After Zeng Xingyang took the stage in the second quarter, the Nuggets’ offense never missed a beat.
The Nuggets scored on every single possession.
The efficiency was a bit shocking.
By now, the lead the Blazers built in the first quarter had completely vanished.
The camera panned over the sidelines to show some of the starting players sitting on the bench.
The message was clear: the Nuggets’ bench players seemed more deserving of the main positions.
The Blazers’ offense.
Lillard and Ami Nu’s pick and roll.
Zeng Xingyang was blocked, and Lillard changed direction to break through.
Lillard’s second acceleration got him past Galinarli.
A strong physical contact led to a foul.
The confrontation was intense, Lillard missed the first free throw but made the second.
The Nuggets came on the attack again.
Nelson dribbled to the frontcourt and passed directly to Zeng Xingyang.
Jokic spread out on the other side.
Lillard actively came over to defend, while Harkless on the other side was ready to double-team.
Now the Blazers’ fans were worried when they saw Zeng Xingyang with the ball; they didn’t trust Lillard’s defense.
Could Lillard’s defense really limit a rookie in such hot form?
Zeng Xingyang didn’t recklessly dribble down; instead, he observed for a moment and called Jokic over.
Jokic came up for the pick and roll, and Lillard was blocked.
Harkless and Plumlee didn’t come up in time.
Lillard tried to go around the screen but couldn’t, so a small gap appeared in front of Zeng Xingyang.
Without hesitation, he gathered the ball mid-stride and quickly released a three-pointer.
Zeng Xingyang’s three-pointer remained terrifyingly steady.
As his hot hand continued, it exploded again!!
The entire Rose Garden Arena no longer booed!
Some even gasped in amazement!
This rookie is too scary.
If the first quarter belonged to Lillard, then the second quarter belonged to Zeng Xingyang.
The Blazers’ coach called another timeout.
"Damn, Xingyang is incredible, going toe-to-toe with Lillard."
"Lillard can’t stop Zeng Xingyang."
"Jokic’s screen for Xingyang was perfect to create the opportunity."
"Xingyang seized every opportunity to shoot."
"Accurate, too accurate, very aggressive on the court."
Fans watching the live stream back home were thrilled and left comments.
Zeng Xingyang made a bow-and-arrow celebratory gesture towards his own bench.
The Nuggets players played along, collectively falling backwards.
One by one, they put on performances worthy of an Oscar.
In this atmosphere of frantically closing the gap, everyone came together.
When Zeng Xingyang stepped off, he received various "enthusiastic" greetings from his teammates.
After the timeout, Zeng Xingyang was double-teamed by the Blazers.
Faced with such defense, Zeng Xingyang decisively passed the ball.
With him and Jokic on the court, the Blazers’ double-team defense had some gaps exposed.
Meanwhile, the Blazers’ own rhythm was slightly affected, and the Nuggets gradually gained some advantage.
The first half of the game ended quickly, with a score of 58 to 55.
Zeng Xingyang scored 19 points in the single quarter, with a perfect 5-for-5 on three-pointers, breaking a rookie record for single-quarter scoring.
Blazers fans couldn’t believe it; they had a smooth first quarter, but the start of the second quarter entirely shifted into Zeng Xingyang’s rhythm.
The Blazers rotated several players to defend Zeng Xingyang, but they couldn’t stop him.
It wasn’t until a double-team was applied that his offense was somewhat limited.
Zeng Xingyang’s one-on-one capabilities were also fully displayed during this time.
When facing some strong wing defenders, he still found it difficult to break through their defense one-on-one.
But when facing some bulky interior players and defensively weak guards, he had a decent single-play shooting percentage.
Back in the locker room.
"F*ck, what did you guys do in the second quarter?"
"Where was the defense?"
"That rookie trampled you underfoot."
"Can’t defend without fouling?"
"Drop your pride and stop him!"
Stotts angrily threw the clipboard.
The team’s performance in the second quarter was too bad; he called three timeouts this quarter, repeatedly emphasizing defense, but the players just couldn’t execute.
Stotts rarely got this angry with his players.
The players’ defensive attitude is crucial to the success rate of defense.
Lillard wiped his sweat with a towel and said nothing, his gaze intense.
Lillard hadn’t anticipated Zeng Xingyang’s explosive scoring ability to be this strong; he thought Zeng Xingyang was just a decent rookie at best before the game, but his current performance proved Zeng Xingyang was more than just decent.
During the second quarter, Lillard felt Zeng Xingyang’s dominance in this game.
This guy has the scoring ability to change the game at any moment.
"Mr. Whale, what do you think of the vastly different performances of the Nuggets in the first and second quarters?"
On a domestic video livestream platform, a fan asked a renowned basketball broadcaster named Whale.
Whale had initially started out in marketing selling floors, then turned to self-media and, after several years of hard work, became a top figure in sports self-media.
In the scene where Penguin Sports dominated the copyrights, and figures like Yang, Wang, and Ko had become powerful voices, it was difficult for others to compete.