In the second quarter, both Zeng Xingyang and Jokic rested for a few minutes.
On the Clippers side, Crawford led the play.
Crawford’s performance at home was noticeably better than when playing away games before.
The Clippers’ second lineup relentlessly chased the score, causing the Nuggets’ second lineup to struggle.
Nurkic is the type of European center who knows a bit of everything, but isn’t particularly skilled at anything.
Of course, in terms of height, he is quite strong.
Today, Nurkic was overly eager to prove himself, which resulted in halting the team’s offense when faced with double teams.
This led to the Nuggets’ second lineup becoming passive in their offensive plays.
minutes and 12 seconds.
The score reached 39 to 43.
The Clippers had overtaken the score, and Mike Malone called a timeout.
The Nuggets’ starters returned to the court.
The Clippers also adjusted their personnel, with Crawford replacing Wesley Johnson on the court.
The first possession after the timeout.
The Nuggets’ offense.
Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the frontcourt, passed to Jokic, and then pretended to position himself outside the three-point line but directly went for an Inner Cut with Paul.
Jokic made a high pass to Zeng Xingyang.
Although Paul’s defense was good, he had a natural disadvantage.
This play was perfectly executed by both without letting the ball touch the ground, completely operating in the air.
After receiving the ball, Zeng Xingyang adjusted and took three steps.
He shook off Paul, faced the unprepared Griffin under the basket, and scored.
Zeng Xingyang already has the ability to finish under the basket against larger opponents.
The Clippers’ offense.
Paul dribbled to the frontcourt, then passed to Griffin, while he pulled away to the side.
Griffin passed the ball to Crawford on the side.
Crawford was outside the right three-point line, facing Harris’ defense, weaving through with flashy dribbles combined with behind-the-back moves before taking a jump shot for three.
Harris maintained his defensive position, but Crawford’s three-point shot was phenomenal.
Even with a high difficulty, he still managed to score against the defense.
Zhang Weiping said, "Crawford is a typical streaky shooter. When he plays out of his mind, nobody can stop him. The Nuggets need to be careful."
Yu Jia said, "Indeed, Crawford’s performance today is fantastic."
On the court, after scoring, Crawford provocatively glanced at Zeng Xingyang, as if to say, can you play ?
Zeng Xingyang ignored Crawford’s provocation.
The Nuggets’ offense came again.
Paul continued his small defensive moves, which fueled Zeng Xingyang’s anger; he directly dribbled outside the right three-point line, signaling to spread out.
No pick-and-roll needed, Jokic stood firm on the other side to distract the defense.
All Nuggets players watched as Zeng Xingyang faced Paul in a solo duel.
The Clippers players had no intention of providing help.
Zeng Xingyang faced Paul with consecutive crossovers.
Paul wanted to swipe and steal the ball but was evaded by Zeng Xingyang, and instead created an opportunity.
With a cross step, he collected and made a decisive jump shot from beyond the three-point line.
Paul’s speed was slightly faster than Zeng Xingyang, but he couldn’t exert much interference.
The three-pointer scored directly.
Zeng Xingyang quickly responded to Crawford’s three-point shot.
"You can’t stop me, get someone else to do it." Zeng Xingyang shouted at Paul, then made a gliding celebration gesture mocking "you’re too short."
Paul was irritated, but he had to admit that he couldn’t defend against Zeng Xingyang now.
Zeng Xingyang was using the height difference disadvantage of the two, combined with his high shooting percentage, which made Paul’s defense very difficult.
If he couldn’t steal the ball, it was easy to be caught and finished.
The fans in the arena saw Zeng Xingyang’s taunt and quickly sent out boos.
"Respond to him, Chris"
"Take him on, don’t back down."
"This rookie is too arrogant."
Paul still had many fans in Los Angeles who couldn’t bear Paul being so aggrieved.
After dribbling to the frontcourt, he didn’t hurry but passed the ball to Crawford.
Crawford continued to showcase his exceptional individual offensive ability, swiftly changing direction with rhythm adjustment, breaking through Harris on the right side.
At the high left position by the free-throw line, Crawford faced Jokic’s secondary defense, made a jump shot and scored again.
Crawford’s craze continued.
The reason why Crawford was hard to limit on the offensive end was his comprehensive offensive skills.
He could find shooting opportunities while dribbling at high speed, and could use agile dribble techniques to break into the paint for a tough finish.
He had won the Sixth Man of the Year award and scored over 50+ points, all proving his capabilities.
The Nuggets’ offense came again.
Jokic dribbled past half-court, saw Zeng Xingyang being heavily guarded with no good solo opportunity, and then passed the ball to Galinarli.
Galinarli then passed the ball to Pope in the left inner line.
Pope passed to Harris on the outside, Harris further passed to Jokic at the top arc.
The Nuggets’ ball movement was very fast, basically revolving around Jokic.
Zeng Xingyang stayed at the corner for a while, seeing a chance, he quickly ran towards Jokic.
Jokic screened and handed off the ball, and Paul slipped through the screen, pursuing Zeng Xingyang.
Jokic moved inside, distracting other defenders, allowing Zeng Xingyang to face Paul again.
"Your defense is terrible, you can’t defend me. Get someone better on me, at least save some face." Zeng Xingyang taunted.