Chapter 158, scoring 20+ in a single section, initiating a scoring frenzy.
"Whoa!"
Seeing this, the fans at the scene all gasped.
The Clippers fans were hoping to crush the Nuggets at home, but Zeng Xingyang smoothly delivered such a flashy slam dunk at the beginning.
Zeng Xingyang patted his chest after landing, then howled at the camera.
Today, I'm going to beat you in Los Angeles!
Paul looked at Zeng Xingyang's back, gritting his teeth.
Zeng Xingyang played this round very flashy.
After intercepting Paul, he even high-fived and pre-celebrated with the famous singer Taylor Swift on the sideline before completing the slam dunk.
It was enough to make it into the top five plays.
This kind of drama is greatly appreciated by Los Angeles people, and even though this player is their opponent, many Los Angeles fans cheered.
"Xingyang's play was amazing, stole from Paul, and confidently high-fived Taylor Swift. I'm jealous, sigh."
"In all honesty, on the road to showboating, Zeng Xingyang is not far from Jordan and Bird."
"The media captured Zeng Xingyang entering a hotel with a member of a girl group last night, and the member rushed out early in the morning with tousled hair. The gossip in Korea is going crazy."
"Think about Jordan, Chamberlain, Xingyang's thing with women last night is nothing."
"Xingyang is truly handsome, damn, has great appeal to women. Gossip says Scarlett also has a good relationship with him."
Fans are buzzing online domestically.
Are the Clippers playing at home?
Are they a playoff-level strong team?
So what!
Now the Nuggets can take on any strong team.
With Zeng Xingyang on the court, the Nuggets players all became more confident.
Paul isn't supposed to have stable handles, but Zeng Xingyang intercepted him just like that.
Taylor Swift cupped the hand she high-fived with Zeng Xingyang, sporting a maternal smile.
She really enjoyed such a seamless partnership with Zeng Xingyang.
Moreover, intercepting little Paul and then completing a slam dunk was truly awesome.
Taylor Swift is different from many women, she's a true basketball fan, she knows how tough it is to steal from Paul, but Zeng Xingyang did it.
On the court, the Clippers' offense comes again.
Paul quickly responded.
Paul and Griffin's pick and roll, afterwards a bounce pass to Griffin.
Griffin received the ball and charged to the basket past Galinari, finishing with a layup.
5 to 2.
The Nuggets' inside defense isn't giving strong pressure today, Griffin was more decisive in this attack.
The Nuggets' offense.
Zeng Xingyang brings it to the front court, continues to give it to Jokic.
Paul sticks close to Zeng Xingyang, constantly pulling little moves.
Zeng Xingyang unhesitatingly swats away Paul's hand on himself.
The referee looks at the two, they're both big players, doesn't whistle.
Jokic passes the ball to Zeng Xingyang on the right side beyond the three-point line.
Zeng Xingyang leans with the ball, constantly swinging it back and forth.
At this moment, Paul doesn't dare to make a move, fearing Zeng Xingyang will cause a shooting foul.
Zeng Xingyang takes a strong dribble step to the right side, then straightforwardly rises over Paul for the shot.
Paul desperately tries to block it, but fails.
"Swish!"
8 to 2.
Paul felt Zeng Xingyang had improved since the last encounter, attacking more decisively.
He never thought Zeng Xingyang would shoot over his defense.
Last time Paul remembered Zeng Xingyang didn't play this wildly.
However, the match is just beginning; no need to overthink.
Clippers' offense comes again.
After Paul brings it up to the front court, he originally wanted to create some attacking opportunities for teammates, but Zeng Xingyang's defense was tight.
Paul passes to Redick, starts positioning,
Zeng Xingyang occasionally tugs on Paul's jersey, while Paul keeps slapping his hand, the two are entangled continuously.
After a round of ball passing, it's back in Paul's hands.
Paul is now at the top of the arc, Zeng Xingyang backs off a bit, defensive against the breakthrough.
Paul is stressed out.
Zeng Xingyang's height and wingspan make it tough for him to be beaten one-on-one.
Only able to play pick and roll.
Little Jordan comes up for the screen on Zeng Xingyang, Paul slips inside, mismatched against Jokic.
Paul changes pace, stops for a close-range shot.
"Swish!"
Sunk it steadily.
8 to 4.
Paul's skills are strong, not much problem against Jokic mismatch.
Nuggets' offense comes again.
Jokic receives the ball from Galinari's inbound pass, then accelerates straight ahead.
