In comparison, Dejounte Murray and Zubac’s performance was rather diocre.
Of course, compared to other rookies in the league, Dejounte Murray and Zubac still stood out.
The Nuggets gradually gained an advantage in the fourth quarter matchup between the second units.
But just as the Nuggets were about to widen the score gap, Durant returned to the court tily and hit a crucial three-and-one.
This shot seed to inject a shot of adrenaline into the Warriors, allowing them to regain their rhythm in the ga.
Subsequently, the Warriors were the first to adjust their lineup, sending in their key players, executing a series of brilliant attacks, while the Nuggets’ offensive montum slightly waned.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Mike Malone decisively called for a tiout, preparing to send in the main players for the final showdown.
At this mont, 7 minutes and 22 seconds remained in the ga, with the score at 94 to 100, and the Nuggets leading by 6 points.
Zeng Xingyang had rested long enough on the bench, which was the purpose of forming this strong lineup.
For a team to go further, it cannot rely solely on one player; it must rely on the power of teamwork to laugh last in the intense competition.
Zeng Xingyang stood up, walked over to Brogdon and Siakam, stretched out his palm to high-five them, smiling: "Well done!"
Brogdon was panting heavily, his eyes full of fatigue, but he couldn’t hide his excitent, nodding and saying: "Boss, it’s up to you now!"
Siakam also sat down, took off his headband, wiped the sweat off his face, and felt an increasing admiration for Zeng Xingyang.
He had just had a burst of performance but had already consud a lot, whereas Zeng Xingyang maintained such strong stability throughout the regular season and playoffs, which made him truly impressed.
The tiout ended, and the ga restarted.
The Warriors fielded their "death lineup" of Curry, Thompson, Durant, Iguodala, and Green, a lethal lineup in the first two rounds that also struck fear during the regular season.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, fielded a lineup of Zeng Xingyang, Butler, Pope, Siakam, and Jokic.
Brogdon’s defense was relatively weak, while Siakam, with his outstanding talent, could defend from position 1 to 5, and his shooting ability was stronger than Gordon’s, which was why Mike Malone kept him on the court.
At this point, the Nuggets were in the lead, so the pressure on Zeng Xingyang was relatively less.
On the defensive end, he actively took on the main defensive responsibility for Curry.
However, the Warriors’ tactical coordination was very smooth, and they used a lot of screens to avoid direct one-on-ones between Curry and Zeng Xingyang, posing a huge challenge to the Nuggets’ rotational defensive ability.
The Warriors initiated an attack, and after Curry dribbled to the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Green and then quickly positioned himself, trying to shake off Zeng Xingyang’s defense through off-ball screens.
But Zeng Xingyang’s speed and reaction were extrely quick, sticking closely to Curry, stride for stride.
Even when Iguodala set an off-ball screen for Curry, Zeng Xingyang relied on his talent to forcefully navigate around the screen, continuing to tightly follow Curry.
Zeng Xingyang shouted at Curry: "You can’t shake off, you’ve slowed down!"
Curry retaliated unyieldingly: "Don’t let catch an opportunity."
Zeng Xingyang taunted: "Take the ball, let’s go one-on-one."
Curry coolly replied: "Zeng, don’t treat like a rookie."
The two ran around the court while trash-talking each other, adding a touch of gunpowder to the tense atmosphere of the ga.
Curry rarely engages in such exchanges, but Zeng Xingyang was an opponent that gave him a headache, and he would try every possible way.
Seeing he couldn’t pass the ball to Curry, Green had to pass it to Thompson.
Under Butler’s strict defense, Thompson also found no suitable shooting space, and helplessly passed the ball to Durant on the right side of the free-throw line.
At this ti, only 3 seconds remained in the attack clock, and Pope still clung tightly to Durant.
Durant, after receiving the ball, quickly executed a wide crossover dribble, then gathered the ball, jumped, and shot over Pope’s defense.
Using his height advantage, he steadily shot the ball. Although Pope wasn’t shaken off, due to the height difference, he could only watch the basketball trace an arc and swish through the net.
"Swish!"
to 100, the Nuggets’ well-planned defense was in vain.
The on-site Warriors fans jumped up excitedly, shouting Durant’s na loudly.
Curry also shouted at Zeng Xingyang: "Stopping won’t help, you can’t stop KD."
Zeng Xingyang disdainfully replied: "Try it, soone will handle him later."
As if confirming Zeng Xingyang’s words, Butler actively communicated with Pope and took on the responsibility of defending Durant.
Butler never feared any challenge, a fierce look in his eyes as he would go all out to impede Durant’s performance, creating trouble for the superstar.
As it was the Nuggets’ turn to attack, Jokic dribbled to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Siakam.
When defending Zeng Xingyang, Thompson beca increasingly aggressive, pulling and grabbing, trying to stop Zeng Xingyang from receiving the ball.
But the referee did not whistle, and Zeng Xingyang did not complain. Instead, he actively engaged in physical confrontation with Thompson, aiming to draw a foul.
The cara clearly relayed this scene to the audience, the collision of their muscles akin to an intense battle, allowing everyone to feel the brutality and intensity of the Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors’ defense was airtight, and Jokic, pushed around by Green, couldn’t efficiently enter the paint.
The ball ended up in Butler’s hands, who, after evaluating the situation on the court, had no choice but to toss the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
Upon receiving the ball, Zeng Xingyang quickly executed jab steps to try to deceive Thompson’s defense.
Thompson stretched out his hands, sticking to his defense, shouting loudly: "Your moves won’t fool ."
Zeng Xingyang ignored him, suddenly accelerating to the right, using his astonishing explosiveness to bypass Thompson in one step.
But Zeng Xingyang did not choose to continue toward the paint, instead stopping abruptly after bypassing Thompson.
Due to inertia, Thompson couldn’t halt his chase, rushing past Zeng Xingyang in his turn pursuit.
Zeng Xingyang seized the opportunity to initiate a physical clash with Thompson again, then turned slightly to casually toss the ball.
"Beep beep!!" The referee finally blew the whistle, as Thompson’s collision was evident, leaving this foul call indisputable.
To the Nuggets’ delight, the basketball also entered the netmare, with the referee’s hand chopping down to signal the basket was good, a brilliant three-point play.
Zeng Xingyang smiled at Thompson: "What did you just say? Sorry, I didn’t hear you."
Thompson adjusted his headband, not responding to Zeng Xingyang.
With this successful foul drawn by Zeng Xingyang, Thompson had nothing to argue.
As Zeng Xingyang scored the free throw, the score beca 96 to 103, with the Nuggets still holding the advantage.
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