Warriors also had their counter-strategy, constantly letting Curry exploit Jokic, rendering Jokic quite passive.

Curry is notably different from other shooters, his on-ball offensive ability is top-tier, especially his strong shooting capability after dribbling beyond the three-point line, which is unparalleled.

This is also one of the key differences distinguishing superstars from megastars.

Curry continuously utilized the pick-and-roll tactic to "train" Jokic.

Jokic deeply felt the nauseating sense when they kept targeting Curry before.

Curry displayed an extremely high shooting accuracy in the first quarter, scoring 14 points in a single quarter, putting the Warriors in an advantageous position in the first quarter.

Zeng Xingyang, on the other hand, was continuously double-teamed by the opponents. Each time he got the ball, two or even three Warriors players quickly surrounded him, limiting his shooting opportunities.

Jokic challenged Bogut's defense several times under the basket, but Bogut, with his rich experience, outstanding defensive awareness, and position sense, ensured Jokic did not achieve particularly good results.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 28 to 21, with the Nuggets trailing by 7 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Mike Malone tried letting Jokic lead first, allowing Zeng Xingyang, who played the entire first quarter, to rest for a moment and adjust his physical condition and state.

However, unexpectedly, the cost of such an adjustment was a bit hefty. The Warriors' second unit seized the opportunity to speed up the game, launching a 7-0 run, further widening the gap.

35 to 21.

Jokic made several open passes to his teammates on the court, but his teammates failed to seize the opportunity to finish. The Nuggets' second unit clearly wasn't as strong as the Warriors, falling into trouble on both ends of the court.

Seeing this, Mike Malone had no choice but to call a timeout. He realized that the situation was a bit critical, and changes had to be made.

After resting for two minutes, Zeng Xingyang was called up by Mike Malone to save the day.

At this point, the Nuggets' second unit became Nelson, Zeng Xingyang, Harris, Faried, Jokic.

The Warriors' second unit was Livingston, Thompson, Barnes, Iguodala, Bogut.

Now Cole had gotten smarter. As long as Jokic was on the court, Bogut would stay on the court. He tried not to use the small-ball lineup but relied on sheer overall strength suppression to fight the Nuggets.

The Nuggets' offensive turn.

Nelson dribbled to the frontcourt and quickly passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang.

As soon as Zeng Xingyang caught the ball, he was double-teamed by Thompson and Barnes.

Zeng Xingyang reacted quickly, without any hesitation, immediately passed the ball to Jokic at the top of the arc.

Then, he made a clever reroute, slipping past the double team and sprinted to Jokic's side.

Jokic caught on instantly, giving Zeng Xingyang a hand-off pass and then stepped up to set a screen for him.

Zeng Xingyang, using the screen, broke into the interior like an arrow shot from a bow.

Facing Bogut's defense, Zeng Xingyang exhibited tremendous impact, accelerating a second time and charging towards the basket like holding a tank full of dynamite.

Bogut did not dare to foul lightly and could only raise his hands high, trying to disturb Zeng Xingyang's shot.

"Bang!"

Zeng Xingyang, in the strong confrontation, calmly made the shot.

35 to 23.

This goal was full of dominance, and the onsite fans instantly boiled, with cheers and shouts resounding through the air.

The Warriors returned with their offense.

Livingston dribbled to the frontcourt, with Nelson quickly stepping up to tangle, attempting to interfere with his dribbling and passing.

Livingston skillfully passed the ball to Thompson, then moved towards the low post with Nelson tagging along.

Thompson, after receiving the ball, passed it to Iguodala, and Iguodala then passed it to Livingston at the low post.

Livingston caught the ball, performing a beautiful turnaround fadeaway jump shot.

Nelson was unable to interfere.

"Swish!"

The basketball went clean through the net, a straight shot!

37 to 23

The Warriors demonstrated their terrifying toughness, still firmly suppressing the Nuggets at the Nuggets' home court. The atmosphere among the onsite fans was filled with an oppressive sensation, as they hoped for the Nuggets to make adjustments quickly, to turn the situation around.

The Nuggets' offensive play.

Nelson dribbled to the frontcourt, again passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang. Thompson and Barnes once again tried to double-team Zeng Xingyang. At this crucial moment, Jokic quickly inserted himself in between them like a sturdy wall, blocking Thompson.

Then, Jokic swiftly rolled to successfully draw away Thompson.

At this point, Barnes could only defend Zeng Xingyang one-on-one.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Facing Barnes, Zeng Xingyang started dribbling beneath his legs successively, looking for an offensive opportunity.

Barnes focused on defending the three-pointer while guarding Zeng Xingyang, so his center of gravity was slightly high.

Zeng Xingyang acutely noticed this, suddenly accelerating to the right after a couple of direction changes.

Inside, Faried was also in sync, timely helping Zeng Xingyang slow down the assisting Bogut.

Zeng Xingyang on the move, executed a high floater, the basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air, firmly dropping into the basket.

37 to 25.

Zeng Xingyang, once on court, immediately started pushing, continuously closing the point gap, his outstanding performance rekindling the fans' enthusiasm.

Zhang Weiping excitedly exclaimed, "Barnes' defensive ability is overrated, he simply can't contain Xingyang one-on-one. Xingyang's breakthrough and offensive techniques are too varied, Barnes can't handle them."

Yu Jia also chimed in, "Barnes' overall pace is a step behind Xingyang, Xingyang's ability to combine breakthrough and shooting is too strong, he always manages to create scoring opportunities in crucial moments."

On the court, the Warriors' offense was on again.

This time, through three passes and two guides, they found Barnes at the right 45-degree angle. Barnes, after receiving the ball, decisively executed a three-point jumper.

Zeng Xingyang quickly aided in defense, disrupting his shot.

Barnes' three-point shot was slightly heavy.

"Clank!"

The basketball hit the basket heavily, bouncing high up.

The rebound was steadily controlled by Jokic, who quickly carried the ball over.

Thompson kept pushing Zeng Xingyang, trying to interfere with his catching and offense.

Zeng Xingyang called Faried over to set a screen.

Faried promptly came up, blocking Thompson.

Zeng Xingyang held the ball, changing pace, and dribbling low into the interior.

Zeng Xingyang's breakthrough ability had now reached a point of doing as he pleased; he could break through successfully with just a sliver of opportunity.

Seeing this, Bogut immediately came to assist in defense.

Zeng Xingyang this time used a "riding and shooting" technique, releasing the ball high before Bogut's block arrived.

The basketball sketched a wonderful arc, steadily falling into the basket.

"Swish!"

37 to 27