Jokic fell smoothly, with an offensive foul on Waiters.
Mike Malone took the opportunity to substitute Barton with Harris, who has stronger defense.
Mike Malone realized that pairing Barton with Zeng Xingyang and Jokic could lead to disputes over ball control, negatively affecting the team.
Zeng Xingyang and Faried helped Jokic up.
"Nice defense," Zeng Xingyang patted Jokic on the butt.
Oh, pretty solid indeed.
Jokic’s defense might not be top-notch, but it definitely doesn’t hold the team back.
Except when facing top-tier offensive guards like Curry, Harden, and Owen, where he might be at a disadvantage and easily isolated, he holds an advantage against others.
For many big men, his sturdy physique combined with a smart brain is a nightmare.
Like Anthony Davis, facing Jokic can be quite difficult. When he teamed up with James during his time with the Lakers, it was hard to win against Jokic even once.
Being swept in the regular season multiple times and eliminated in the playoffs...
Nelson brought the ball to the frontcourt, immediately passing it to Zeng Xingyang.
Facing Durant’s defense, Zeng Xingyang did not rashly attack but passed the ball to Jokic at the free-throw line and started to position.
Recently, Zeng Xingyang seemed like the initiator of Nuggets’ offense, thus attracting Thunder’s defensive attention.
Zeng Xingyang ran towards Jokic.
Jokic faked a pass, making it seem like he was handing it to Zeng Xingyang.
But Jokic threw the ball directly to the basket.
Faried cut along the baseline, and Jokic’s pass was perfectly timed.
Excited, Faried grabbed the ball with both hands and slammed it hard.
Faried hung on the rim, roaring towards the sky.
"You fooled me," Zeng Xingyang said with a smile.
"Hey, next time I’ll pass to you," Jokic replied with a grin.
Jokic’s handling of the ball was very mature; to him, Zeng Xingyang had already created a sense of threat, which could be used to make opportunities for teammates.
It was a smooth and pleasing tactic.
The fans at the Pepsi Center in Denver erupted into howls again.
At this moment, the Nuggets’ second lineup seemed overwhelming in offense.
Zeng Xingyang continued to tangle with Durant.
Durant, although on the court, was more of a decoy at this time.
The first ten minutes had tired him.
Durant received the ball, attempted a crossover, then jumped for a three-pointer over Zeng Xingyang.
Durant underestimated Zeng Xingyang, treating him lightly with a simple attacking method, so Zeng Xingyang leaped with all his might, using his long arm to interfere.
The ball bounced heavily off the rim.
Jokic grabbed it, noticed Nelson was already in the frontcourt, and passed the ball back to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang didn’t have the habit of dribbling past mid-court by himself and returned the ball to Jokic.
"You dribble," Zeng Xingyang reminded Jokic!
Hearing Zeng Xingyang’s words, Jokic kept the ball and advanced with big strides.
Indeed, compared to Thunder’s high-pressure against Nugget’s guards, center Collison did not pressure Jokic.
Jokic’s dribble drive faced no trouble.
Watching this unfold, Mike Malone had a sudden idea.
Make Jokic the playmaking hub!
Once the thought appeared, it was unstoppable.
So far, the Nuggets best suited for facilitating indeed seems to be this rookie.
Whether in passing technique or on-court vision, Jokic has shown his talent.
Though further observation is needed.
Jokic carried the ball to the right side, saw little interference, and leaned on Collison to start a post play.
Jokic’s post play wasn’t about immediate offense; instead, he was still observing.
Galinarli was at the left corner, but guarded heavily, not ideal.
Faried set a screen for Zeng Xingyang on the left.
Zeng Xingyang shook off Durant, while Ibaka chased after.
When Zeng Xingyang reached near the top of the arc, Jokic made a bounce pass, then used his momentum to create a wall, blocking Ibaka and Collison from chasing.
This left Zeng Xingyang a wide-open look at the arc’s top.
Zeng Xingyang quickly caught and shot.
Watching Zeng Xingyang shoot, Jokic spread his arms, starting to celebrate early.
This scene was captured by the cameras.
If the ball missed, Jokic would have appeared on bloopers.
But clearly, Jokic wasn’t going to embarrass himself. He knew by Zeng Xingyang’s rhythm that the shot was in.
The ball drew a beautiful arc.
Perfectly through the net.
Jokic turned this into a top play.
Zeng Xingyang went over for a high-five: "You stole my thunder again."
Jokic said, "If you missed, I would’ve looked foolish."
They exchanged a couple of words before heading back on defense.
"Zeng....Xing....Yang" The DJ at the Nuggets’ home court howled again.
The time quickly reached the last 30 seconds of this quarter.
The ball moved through the Thunder’s hands a couple of times before reaching Durant.
Durant, facing Zeng Xingyang, made a wide crossover, then drove to the right.
Zeng Xingyang didn’t lose position and kept up with Durant.
But it didn’t make much difference; Durant pulled up for a shot on the right side of the free-throw line.
Zeng Xingyang rushed to contest.
However, Durant’s release point was too high to block.
From the outside, it seemed Zeng Xingyang still interfered.