NBA: Rising Superstar!

"Stay calm, don't panic."

"Play slowly."

Green roared at his teammates on the court.

The Nuggets had a very strong start, showing more depth in both offense and defense compared to their last round opponents, the Rockets.

Before the game, Green had mocked that the Nuggets were a team led by two rookies.

His words and attitude were filled with disdain.

But now Green felt he was paying for his underestimation.

The Warriors were on offense again.

Livingston did not speed up the pace but moved to the frontcourt with his back to the basket and passed to Green.

Green signaled to stabilize.

Green passed the ball to Bogut inside.

Bogut leaned on Jokic and began a post-up play.

At this moment, Green made a quick cut past Grant.

Bogut flicked the ball to Green with a low hand.

Livingston also cut in from the other side.

Green passed the ball to Livingston.

Livingston took the pass, stepped back three steps against Harris, and shot.

"Bang!"

"Beep beep!"

"Swish!"

Livingston took advantage of some space, making a strong scoring move while drawing a foul.

Harris was breathing heavily. Livingston's talent was outstanding, making it very challenging to fully limit him.

Livingston also fell to the ground to score this shot; he relied on his physical talent to force it in.

Livingston then stood at the free-throw line and made the extra point steadily.

16 to 13.

"Quick on the help defense later," Zeng Xingyang advised Jokic.

Jokic nodded and said, "Okay."

Jokic reacted a little slowly earlier; his massive body still impacted his movement a lot.

The Nuggets were on offense again.

Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the frontcourt and then passed to Harris.

Harris passed the ball to Jokic.

Zeng Xingyang tried to make a hand-off play with Jokic, but Livingston was on guard this time, bypassing Jokic early, not allowing Zeng Xingyang to receive the pass from Jokic.

Jokic held the ball high, not attempting a hand-off again, and started dribbling against Bogut.

Jokic had excellent dribbling skills and was rarely stripped.

When Jokic was backing down dribbling, Zeng Xingyang made a reverse run after using Grant's screen from the other side, shaking off Livingston.

Zeng Xingyang cut in, and Jokic noticed immediately that Zeng Xingyang was going into the interior.

Jokic gave the ball to Zeng Xingyang with a low hand pass.

Zeng Xingyang grabbed the ball and exploded with speed.

"Whoosh!"

The helping Thompson was also bypassed, but Green was ready to help in defense under the basket again.

"Who will he pass to this time?" Green thought to himself immediately.

Not only did Green think so, but others also thought the same, as Zeng Xingyang had already made several assists just now.

But Zeng Xingyang didn't pass out the ball, nor did he stop dribbling.

Instead, he exploded again, stepping up into the air.

As Green watched Zeng Xingyang getting closer, he finally realized what Zeng Xingyang was going to do.

Green was fearless; he wouldn't back off and was ready to teach this arrogant guy a lesson.

Green was confident in his deterrence under the basket.

The announcers got excited, seeing Zeng Xingyang's move aiming for a poster dunk.

"F*ck!!" Green shouted as he jumped.

If it had been Bogut, Zeng Xingyang might have hesitated, but Green was too short.

"Bang!"

The two collided fiercely.

Green's jump was still too slow, and Zeng Xingyang's one-handed reach dominated Green.

From top to bottom!

Zeng Xingyang slammed the ball into the basket over Green aggressively.

"Bam!!"

18 to 13.

Green, due to the huge impact, was knocked to the ground.

After landing, Zeng Xingyang stared at Green, his eyes filled with fighting intent, then mimed a "too short" celebration as he glided across the half-court.

Seeing this scene, Green was entirely infuriated.

But he had no way to respond; Zeng Xingyang's poster dunk was an overwhelming slam.

"Timeout," Cole called for a pause in the game actively.

The Nuggets' offensive momentum was too fierce at that time, needing a breather.

Zhang Weiping shouted, "A poster dunk, a poster dunk, Zeng Xingyang completed a poster dunk over Green, this dunk was spectacular, very morale-boosting."

Xu Jicheng screamed, "This breakthrough was so fast; Green didn't see it coming."

In the online live room, fans went wild.

"Whoa, this bounce, this talent, it's too exaggerated compared to the start of the season."

"I never thought it would be such a fierce poster dunk; I assumed there would be a pass."

"I feel like Xingyang's talent can be compared with James now."

"So domineering, was this still the once 3D player?"

"Xingyang has shown the demeanor of a superstar after entering the playoffs."

"I really love how the Nuggets are playing right now."

"The strongest rookie ever is no joke."

Fans in the country were all amazed by Zeng Xingyang.

"Zeng, you are fierce," Jokic came to high-five Zeng Xingyang in celebration.

"You can try a poster dunk too; it feels great," Zeng Xingyang said with a smile.

"No way, I can't do that kind of dunk," Jokic replied with a smile.

"Stop pretending, you can do it," Zeng Xingyang exposed Jokic's lie.

Though Jokic didn't jump high, given his talent, he could dunk over opponents without much difficulty; he just didn't have the desire.

Jokic shrugged, saying nothing, and both walked to the bench side by side.

Though their approach to basketball was different, their ultimate goal was the same: to win.

Fans at Oracle Arena looked up at the replay.

Many felt surprised.

Once Green got up, he went back to the bench with a dark expression.

Being poster dunked by Zeng Xingyang was a great humiliation.

Green was thinking of how to retaliate against Zeng Xingyang.

If he got a chance later, he would definitely pull that guy down hard.

The timeout was over quickly.

Livingston took the ball to the frontcourt and set a screen with Green.

After the screen, he bounced the ball to Green.

Green had a mismatch with Zeng Xingyang.

Green chose to back up and post-up play the mismatch.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Green exerted himself in the post-up but wasn't well-versed in it; Zeng Xingyang kept retreating, letting him back in.

Green spun past Zeng Xingyang, ready to go up strong, but Jokic was waiting behind.

"Slap!"

Green got a bit too carried away and was directly blocked cleanly by Jokic, who saw through his attacking route.

The basketball dropped down, and as Green and Zeng Xingyang fought for it, the ball hit Green's foot and went out of bounds.

The ball possession was given to the Nuggets.

"That's not how you play basketball, use your brain a little. Oh right, I forgot, you don't have one," Zeng Xingyang taunted Green.

"Rookie, I'm going to kill you," Green clenched his fist, ready to charge.

Even without the Nuggets players interfering, the Warriors players immediately held Green back.

The referees came to warn Zeng Xingyang not to escalate the conflict.

Cole reluctantly substituted Green with Iguodala.

"Awesome, getting Green this angry."

"Green always looked for a chance to fight Zeng Xingyang, but the interference was too much."

"Xingyang's trained; if Green went over, he'd end up slammed down."

"Love this conflict; this is what the playoffs are about."

"The Warriors are in trouble, with the Nuggets controlling the pace at the start."

As fans predicted, even though Iguodala and Livingston were not weak, they weren't Green or Curry.

The lead was gradually pulled away by the Nuggets.

Led by Jokic and Zeng Xingyang, the Nuggets were solid in their play, and every offensive and defensive play made the Warriors feel very stifled.

Warriors' expected second-unit comeback didn't happen as Zeng Xingyang and Jokic played 22 and 23 minutes each in the first half, resting very little, maintaining the Nuggets' high-intensity play.

Curry was always troubled by foul problems, and his performance was lackluster, scoring only 6 points in the second quarter.

The first half ended quickly, with the score locked at 64 to 50.

The Nuggets had a 14-point lead in the first half, suppressing the Warriors at their home court.