NBA: Rising Superstar!

The Nuggets scored on their first few possessions, showing high efficiency.

Of course, the Warriors weren't far behind and responded in time.

Green advanced with the ball, while Livingston cut in using Bogut's screen.

Green sent a ground pass over, Livingston received the ball, drew the defense, and then threw it out to the perimeter for Thompson.

Thompson caught the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side, without any hesitation, and sprang up.

Thompson had a slight opening.

Zeng Xingyang jumped to interfere but did not complete the block. Thompson's shooting form and rhythm remained unchanged.

The basketball drew a beautiful arc.

"Bang!"

"Swoosh!"

The basketball bounced off the inside rim and then dropped into the net.

12 to 10.

Despite the Nuggets' explosive offense and diverse defense, the score shows they're only leading by 2 points.

The atmosphere at Oracle Arena was overwhelming.

Zeng Xingyang looked at Thompson and shook his head.

Like him, Thompson also possesses strong shooting skills. Even if his defense hadn't lost position, whenever Thompson takes the shot, he maintains a steady accuracy.

In the next few possessions, both teams had turnovers and missed shots, with their shooting percentages dropping and no points scored.

The Nuggets called a time-out to adjust.

Back from the time-out.

The Nuggets' offense continued.

Zeng Xingyang dribbled over, passing the ball to Jokic who came out to support.

At the top of the arc, Jokic observed for a moment, dribbled once, and handed the ball back to Zeng Xingyang, using the momentum to block Livingston.

Jokic's screen was extremely solid, obstructing and then lowering, taking Livingston away.

Zeng Xingyang and Bogut faced off one-on-one, which is what the Nuggets' coach wanted to see.

No matter how intimidating Bogut is inside, once drawn out, Zeng Xingyang has strong mismatched offensive abilities.

When Curry is not on the court, they attack with their big lineup.

Bogut didn't give Zeng Xingyang space, aware of his precise shooting, he was pressured.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Zeng Xingyang quickly lowered the ball and started dribbling.

First on the left side, drawing Bogut's focus to the left, then rapidly changing direction to the right, followed by a diving acceleration.

In one swift move, he dashed past.

Green came to help on defense, but Zeng Xingyang already anticipated his move, executing a euro step to bypass him at the basket.

Thompson came to assist again.

The Warriors' defense put great pressure on Zeng Xingyang.

But Zeng Xingyang had already anticipated this defense, he passed low around Thompson's waist to the cutting Jokic.

Jokic received the ball in the three-second area, raising it over Livingston, easily placing it into the hoop.

14 to 10

The two worked together seamlessly, Jokic knew to support Zeng Xingyang rather than watching him fight alone.

In isolated situations, a player might score, but consistently playing this way would come at a great cost.

O'Neal said, "A very familiar duo cooperation, Zeng and Nikola Jokic displayed solid coordination on the court, every big guy enjoys teaming up with Zeng, tonight the Warriors will frequently encounter their offensive partnership, let's see if they can withstand it."

Reggie Miller said, "The Warriors primarily rely on their second half, their openings usually aren't great, but they are feared for maintaining high-intensity all-round game play throughout."

Barkley said, "I agree too, under Nikola and Zeng's leadership, the Nuggets' starters won't have much issue, the differences will become apparent during the bench match-ups."

On the court, the Warriors' offense continued.

Livingston brought the ball forward, Harris came up directly to pressure defense, applying stress.

Mike Malone didn't want the Warriors' offensive passes to be executed, as it would cause great fatigue, hence they applied pressure to the ball handler.

Livingston's dribble became a bit shaky, but he managed to pass the ball to Green before a forced turnover.

Green held the ball, observing, while Grant also came up to restrict his passing, although it's much harder to limit passing compared to dribbling.

Continuous close defense would lead to openings in the Nuggets' defensive area. Green passed the ball to Barnes positioned on the left low block.

Barnes backed against Pope, who exerted heavy pressure.

Barnes engaged in a post-up against Pope, who maintained his position, leading Barnes to opt for a turnaround jumper.

Pope used his long arm to disrupt.

"Bang!"

The basketball bounced hard off the rim and up.

Jokic edged out Bogut, securely grabbing the rebound.

The Warriors' pass-and-play hasn't been executed, and they have become entangled in a one-on-one positional battle with the Nuggets.

This was also carefully researched by Zeng Xingyang, Jokic, and the coaching staff.

The Warriors' main weakness now is the lack of players capable of one-on-one play.

The most suitable player for anchoring Warrior's positional attack is Barnes.

But Barnes' isolation abilities find it difficult to break the Nuggets' defense.

Not that Barnes isn't skilled, his abilities rank above average among league small forwards.

The key is the Nuggets' impressive perimeter defense, whether Zeng Xingyang, Harris, Pope, or Grant, Barnes has no assured advantage against any of them.

Therefore, once forced into one-on-one, the Nuggets' defensive strategy has succeeded.

The fans on site also felt somewhat helpless watching tonight's Warriors' form.

Many can't fathom why the Warriors had smooth offensive in the last matchup, while they're being constricted this time.

Curry was wiping sweat with a towel on the sidelines as well.

The Nuggets' tenacity exceeded their expectations; their pre-game preparations overlooked these factors.

Many times, watching game tape doesn't evoke deep insights, but facing the reality is where the true understanding emerges.

Jokic dribbled to the front court, hand-to-hand pass back to Zeng Xingyang, then smoothly screened.

Zeng Xingyang utilized the screen, quickly finding an opening, executed a dribble shift to push the ball from right side to left low hand, weaving through Bogut and Livingston.

Green came to assist again defensively, specially keeping an eye on Jokic's route this time, denying Zeng Xingyang a passing lane.

This time Zeng Xingyang didn't pass to Jokic, but after observing, he threw the ball to Pope moving to the right side of the free-throw line.

Pope caught the ball mid-stride, jumped for a shot, steady execution with minimal interference.

"Swoosh!"

16 to 10.

Pope's specialty is shooting, since joining the Nuggets from the Pistons, his open shot opportunities increased significantly, naturally boosting his shooting percentage.

"Nice pass." Pope waved to Zeng Xingyang.

Playing alongside Zeng Xingyang and Jokic is very comfortable, receiving the ball means an offensive chance, defensive pressure falls entirely on them.

Cole felt exhausted watching from the sideline, thinking the Warriors were thoroughly analyzed, whereas he was still perplexed about the Nuggets.

Zeng Xingyang's assists silenced Oracle Center, Nuggets' offense ran smoothly, establishing their complete dominance.