jdhmnovel Chapter 497 - 409: Easy Win in Western Conference Finals Game 1!
Chapter 497 - 409: Easy Win in Western Conference Finals Game 1!
...
Besides Zeng Xingyang winning the MVP, Jokic also made it to the All-NBA First Team.
With the advent of the small-ball era, Jokic is gradually showcasing the style of becoming the NBA’s top center.
Butler, Gordon, Pope, and others did not receive any accolades, but they don’t mind; their very presence in the Nuggets is as role players.
Game 1 quickly kicked off at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
The Nuggets once again faced the Rockets.
This time, the Rockets were fully prepared.
...
"CCTV."
"CCTV."
"Here is the live broadcast of the NBA playoffs, with the Nuggets playing at home against the Houston Rockets."
"Both the Rockets and Nuggets are teams everyone is familiar with, so I won’t introduce them in detail."
Indeed, both the Nuggets and Rockets are now among the teams with the most fans in the country.
The Rockets accumulated quite a few fans since the Yao Ming era, and recently, as the Rockets’ performance improved, the fans gradually returned.
The two teams concluded the entrance ceremony.
The starting players remained on the court.
Rockets’ starters: Paul, Harden, Ariza, Tucker, Capela.
The Rockets’ lineup moves very quickly, and their defense isn’t bad either, always maintaining an advantage in flexibility on the court.
On the Nuggets’ side, Zeng Xingyang, Butler, Pope, Gordon, Jokic.
The Nuggets still have an all-round lineup; except for Jokic, it looks like other positions can defend from position 1 to 5.
As the referee tossed the ball high into the air.
Jokic and Capela jumped simultaneously.
Jokic tapped the ball to Gordon.
Gordon smoothly passed it to Butler.
At this moment, Zeng Xingyang dropped to the low post on the right side.
Butler signaled a tactical gesture, indicating teammates to spread out and give Zeng Xingyang a one-on-one chance.
The Nuggets quickly spread out.
Zeng Xingyang pinned Paul behind him.
Butler lobbed the ball in high.
Paul kept trying to aggressively swipe at Zeng Xingyang’s ball, hitting his hand.
However, the referee didn’t call it, and Zeng Xingyang didn’t mind; instead, he used a probing step, leaning against Paul.
"Bang!"
Paul was shoved aside.
Zeng Xingyang used his core power, spun around, and took a fadeaway jump shot.
Paul tried hard to defend.
But it didn’t have much effect.
"Swish!"
to 2.
As long as Paul is defending against Zeng Xingyang, Zeng Xingyang will definitely attack.
D’Antoni at the sideline signaled Ariza to defend Zeng Xingyang.
Continuing to let Paul defend might crush his defensive confidence due to Zeng Xingyang.
Generally speaking, Paul’s defense isn’t bad, mainly because Zeng Xingyang’s offense is too strong; Zeng Xingyang is also good at exploiting such mismatches.
The Rockets’ offense came next.
After Paul dribbled past half-court, he passed the ball to Harden.
The Rockets’ offensive drive was initiated by Harden.
The focus was on limiting Harden’s individual scoring.
Butler was the first to defend Harden.
Harden also signaled to spread out.
The Rockets players spread out.
The Rockets and Nuggets are similar in this aspect, both employing star-player tactics.
The pressure Butler applied on Harden was immense.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Harden had to adjust his rhythm with a series of low dribble crossovers before accelerating to the right.
Butler couldn’t keep up, and Gordon and Pope quickly double-teamed Harden.
The Nuggets’ defense is strong in its team-oriented approach. As soon as the first defense line is breached, the second and third help defense points quickly step up to pressure the offensive player.
Harden’s attack route was blocked, so he had to pass the ball to Ariza on the outside.
Ariza caught the ball on the right 45-degree angle and took a jump shot for a three-pointer.
Originally, Ariza thought he had an open shot, but upon jumping, he realized Zeng Xingyang was flying over for the block.
Ariza was slightly disturbed by Zeng Xingyang.
"Clang!"
The basketball hit the rim hard and bounced up.
Jokic snatched the rebound with one hand.
Once Jokic had the ball, the entire Nuggets team quickly pressed forward.
Jokic dribbled as he charged ahead.
The Nuggets don’t have a high demand for traditional point guards, primarily because almost everyone on the team has good passing awareness.
Once Jokic reached the frontcourt, he handed off the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
Then quickly set a screen to block Ariza.
Capela swiftly switched to defend Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang used Jokic’s screen to make a left change of direction breakthrough.
The Rockets’ defense quickly collapsed, and at this moment, Pope ran from a diagonal position to the left corner.
Zeng Xingyang decisively swung the ball with one hand.
The open Pope confidently received the ball and took a jump shot.
The basketball traced a beautiful arc.
"Swish!"
A bullseye!!
to 5.
The Nuggets scored on their first two offensive possessions at the start of the game.
The cheers from the crowd at the Pepsi Center in Denver grew louder, as fans loved seeing this, and the team maintained a leading position on the court.
Zhang Weiping exclaimed, "The Nuggets have a higher offensive efficiency, Zeng Xingyang’s pass to Pope, and Pope’s shot is more composed."
On the court, the Rockets’ offense came again.
This time, Harden continued to break through. However, when he tried a low hand-off pass to Capela, Capela fumbled the ball. The ball was immediately surrounded by Butler, Pope, and Jokic.
Butler dove to save the ball and passed it to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the frontcourt, this time with Harden defending.
Outside the right three-point line, Jokic ran over, wanting to set a screen, but Zeng Xingyang motioned Jokic to leave; he didn’t need a screen.
Zeng Xingyang faced Harden’s defense.
He chose to continuously change his dribbling direction before stepping back for a three-pointer.
Harden didn’t lose his defensive position, but his defending movement couldn’t jump up, not putting much pressure on Zeng Xingyang.
The basketball traced a beautiful arc.
"Swish!"
A bullseye!!
Through the net.
to 8.
"Timeout!!"
D’Antoni, without a choice, called a timeout early in the game.
The start of the game was a bit tough for the Rockets.
The start of the game already spelled out tonight’s result.
In the Nuggets’ home court, even though the Rockets gradually found their rhythm, they couldn’t restrain the Nuggets.
The Nuggets’ offense played quite smoothly, always targeting the Rockets’ mismatches in attacks.
However, the Rockets were different from other teams; they didn’t crumble, only confirming their loss in the last three minutes of the game.
The final score of this game was 120 to 128, with the Nuggets taking Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Zeng Xingyang exploded with a triple-double of 52 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists tonight, while Jokic contributed 18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks.
On the Rockets’ side, Harden gathered 44 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds, and Paul had 22 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds.
After losing the game, the entire Rockets team quickly returned to the locker room, sensing that the Nuggets were tougher than the Warriors.