"Beautiful, defended it." Jokic excitedly high-fived Zeng Xingyang.
"Yeah, you slowed him down." Zeng Xingyang said.
Jokic’s delay led Harden to misjudge and slow down for a foul, giving Zeng Xingyang the chance to successfully defend.
Harden’s gaze towards Zeng Xingyang changed; he couldn’t believe this rookie could disrupt him so much.
"Xingyang’s defense is good, gave Harden a block, hey."
"Well done, judging by the two rounds so far, Xingyang’s defense can adapt to the NBA rhythm; he has the potential to become an excellent defender."
Coach Zhang and Coach Su were chatting.
"Blocked Deng, it’s so cool."
"Wow, I’m watching Zeng Xingyang play for the first time, what’s going on? When did our country produce such an awesome guard?"
"That’s too good, Deng got blocked."
"Deng got so frustrated, haha."
"It’s not that serious, it’s just a surprise attack by Zeng Xingyang."
Fans on the internet suddenly went wild.
Penguin Sports kept replaying Zeng Xingyang’s block on Deng.
During the replay, the commentator was yelling, this play brought them to a climax.
The Nuggets attacked again.
Nelson dribbled to the front court and then passed the ball to Jokic at the free-throw line.
Originally waiting at the corner, Zeng Xingyang suddenly dashed to the diagonal.
Harden hurriedly followed, Jokic handed the ball to Zeng Xingyang and subsequently blocked Harden.
Capela switched to guard Zeng Xingyang, Harden also worked hard to get around the defense and try to disrupt Zeng Xingyang.
The two previous three-pointers by Zeng Xingyang made them realize they couldn’t let him shoot again.
Jokic cut to the basket, and Zeng Xingyang understood Jokic’s intention; his shooting space was cramped.
Without hesitation, he decisively threw the ball towards Jokic.
Jokic easily caught the ball, took three steps vertically toward the basket, and scored effortlessly.
Jokic waved his finger towards the sky and then smiled at Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang also nodded back.
Their teamwork effortlessly tore through the Rockets’ defense.
The atmosphere at the venue was suppressed.
Mike Malone on the sidelines clapped hard to celebrate.
"A delightful offense."
"If the Nuggets can maintain this kind of coordination throughout the game, it would be perfect."
"The cooperation between Zeng Xingyang and Nikola Jokic is very impressive."
The TNT commentators were chatting.
The Rockets did not exhibit the previous explosiveness again, although they maintained a slight advantage, they couldn’t directly defeat the Nuggets.
Forming the tandem of Zeng Xingyang and Jokic didn’t result in successful plays each time, but compared to others, their efficiency was notably higher.
However, after Harden realized Zeng Xingyang’s defense was hard to target, he played pick-and-roll every round to attack others.
Especially against Jokic in the interior.
Jokic was caught in a tough spot from Harden’s one-on-one ’training’.
Jokic’s lateral movement was too slow for Harden.
Harden’s rhythm variation is challenging to defend, coupled with his step-back, leaving Jokic scratching his head.
Mike Malone was cautious about keeping Jokic on the court for long due to defensive concerns.
Without Jokic, Zeng Xingyang received significantly fewer passes.
Most of the Nuggets players weren’t yet familiar with Zeng Xingyang’s playing style, making it challenging to deliver suitable passes to him; when he barely took shots, they weren’t efficient.
After three quarters, the score reached 88 to 95, with the Rockets leading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter started.
The Nuggets’ second lineup faced the Rockets’ second lineup.
For the Nuggets, it was Nelson, Harris, Zeng Xingyang, Galinarli, Jokic.
For the Rockets, it was Terry, Brewer, McDaniels, Ariza, Capela.
The Rockets executed their offense with a series of passing, then Terry broke in utilizing Harrell’s screen, slightly sidestepped Galinarli, and floated a shot.
Now it’s Nuggets’ turn to attack.
The defensive intensity of the Rockets’ second lineup was noticeably weaker than their starters.
Nelson dribbled to the front court, holding the ball on top of the arc to observe.
Zeng Xingyang started from the right corner, and Jokic came out diagonally for a screen.
McDaniels chased Zeng Xingyang.
McDaniels, standing at 6’6" with decent athletic ability, tightly pursued Zeng Xingyang, although Jokic’s screen was solid.
McDaniels could only watch as Zeng Xingyang ran to the right at the 60-degree angle.
Capela’s defense couldn’t cover that much area, giving Zeng Xingyang a chance.
Nelson’s pass was also excellently timed, with Zeng Xingyang prepping his shooting posture during the run.
Catch, push-off, swiftly leap for a three-pointer.
The basketball carved a beautiful arc.
A straight shot to the heart!!
The jeers at the Toyota Center dwindled instantly.
The positioning and catch-and-shoot three-pointer by Zeng Xingyang looked steady; after scoring, he made a bow-and-arrow celebration.
Scoring a three-pointer on an NBA court felt exhilarating.
Nelson nodded after seeing this play; his experienced eyes recognized Zeng Xingyang’s shooting was reliable tonight.
"Zeng’s shooting stability is great; we can structure more three-point tactics around him." The assistant coach next to Mike Malone said.
"Yeah, we’ll study once the game ends." Mike Malone said.
Zeng Xingyang’s three-point opportunities tonight all came from spontaneous movements, not from the coach’s setup.
This performance made Mike Malone look at him anew.