The Rockets’ offense.
Terry dribbles to the frontcourt, with Zeng Xingyang guarding McDaniels.
Terry wants to drive in for a floater again, but Jokic is positioned well, giving Terry some interference.
Terry’s floater doesn’t go in, and Capela grabs it underneath the basket.
Capela adjusts his footing and attempts to go up strong, but Jokic rushes in and blocks it down.
Harris grabs the ball and quickly dribbles for a breakthrough.
Zeng Xingyang speeds up on the left side as Harris draws in the defense, then swings the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang sets his position outside the left three-point line, swiftly fakes McDaniels off, then dribbles horizontally to completely clear space and shoots a three-pointer.
The rhythm of this shot is very smooth, the basketball continues to trace a beautiful arc.
"Swoosh!" Piercing through the net.
McDaniels is very frustrated, Zeng Xingyang isn’t just about making threes; he has some fakes before shooting.
These fakes are very convincing!
Players on the Nuggets’ bench are waving towels to cheer for Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang’s performance tonight has surprised many people.
It seems this NCAA shooter is equally adapted to the NBA three-point line.
Coach Zhang shouted, "Hey, another one in, Xingyang’s shooting feel today is really good; he just gets it in whenever there’s space, holding onto the opportunities."
Coach Su said, "Playing is incredible, Nuggets need to give Xingyang more tactics."
Although this is Zeng Xingyang’s debut, the two commentators are shouting with great confidence.
On the court, after a celebration gesture, Zeng Xingyang went back to defense. Others might be surprised by his strength, but he wouldn’t be, knowing what he could accomplish.
"Dude, your shot was brilliant," Jokic said.
"Your defense was great, allowing this opportunity," Zeng Xingyang replied with mutual praise.
The Rockets’ offense comes again.
This time, Terry doesn’t attack himself but passes the ball to the cutting Ariza.
Ariza challenges Galinarli, a big spin to the basket for a layup, but doesn’t make it.
Ariza’s holding finish rate is rather mediocre.
The basketball is grasped by Brewer.
Brewer wants to pass to Terry but Zeng Xingyang anticipates it.
In the chaos, Zeng Xingyang completes a flying steal.
Ariza quickly retreats to defense, he continuously follows Zeng Xingyang.
When everyone thought Zeng Xingyang couldn’t handle such a quick one-on-one transition.
Zeng Xingyang displays flexible dribbling skills, darting pass with a behind-the-back dribble to dodge the closely marked Ariza.
Rushing to the inside, stepping up into the air, he grabs the basketball single-handedly for a smashing dunk.
This dunk happens in one swift motion!!!
"Time out!!!" McHale unhesitatingly calls a stop to the game.
During this period, Zeng Xingyang’s performance is too ferocious, closing the score gap between the teams to 1 point.
After completing the powerful dunk, Zeng Xingyang spreads his arms wide, gliding in celebration.
At this moment, he’s venting all the frustration accumulated over the summer.
After being selected by the Nuggets 7th overall this summer, many people questioned whether he could adapt to the NBA pace, easily getting locked down, even Nuggets fans complaining that the Nuggets picked the wrong guy.
The Rockets’ Terry seeing this is filled with mixed feelings.
Terry, back in the Mavericks days, had the nickname "The Jet," his celebration pose was exactly this gliding stance like Zeng Xingyang’s.
And now, he’s nearing retirement, while this rookie is just beginning his professional career.
"Wow, wow, so beautiful."
"This dribble makes it really impressive!"
"Well dunked." Faried leaps up to chest bump with Zeng Xingyang in celebration.
Faried is an enthusiastic player, he likes Zeng Xingyang’s current playing style.
Mike Malone praises Zeng Xingyang’s performance non-stop.
The debut performance of Zeng Xingyang far exceeded his predictions; he feels that perhaps Connelly’s summer choice is correct.
Meanwhile, Rockets’ second-string players are very frustrated, going on court only to drop the plus-minus.
McHale doesn’t immediately substitute Harden back, as Harden’s rest period has been too short; this lineup needs to persist a little longer.
The game resumes quickly.
Terry dribbles past midfield, passing the ball to Brewer.
Brewer hands the ball to Ariza.
Ariza is also a 3D player, but he likes to hold the ball for a few plays when Harden isn’t on the court.
After all, he was once the Rockets’ leader.
This time, Ariza faces Zeng Xingyang.
Although Zeng Xingyang has previously shown good defensive capability, Ariza instinctively doesn’t pay attention to this Asian rookie.
He directly goes for a confrontation outside the three-point line, holding the ball sideways for bumping, trying to find a chance to break through.
This isn’t Ariza’s preferred approach, failing to bulldoze Zeng Xingyang, Ariza turns to a high-difficulty into-the-body jump shot for three from the right.
Zeng Xingyang extends his long arms trying to block.
Zeng Xingyang’s wingspan gave Ariza a fright, Ariza’s shot wasn’t blocked but was very off-target.
The rebound is controlled by Jokic.
"Don’t play ." McHale shouts.
Having not seen a summer, McHale feels he needs to reemphasize to Ariza not to recklessly hold the ball.
Clearly, this is Harden’s style, and yet he does it.
After Jokic grabs the rebound, seeing Nelson well-marked, he decides to lead the ball forward himself.
Jokic has good dribbling fundamentals, Mike Malone watches thoughtful of this scene.