The Nuggets have great overall speed, Clippers didn't expect Jokic to advance so quickly this time.
Their defense hasn't settled into position.
As soon as Jokic passes half-court, he gives the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang observes the defense, doesn't slow down, directly holding the ball, speeds up to the right side.
Paul predicted Zeng Xingyang's offensive direction, quickly slides over to block.
"Bang!"
As Zeng Xingyang collides with Paul, he performs a behind-the-back dribble change from right to left while accelerating to bypass.
Paul can't keep up, Zeng Xingyang's confrontation leaves him unresponsive.
Paul never expected Zeng Xingyang's ball control to be this outstanding, usually wing players rarely can do such high-contact changes.
Zeng Xingyang saw the open front, he took a step and combined the ball, leaping up.
Redick came over trying to hug Zeng Xingyang, but failed, only grabbing his jersey.
"Beep beep!!"
The referee's whistle sounded.
Zeng Xingyang's movement didn't stop; he rose into the air with both hands and slammed the dunk.
"Frame!!"
The basketball was slammed into the hoop.
10-4.
The referee signaled the two points were valid, plus a foul shot.
Redick signaled to the referee that he was innocent, but the referee ignored him.
Zeng Xingyang didn't bother with Redick, he completely disregarded such a guy.
The big screen kept replaying the recent score.
The strength!
The impact!
It shouldn't have appeared on Zeng Xingyang, but it did.
If the newly-entered-league Zeng Xingyang was like Thompson, now his playing style was more like Durant.
Isn't Durant's way of passing others just like this?
Redick wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He felt again the gap between a role player and a superstar.
Rivers on the sideline quickly signaled Paul to call a timeout.
Paul dribbled the ball across the half-court and called for a timeout.
"Oh, God, I never thought Zeng's dribbling and passing abilities have progressed so fast, this guy can actually play like KD now."
Barkley exclaimed.
"This offensive play is full of details, showcasing dribbling skills and impact."
Smith said.
After the timeout, Paul initiated the pick and roll.
However, this pick and roll wasn't solid, Zeng Xingyang circumvented the defense and disrupted Paul.
Paul's sudden mid-range shot missed.
The rebound was grabbed by Pope.
Pope passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
The defender changed to Wesley Johnson.
Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the front court and passed the ball to Jokic.
Jokic paused, observing his teammates' positioning.
The difference between Galinari and Grant is that he has better shooting ability, but his athleticism is slightly lacking, not as proficient at inner cuts as Grant.
And wanting to easily pass for an open shot in position play has a certain difficulty.
At this time, Paul was defending against Harris.
Zeng Xingyang called Harris's screen.
"Bang!"
Harris came to screen, in the moment Paul and Wesley Johnson switched defense.
Jokic smashed the ball over.
Zeng Xingyang caught it and rose up.
Paul and Wesley Johnson both rushed toward Zeng Xingyang.
But it had little effect.
Three-point jump shot released!
"Swish!"
Clean and crisp, just in!!
13-4.
Zeng Xingyang and Jokic high-fived in celebration.
The Clippers' offense.
After a round of exterior ball passing.
The ball went back to Paul, this time he called for a double screen.
Griffin and Little Jordan simultaneously came up to block Zeng Xingyang.
After Paul broke through, he passed the ball to Redick on the other side.
Redick's angled side three-point shot released.
"Swish!"
13-7.
Both teams showed tendencies for an offensive battle.
Nuggets' offense.
Zeng Xingyang pushed with the ball, being squeezed by Paul and Redick.
Pushed the ball to Jokic, then Zeng Xingyang started positioning, Galinari screened for him.
While Zeng Xingyang was positioning, Jokic was posting up, Pope was cutting inside.
Jokic turned and bypassed Little Jordan, successfully causing chaos in the Clippers' defensive line.
Jokic kept cool and found the corner-running Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang received the ball while running, made a deceptive fake move, flew Wesley Johnson.
Then he moved along the baseline, stepped in and stopped for a mid-range.
"Swish!"
Score again.
15-7.
Zeng Xingyang had a great touch in the first quarter, the Clippers increased defensive intensity on him, his chances became rarer.
After Crawford was subbed by the Clippers, the offensive end also opened up.
After all, being away, the Nuggets' defensive intensity wasn't as high as at home, so the Clippers scored fast with their offense.
First quarter ended.
The game was 35-30, Nuggets leading by 5 points.
Zeng Xingyang scored 20 points in a single quarter!