Chapter 311: Chapter 223, Super Intense, Continued Fierce Battle!!
"Damn, Mike Malone is really ruthless in using his players, letting two guys play the whole game."
"Mike Malone already apologized last time, but nothing has changed."
"Really impressive, haha."
"It’s the first time I’ve seen a team push the Warriors this hard."
"The Warriors being thrashed by the Nuggets at home is truly unbeatable."
"Too intense, no one could have expected the game to be this tightly contested."
"These Nuggets are admirable, if only their bench was stronger."
"The Nuggets are actually strongest with their starting five, their defense is solid, but once it’s the bench players’ turn, their intensity drops significantly."
"The Nuggets should undergo a major overhaul this summer, the management must see the hope of winning the championship."
The fans are discussing.
CCTV studio.
Zhang Weiping said, "These Nuggets are admirable, they have fought with everything they have on the court."
Yu Jia said, "If Mike Malone uses his players like this, it might easily lead to the Nuggets running out of steam."
Zhang Weiping said, "He has no choice, the Nuggets’ rotation is too weak, Jokic is the team’s organizational core, while Xingyang is the offensive core, neither can be easily replaced temporarily."
Yu Jia said, "Let’s see, see how the next moves will unfold."
On the sideline.
Mike Malone looks at the sweat-drenched Zeng Xingyang and Jokic feeling very distressed.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to give them some rest.
But according to the advanced statistics, these two are head and shoulders above the others in the Nuggets.
It’s entirely because of them that the Nuggets can compete this fiercely with the Warriors.
If he took them off for half a quarter, the Warriors could instantly seize control of the game.
Mike Malone never underestimates the Warriors’ ability to take over a game.
When the Nuggets were trailing by 14 points in the first half, they fought desperately to catch up.
The Warriors are different from the Nuggets, if the Warriors were trailing by 14 points, their scoring efficiency would be much higher and it wouldn’t be this tough.
Though the scores between the two teams seem close, the gap in strength is very real.
There’s a trade-off for every gain.
Such effort is bound to bring rewards.
Zeng Xingyang and Jokic actually don’t find playing full-time to be a problem.
Think you can defeat the Warriors without exhaustion? What are you thinking!
Mike Malone arranges tactics for overtime, letting the Nuggets continue the pick-and-rolls with Zeng Xingyang and Jokic.
As long as the pick-and-rolls can be effectively executed, the Nuggets have their foundational stability.
Zeng Xingyang and Jokic also occasionally supplement the tactics, now the Nuggets are all out to take down the Warriors.
On the Warriors’ side.
Cole keeps wiping his sweat, Bogut has already been fouled out, forcing him to use a small lineup for overtime.
But the small lineup has never worked well against the Nuggets, and Cole lacks much confidence.
At this point, there’s no better solution.
The Oracle Arena fans are also very quiet.
This series they initially thought would be smooth has encountered such big trouble within the first two home games.
"Those two rookies are too terrifying, can’t be stopped."
"No way, this truly is no way."
"Never seen rookies so incredible."
"Hard-fought battle, never expected to be caught in such a tough fight."
Warriors fans are discussing.
Quickly, overtime begins.
Jump ball between Green and Jokic.
Jokic has an absolute height advantage, he tips the ball to Pope.
Pope passes the ball to Harris.
Harris brings the ball over half court, Zeng Xingyang is closely marked by Iguodala.
Harris has no choice but to pass the ball to Jokic as he can’t pass it to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang’s stamina has dropped, his movements aren’t as sharp as during regular time.
The Warriors’ defense is tough, Jokic sees he can’t pass to Zeng Xingyang, so he uses his body to back down Green, heading into the lane from the free-throw line.
Jokic turns into the lane, faced with Thompson’s help-defense, he passes the ball to Grant on the opposite side.
Grant gets the chance for a three-point shot from the corner, he jumps and shoots for three.
"Clang!"
Missed.
But Zeng Xingyang takes advantage of a lapse in Iguodala’s attention and bursts out.
Under the basket, Zeng Xingyang is faster than Green, he taps the ball single-handedly for a tip-in.
The shot misses, the ball bounces off, but on the other side Jokic barely jumps and grabs the rebound high.
Without hesitation, Jokic quickly jumps up again, placing the ball firmly into the basket.
to 112.
"The weakness of the small lineup is their lack of height, they are easily dominated in the paint, Nikola Jokic’s ability to finish inside will be a nightmare for them." Barkley said.
"Yes, any team looking to defeat the Warriors can refer to such a configuration." Smith said.
"Nikola Jokic has Zeng Xingyang to threaten the Warriors’ defense, giving him plenty of openings inside." Barkley said.
On the court, the Warriors’ offense returns.
Curry dribbles over half court.
Curry’s eyes are very serious, he feels the peril on the court.
Playing against other teams is nowhere near as tough as against the Nuggets.
Curry passes the ball to Green, then runs around Green for positioning.
Curry’s stamina is also extremely impressive, he’s played over 40 minutes tonight but remains very efficient.
Green delivers a high close-range bounce pass to Curry who proceeds to block space.
Jokic couldn’t defend, Curry at the high post gets an opening and quickly takes a mid-range shot.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
to 114.
The Warriors quickly tie the game.
Nuggets’ turn.
Zeng Xingyang dribbles to the front court, continues to give Jokic.
The Nuggets aren’t chasing speed now, instead focusing on half-court play.
Pope and Grant successively come out to screen for Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang uses the double screen to cut inside.
Jokic delivers a bounce pass to Zeng Xingyang.
Before the double-team closes in, Zeng Xingyang releases the ball with a throw.
"Swish!"
to 114.
The Nuggets’ twin pick-and-roll tactics are still effective.
Warriors’ offense.
This time Green holds the ball in the low post, Barnes uses Iguodala’s screen to cut inside.
Barnes battles Jokic and scores.
to 116.
The confrontation between the two teams is weaker than in the regular season, mainly because their footwork can’t keep up.
Nuggets’ turn.
Jokic pushes forward with the dribble.
Again to Zeng Xingyang, this time Zeng Xingyang catches outside the right three-point line and shoots immediately.
The shot has a small opening but is still slightly disrupted by Iguodala.
"Clang!"
The ball hits the rim and misses.
Thankfully, Grant jumps and snatches the ball before Green touches the rebound.
Grant can’t finish inside, he quickly passes the ball out.
Passes to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang catches the ball, makes a fake shot, Iguodala doesn’t buy it.
Zeng Xingyang bursts right, Iguodala moves horizontally to block Zeng Xingyang.
"Bang!"
Their bodies collide, Zeng Xingyang’s position is bad and he’s forced back.
Zeng Xingyang opts to pass to Jokic at the left low post.
Jokic takes the ball and starts backing down Green.
Bumping Green continuously, Jokic jumps to the middle, drawing Barnes’ help-defense.
At this moment, Zeng Xingyang screens for Pope, who runs from the corner to the left free-throw line.
Jokic sends the ball over, Pope catches and shoots.
"Swish!"
Solidly in.
to 116