NBA: Rising Superstar!

After several unsuccessful attempts to pass, Green reluctantly got the ball to Curry.

Curry stopped to dribble, a hint of determination in his eyes, trying to change direction and get past Zeng Xingyang.

However, Zeng Xingyang's defense was like a death grip, airtight, and Curry couldn't break through at all.

Ultimately, Curry chose to trust in his shooting touch, facing Zeng Xingyang, he forced a side step, and then quickly shot a three-pointer. Curry was a bit reckless on this one, Zeng Xingyang stretched out his long arms and quickly interfered.

"Clang!" The basketball hit the rim hard and bounced up, with Jokic leaping up to grab the rebound steadily.

Coach Zhang said at the commentary booth: "Curry's offensive choice was still too simplistic. His success rate for three-pointers drops when he doesn't shake off Zeng Xingyang. With Zeng Xingyang's advantage in talent, he ensures a defensive edge in one-on-one situations."

Actually, Zeng Xingyang wasn't afraid of Curry dribbling and playing him this way. For him, Curry is difficult to defend against when he relies on screens and constant positioning.

Curry's positioning isn't occasional; he keeps running relentlessly. For players with poor stamina who chase Curry, after a whole game, they might even start rolling their eyes.

Curry shook his head helplessly. He knew in his heart that the choice for this offensive play was indeed wrong; it wasn't a rational approach.

The next offense is for the Nuggets, and Zeng Xingyang's successful defense uplifted the confidence of the Nuggets' players.

After Zeng Xingyang brought the ball to the frontcourt, he passed it to Jokic.

Jokic began to organize the ball distribution, and the Nuggets' players quickly got a touch of the ball. However, the Warriors' defense was very tight, and the Nuggets' other players didn't get many opportunities.

Zeng Xingyang tried to find Curry, wanting to target this spot, but the Warriors didn't give a chance. Once Curry was in a one-on-one defense, they promptly double-teamed.

The Warriors ignored the Nuggets' offensive players, Harris and Grant, on the outside. They weren't worried about these two shooting threes. Zeng Xingyang didn't dare to pass to them for an outside three because Harris and Grant's threes are okay against regular teams, but against a fast-paced defensive team like the Warriors, they easily lose their form, missing shots, leading to counterattacks.

The true instigators of the offense were still Zeng Xingyang and Jokic.

Jokic blocked Iguodala, then continued to space out, while Zeng Xingyang made a right-side change of direction break-through. Zeng Xingyang's penetration attracted triple team defense, and before the encirclement was complete, he passed the ball to Jokic at the free-throw line.

After Jokic received the ball, he made a fake move that got Iguodala off-balance.

Jokic took back the ball, dribbled with a big stride towards the inside. Green wanted to cut the ball and limit Jokic, but Jokic cleverly held the ball high, avoiding Green's cut, and easily banked it in for a layup.

The Warriors' disadvantage with their small lineup is a lack of height in the paint for rim protection.

If they can't intercept Jokic's ball and he gets to the basket, they essentially can't defend it.

This is why Zeng Xingyang kept passing to Jokic, knowing clearly where the Warriors' weaknesses lay.

The score turned to 73-61, and the fans at the scene shivered at this sight.

These two rookies were too monstrous, exploiting the Warriors' weaknesses to bomb away.

The Warriors' death lineup usually crushes other teams, but against them seems restrained. Curry has already hit several consecutive threes remarkably, but the score didn't shrink much!!

"Yang-Yo combo, the league's number one combo!!"

"Impressive, they used the pick-and-roll to the fullest."

"Jokic played very smartly, and Zeng Xingyang's defensive distraction was also utilized thoroughly."

The cheers from online fans were also very loud.

On the court, Curry dribbled past half-court, then passed to Green.

It was clearly Curry's time as the main offensive point. Green began organizing a run of ball distribution, while Curry kept running on the court, yet he still couldn't shake off Zeng Xingyang.

Seeing this, Green chose to dribble himself and give Curry a hand-off pass before screening for him. This time, Zeng Xingyang was screened away, and Jokic quickly came forward to defend Curry.

A flash of excitement sparked in Curry's eyes, aiming to exploit the mismatched Jokic.

In Curry's view, the current Jokic seemed very bulky, likely unable to keep up with footwork.

Just like Curry predicted, Jokic had to step out to prevent his three-pointer.

As a result, Curry easily made a behind-the-back hand-switch, dashed to the left for an explosive drive, and got past Jokic.

Curry penetrated inside, and the Nuggets' defense immediately collapsed. Curry swiftly passed to the cutting Iguodala, completely cracking the Nuggets' defense. Iguodala took flight for a layup, scoring, adjusting the score to 73-63.

Barkley said at the commentary booth: "As expected of the Warriors, they also found a way to penetrate the Nuggets' offense."

Smith agreed: "Nikola Jokic is still too bulky; he'll be blown out by Stephen Curry on the perimeter."

On the court, Jokic helplessly gestured that it was his mistake on this one.

He sighed slightly, facing Curry's single play, he really didn't have a good solution.

Zeng Xingyang came over, patted Jokic's butt, and didn't say anything. Jokic's current weight was too heavy, inevitably causing such problems when defending externally.

The Nuggets resumed their attack, Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the frontcourt, and passed to Jokic.

Jokic had a very calm mindset, not thrown off by specific plays.

Harris came to set a screen for Zeng Xingyang, and Curry still didn't switch defenders. Jokic seized this opportunity and immediately passed to Zeng Xingyang.

Curry's refusal to switch defense cost a lot. It gave Zeng Xingyang a very small shooting space.

Zeng Xingyang caught the ball at the 60-degree left spot, without hesitation, he jumped for a three-pointer.

"Swish!" The ball went in, moving the score to 76-63.

"Timeout!!" Cole couldn't bear it anymore; he signaled to the referee on the sidelines.

Only a little over four minutes had passed in the third quarter, and the Warriors had scored 13 points, looking offensively explosive.

But the Nuggets were equally matched, scoring 12 points.

The Warriors only gained back one point, unlike their pre-game expectations.

The Nuggets weren't crushed by the Warriors' devastating offense but responded with their own storm!

The viewers online were buzzing with discussions.

"Wow, why does it feel like the Nuggets are stronger than the Warriors?"

"The Nuggets paid a high price for this; just look at how long Zeng Xingyang and Jokic have been playing."

"The Nuggets were obviously better prepared tonight, taking the Warriors by surprise."

"I love to see such offensive and defensive battles. The Nuggets, although a very young team, are not at all impetuous."

"It's harder for the Warriors to beat the Nuggets than the Rockets."

"The Nuggets' lineup is very reasonable, very suitable for this kind of high-level showdown."

"I'll say it here, the Yang-Yo combo will win the championship in the coming years."

"The Warriors' third quarter isn't working against the Nuggets."

The fans online were all surprised by this scenario unfolding.

The Warriors' explosive third quarter came, but the Nuggets held on.