Every minute of the finals is crucial, it’s a time to test the overall depth of both teams.
It’s not enough to have 5 strong players, you need at least 7 to 8 to be powerful.
The teammates and coaching staff on the sidelines celebrated with Zeng Xingyang with high-fives.
In the 12 minutes that Zeng Xingyang was on the court, he achieved a luxurious stat line of 10 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and 1 block. Such a performance is very efficient.
He also demonstrated how an Asian guard can aspire to make it to the NBA.
It’s okay not to handle the ball, or to not be great at dribbling, but you must know how to shoot and keep up on defense.
As long as you master defense and shooting to the extreme, there will be a place for you in the NBA.
"Zeng Xingyang’s talent is average, but he knows how to seize opportunities, making the most of every shot, and his defense is a key asset for the team. He will have a vast space to survive in the NBA."
"Zeng Xingyang’s advanced stats are fascinating, his efficiency is too high."
"I think Zeng Xingyang is at least a lottery-level rookie, his immediate combat power on the court is too strong."
"Yes, Zeng Xingyang’s potential may not be super high, but teams needing immediate combat power need him."
"This guy used his three-point intimidation and positioning ability to drain a lot of defensive attention from Duke University."
"I’m starting to imagine what Zeng Xingyang will look like after entering the NBA."
"On closer look, Zeng Xingyang is quite handsome."
The fans were discussing.
With Zeng Xingyang stepping down, Winslow showed a strong desire to perform on the court, consistently breaking through and scoring.
Lyles was somewhat passive defending him, unable to stop his first step.
This was mainly because Lyles’ research on Winslow wasn’t as thorough as Zeng Xingyang’s.
Players like Winslow are hard to limit once they get going; if he can’t pick up speed, he doesn’t have many options. Zeng Xingyang’s defense against Winslow was all about not letting him gain momentum.
With 1 minute and 12 seconds left in the first half, Calipari called a timeout with the score at 46 to 43.
The University of Kentucky led by 3 points.
Compared to past finals, both teams’ offensive efficiency in this game is quite high.
Calipari signaled Zeng Xingyang over, put an arm around his shoulder, and said, "Zeng, shoot when you have the opportunity."
Calipari had absolute trust in Zeng Xingyang.
This trust wasn’t built overnight, but through performances in one game after another.
Players who can play in the finals aren’t there through connections; it’s all about strength!
"OK." Zeng Xingyang nodded.
Calipari could see that Duke University’s defense was a bit lax.
This kind of frantic showdown could make both sides numb to defense.
At this time, players with high scoring efficiency must be put in, otherwise, you can’t keep up with the opponent’s scoring speed.
Seeing Zeng Xingyang back on the court, Coach K also called Winslow over and instructed, "Watch his positioning, don’t worry about his breakthrough, don’t let him score, okay?"
"No problem, I can handle him."
Winslow nodded with a serious expression.
Winslow had already felt how difficult Zeng Xingyang was to deal with, he dared not be careless at all, and he made a solemn pledge to Coach K.
The game quickly resumed.
Everyone at the University of Kentucky knew how to attack once Zeng Xingyang was back on court at the end of the first half.
From this point on, it was all about playing around Zeng Xingyang.
This wasn’t the first time Kentucky had played Zeng Xingyang at the last minute of the first half; they’d done this many times before.
Tyler Ulis brought the ball to the frontcourt.
Zeng Xingyang received the ball one meter beyond the right three-point line, and Winslow came up to him.
Towns stepped out, and Zeng Xingyang passed the ball to Towns, then ran towards the other side of Towns.
Towns smoothly screened Winslow.
Towns gave a hand-off pass to Zeng Xingyang, who was then guarded by Okafor.
Okafor’s help defense wasn’t that fast.
Just a bit slower, giving Zeng Xingyu some space.
Even though Zeng Xingyang was one step away from the three-point line, he didn’t hesitate and decisively rose to shoot.
That tiny space was all he needed.
His body swayed with rhythm, releasing the ball.
Okafor was late in his lunge, and the basketball drew a beautiful arc.
Amidst the gasps of the fans.
The ball pierced through the net, and the cheers of the fans rose again.
Zeng Xingyang’s shooting looked so amazing.
Zeng Xingyang gestured a "you’re too short" celebration, gliding back to his own half.
This gesture wasn’t aimed specifically at Okafor, but everyone could feel the taunting intent.
Okafor’s expression immediately turned unpleasant, while Winslow also frowned.
Duke University’s offense.
Jones chose to pass the ball to Okafor inside.
This round, Towns defended well, leaving Okafor with no opportunity.
Okafor passed the ball to Jones.
