Owen dribbles over and passes to James.
Although Owen is the point guard, most of the organization is done by James.
At the top of the arc, James faces Zeng Xingyang and chooses to decisively drive to the right.
The physical confrontation between the two, James has a certain advantage, but saying it’s easy is absolutely impossible; if he forces it, he might lose his strength at the basket and get blocked by Jokic.
James can only dribble back a bit and call for a screen.
Love comes up, and Zeng Xingyang is blocked.
Using the space obtained from the screen, James aggressively charges in with the ball.
James fully accelerates, carrying Grant, and makes a four-step layup to score.
This play also drew a foul from Grant.
Zeng Xingyang and Jokic jump up to protest to the referee.
"He traveled on this play."
"Look, he just took step one, step two, step three, step four."
Jokic even imitated James’s layup steps.
The scene was very humorous.
Zeng Xingyang also gestured to the referee.
But the referee ignored it.
James steps up to the free-throw line, calmly shoots amidst boos, and makes the free throw.
So far, James has scored 15 points, nearly half of the team’s total.
Jokic and Zeng Xingyang are filled with anger.
Harris dribbles past half-court and passes to Jokic.
Zeng Xingyang runs over to receive the hand-off pass.
Jokic then turns to make a screen move.
James is delayed, and TT comes up for help defense.
Zeng Xingyang adjusts his dribble to the right side, slightly shifting the pace.
Then a step-back three-point jump shot.
TT’s body rhythm hasn’t adjusted, unable to jump for a block.
The basketball traces a high arc.
A three-point barrage, Nuggets lead the score again.
The audience erupts in enthusiastic cheers, fans are thrilled by Zeng Xingyang’s tough three-point shooting spree.
This is the showdown between Zeng Xingyang and James.
"Awesome, just play like that, there are a bunch of people on the perimeter, but Xingyang dares to shoot."
"Even though James is the defender, Xingyang is unafraid."
Kovan is shouting continuously in the live broadcast room; this is what he has been eagerly waiting for, beating the giant gorilla!
James’s personal offense has started strong, but Zeng Xingyang doesn’t back down, equally powerful in response.
Denver’s fans are thrilled; the Nuggets lacked such a super star in recent years.
Owen stops the game under David Blatt’s command after crossing half-court.
"LeBron, can you increase the defensive intensity? Don’t let him shoot threes," David Blatt said.
A perplexed look spreads across James’s face.
Wasn’t he always playing with intensity?
Just couldn’t stop it.
James is a bit annoyed with David Blatt.
"Increase defensive intensity, maintain the confrontation, force them into mistakes, don’t give that rookie room to shoot, don’t worry too much about others’ offense," David Blatt kept instructing, dissatisfied with the team’s performance lately.
The Knights nodded; they couldn’t have anticipated how challenging the Nuggets, unimpressive last season, would become this season.
On the Nuggets’ side, Mike Malone praised Zeng Xingyang and encouraged everyone to defend without being affected by the referees.
Today’s referees didn’t favor the home team whistles; they were relatively fair.
Though the Nuggets’ players seem unable to stop James on the court, everyone is trying hard.
This active defensive intensity is what Mike Malone and the executives hoped to see; the team’s mindset is undergoing a revolutionary change since they brought in Zeng Xingyang.
The timeout ends quickly.
Knight’s offensive round.
Owen crosses half-court with the ball and passes it to James.
James plays a pick and roll, Zeng Xingyang bypasses the defense.
James makes a cross pass to Owen on the other side.
Owen gets the ball and quickly makes a wide back dribble to the right, charging forward; Harris follows swiftly.
Unexpectedly Owen pulls the ball back to the left, using the gap in rhythm to smoothly bypass Harris.
Jokic moves to assist on defense, but he is still too slow; Owen easily leans on Jokic, spins to the basket, and finishes with a switch-hand layup.
The basketball precisely finds the net.
Owen is also starting to ramp up.
Jokic feels a bit frustrated.
His speed is still too slow; otherwise, he might have had a chance to block that shot.
It’s the first time Jokic has thought about this.
Nuggets quickly respond with their offense.
Zeng Xingyang initiates a pick and roll with Jokic; after the screen, Zeng Xingyang moves right and attracts the defense.
Then a behind-the-back, bounce pass to Jokic at the free-throw line.
Jokic makes the mid-range shot.
After the first half barrage of missed shots, the second half sees the offenses open up.
Actually, it’s Owen and James using powerful individual skills to create opportunities; Nuggets’ defense is constantly impacted.
Fortunately, Zeng Xingyang and Jokic are very dependable, steadily executing each offensive play without letting the Knights dictate the rhythm.
The first half ends with a score of 52 to 52.
"Even at halftime, Nuggets continue to match Knights smoothly."
"This match is thrilling to watch, both teams offer playoff-level offensive and defensive battles."
Zhang Weiping is very excited, Zeng Xingyang remains stable in such high-pressure situations.