"Wow, that’s so cool, that step back move is unbeatable, haha."
"Looks so smooth, it’s not a travel."
"Once there’s space, Zeng Xingyang will immediately take the shot."
"Think of it as a lateral three-step layup, except this layup is beyond the three-point line."
"Xingyang’s confidence in his ball-handling isolation plays is increasing."
Just as fans had anticipated.
The Blazers’ weak defense is boosting Zeng Xingyang’s confidence in his ball-handling offense.
He’s already able to determine which defenders he can challenge.
Lillard’s defense is easy for him.
Zeng Xingyang raised his hand to celebrate as he headed back to the other side of the court.
Facing Lillard and making the shot, this feels incredibly satisfying.
Lillard’s gaze toward Zeng Xingyang grew serious.
Lillard has always been the type who won’t back down until you submit. Compared to those stars with a friendly vibe, he leans more toward the traditional star persona.
Lillard dribbled to the front court.
After passing the ball back and forth with CJ McCollum a couple of times, he chose to aggressively attack Zeng Xingyang.
Tonight, he aims to make Zeng Xingyang submit.
But Zeng Xingyang’s defense is much stronger than Lillard imagined.
Zeng Xingyang’s height, wingspan, defensive awareness, and positive attitude made Lillard’s breakthrough uncomfortable.
Lillard did play explosively in the first quarter, but that also somewhat drained his energy.
Intense physical confrontation between the two.
Lillard broke to the left, but Zeng Xingyang quickly shifted, then Lillard changed direction to the right and broke through again.
Zeng Xingyang’s long arms firmly enveloped Lillard.
Lillard kept trying to change direction but couldn’t shake off Zeng Xingyang.
Lillard didn’t pass the ball but chose to bump off Zeng Xingyang with a back-step to forcefully create space, followed by a quick three-point jump shot.
Zeng Xingyang jumped to defend and disrupt.
This time the disruption was on point.
Lillard’s forced shot heavily hit the rim.
Jokic firmly controlled the rebound.
Zeng Xingyang punched the air in celebration, knowing his defense was effective, boosting his confidence further.
Jokic dribbled to the front court, handing the ball off to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang attracted a lot of defensive attention from the Blazers, but he remained calm, not insisting on attacking by himself.
Zeng Xingyang passed the ball to Galinari.
After a quick drive, Galinari returned the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
The teammates now have a lot of trust in Zeng Xingyang’s offense.
Zeng Xingyang faced Harkless’s defense again.
Continuous dribbling attempts to shake off but failed.
Though Harkless is not a well-known name, he is among the good defenders in the Blazers lineup.
Zeng Xingyang found it hard to play against him.
Without any hesitation, Zeng Xingyang decisively called for Jokic’s screen.
Zeng Xingyang passed the ball to Jokic, shifting attention and running to Jokic’s back.
Jokic blocked Harkless, passing the ball back to Zeng Xingyang.
Plumlee switched to defending Zeng Xingyang again.
His defense was still tight.
Zeng Xingyang accelerated with a rush from the right, bypassing Plumlee.
Once inside, both Harkless and Ami Nu collaborated to defend Zeng Xingyang.
Passed the ball to Jokic while advancing.
Jokic could have taken the shot but didn’t pause, passing it to the cutting Galinari.
Galinari had a better position there, in an absolute open spot, and decisively rose for a two-handed slam dunk even though he usually dislikes dunking.
Nuggets’ offense was as smooth as flowing water.
It was already time for the starters to rotate back on, but Karl Malone didn’t send the starters in.
The bench was playing pretty well.
This time, Lillard didn’t take the shot himself but passed the ball to CJ McCollum.
The Nuggets had increased their defensive intensity clearly halting the Blazers’ offense.
CJ McCollum used a screen to change direction and break in, shaking off Nelson, with Harris providing help defense.
CJ McCollum split the ball to Harkless.
Harkless took a corner three-point shot.
Missed, and Jokic controlled the rebound.
Jokic directly threw a long pass to Zeng Xingyang.
Trailing Zeng Xingyang was Lillard.
Without any hesitation, initiated a fast break.
In this kind of high-speed transition, Zeng Xingyang had the advantage.
Zeng Xingyang bumped into Lillard, creating space while the Blazers’ interior defense had already returned.
Zeng Xingyang didn’t continue rushing inside but instead hit a deceleration stop outside the three-point line, pulling back between the legs.
Lillard’s defense couldn’t keep up with Zeng Xingyang’s sudden stop rhythm, completely shaken off.
Zeng Xingyang quickly took the jump shot.
The basketball traced a perfect arc.
Another three-pointer.
Zeng Xingyang has been going wild since the start of the second quarter.
After making this shot, he defiantly put his finger to his lips at the camera.
The message was clear.
Those home fans should shut up!!
Zeng Xingyang didn’t feel much pressure tonight, playing with ease on the court.
"This rookie is too arrogant."
"Don’t let him score so easily."
"Defense, teach him a lesson."
The Blazers’ fans were growing agitated.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a fast-break transition but more of a half-transition initiated after grabbing the rebound.
If facing a defensively stronger team, Zeng Xingyang would struggle to make such transitions.
Even Blazers’ fans started to fear Zeng Xingyang playing .