They rotated the ball repeatedly, and after a series of passes and transitions, the ball ended up with Winslow.
Zeng Xingyang lowered his center of gravity, spread his hands wide, and applied pressure to Winslow.
Winslow wanted to recover; he chose to forcefully challenge Zeng Xingyang, dribbling to the right for a breakthrough.
Zeng Xingyang swiftly moved sideways to body-check Winslow. Winslow couldn’t charge smoothly and opted for a crossover pullback, stopping abruptly for a mid-range shot.
This shot was somewhat reckless; this isn’t Winslow’s favored offensive tactic.
Zeng Xingyang managed to interfere.
The basketball hit the rim heavily and bounced high up, Koulistan jumped up and secured the rebound.
Koulistan passed the ball to Booker, who carried the ball across the half court.
Booker wasn’t in a hurry; there were only 27 seconds left until halftime.
The time needed to be pressured.
Booker dribbled to the top of the arc to control the pace.
Zeng Xingyang moved on the other side to distract.
With only 7 seconds left on the shot clock, Booker made his move.
Towns and Koulistan went up together to provide Booker with a horns screen.
Duke University’s defense attention quickly collapsed inward toward Booker.
Zeng Xingyang keenly sensed Winslow’s defensive gap, feigned running to the up-line position, then quickly pivoted to head back towards the corner.
Booker, using the horns screen, changed direction and dribbled into the paint.
He spotted Zeng Xingyang’s opportunity to receive the ball.
Booker had no space to attack himself, decisively passing the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
This forced pass from Booker was slightly slow.
Winslow reacted quickly; by the time Zeng Xingyang got the ball, Winslow was already in front of him, forcing him into the corner.
Only 3 seconds remained at the end of the half.
Many Kentucky fans in the arena grew worried; they didn’t think Zeng Xingyang could manage this shot.
Such forced holding shots were not his forte.
Zeng Xingyang faked a move, but Winslow didn’t jump.
At the second attempt, Zeng Xingyang decisively rose up.
He pushed off the ground powerfully, rising into a spinning fadeaway three-pointer, releasing at the peak height.
Winslow hadn’t anticipated Zeng Xingyang’s decisiveness; he was slightly slow, extending his arm in an attempt to block.
Zeng Xingyang’s shot adjusted the arc higher, losing his balance and falling on the ground after the release.
As the basketball sailed through the air, the time ran out.
Zeng Xingyang quickly sat up, watching the trajectory of the ball.
The basketball painted a rainbow in the sky.
A cold three-point arrow pierced directly into Coach K’s heart.
Before Zeng Xingyang stepped onto the court, Kentucky was leading by just 3 points; within a mere minute, the lead stretched to 9 points.
Coach K furiously scolded the benched Winslow: "Can’t your defense be a bit tougher?"
Winslow knew he couldn’t argue with Coach K, and kept his head bowed, not daring to respond.
Earlier, he had vowed to perform, but Zeng Xingyang had come up and hit two three-pointers, leaving him utterly speechless.
Booker and Towns quickly rushed over to pull up the seated Zeng Xingyang.
One patted him on the head, the other on the back.
Zeng Xingyang also opened his arms excitedly, high-fiving the two in celebration.
The last buzzer-beater had a significant element of luck; under Winslow’s intense defense, just getting a shot off was a challenge, scoring it was a stroke of luck.
But isn’t luck also part of one’s skills?
"Was it luck? That last shot could’ve been luck."
"But what about the shots he made before?"
"Where did all your pre-match arrogance go?"
"Can you still defend? If not, we’ll change players."
In Duke University’s locker room, away from the cameras, Coach K unleashed verbal fury at Winslow.
In Coach K’s view, Winslow underestimated Zeng Xingyang, not studying Zeng Xingyang’s footage, leading to a simplistic view of him.
Simply assuming Zeng Xingyang could only shoot.
The Warriors’ Klay Thompson can only shoot too, but who can completely stop him?
Defense requires thoroughly studying your opponent’s habits, positioning, and actions—those details.
Then, you need to give everything on the court, only then is there a chance for defensive success.
Evidently, Winslow hadn’t achieved this in the first half.
"I can defend; I will handle him in the second half." Winslow’s eyes were bloodshot, and he furiously promised Coach K.
Seeing Winslow’s state, Coach K refrained from further scolding, and instead began planning: "In the second half, switch on screens, make sure you’re fast, don’t let them have so many open shots on the perimeter."
"Expand the defense, move quicker."
"Trailing by 9 points isn’t much; as long as we hold on, there’s still hope."
Winslow is Duke’s best perimeter defender; if he can’t manage it, single defense from others would be even harder.