Chapter 431: Chapter 343, Easily Securing G1, 58 Points in a Single Game!
Paul is playing against Jokic, and Zeng Xingyang is going after Paul.
Zeng Xingyang is just as precise as ever.
In Zeng Xingyang’s view, the Clippers have more vulnerabilities.
After scoring, Zeng Xingyang spread his arms, signaling the fans to cheer louder.
"Well done."
"The Clippers’ defense has been cracked."
"Awesome!!"
The fans shouted loudly.
At this point, the Clippers’ players on the court were somewhat afraid of Zeng Xingyang having the ball.
Whenever Zeng Xingyang had the ball, he either scored or assisted his teammates, such efficiency was outrageous.
Clippers’ offense.
Paul’s offensive strategy was still trying to create mismatches with Jokic for a one-on-one showdown.
This time, Jokic was not polite either, when Paul passed him on the right side, he fiercely yanked Paul, pulling him directly.
"Bang!"
Paul fell to the ground.
Beep Beep!!
The referee decisively called a foul on Jokic.
Zeng Xingyang couldn’t help but marvel at Jokic’s fierce play.
But such fierce play had its advantages; Paul dared not challenge Jokic one-on-one again.
Back to offense.
Paul seemed a bit intimidated by Jokic now, after holding the ball at the top of the arc while observing, he chose to pass it to Griffin inside.
The Nuggets still adopted a double-team defense strategy against Griffin.
Griffin passed the ball out to Redick.
Redick’s jump shot, the Nuggets’ defense rotated quickly, Pope swiftly closed in on Redick.
Another interference.
"Rim!"
Redick’s shot hit the rim.
Jokic firmly grasped the rebound.
Jokic brought it to the frontcourt, at this point Zeng Xingyang blocked Bamot behind him, ready for a low-post play.
Jokic lobbed the ball in.
Seeing Zeng Xingyang grabbing the ball, the Clippers were immediately tense.
Zeng Xingyang didn’t hesitate, using his back to nudge against Bamot, then smoothly turned around for a jump shot.
Bamot was blocking Zeng Xingyang’s face, but it didn’t affect his rhythm.
"Swish!"
Straight to the heart!!
to 27.
Barkley said, "Zeng’s offense is becoming simpler and more efficient, even with defense in front of him, his shooting accuracy is very high."
Smith said, "Yes, the Clippers don’t have an elite defender to match up against Zeng, making it easy for him to score."
Clippers’ offense.
This time Paul initiated a pick and roll with Griffin, after the pick and roll, Zeng Xingyang didn’t block Griffin, allowing Griffin to rush forward.
Paul delivered a bounce pass to Griffin.
Griffin’s side dunk.
"Rim!"
to 27.
Griffin’s slam dunk was very ferocious.
After completing the dunk, Griffin even roared at Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang didn’t bother answering Griffin.
Receiving the inbound pass from Jokic, he dribbled past half court.
Zeng Xingyang called over Gordon, then made a lateral move to have Griffin switch and defend.
Seeing the mismatch, Zeng Xingyang didn’t attack immediately but passed the ball to Jokic for transition.
Jokic then passed the ball back.
Zeng Xingyang received the ball without rushing, instead, he performed an extremely convincing feint.
Griffin quickly adjusted his balance.
Zeng Xingyang seized that momentary change in balance and quickly took a long-range three-pointer.
The basketball arced beautifully.
"Swish!"
to 30
The fans quickly screamed.
.....
.....
Zeng Xingyang was in insanely hot form, attacking inside and outside, helping the Nuggets maintain the upper hand in the first half.
The Clippers’ lineup was very conducive for Zeng Xingyang’s performance, mainly because he faced Paul, which was a huge mismatch.
If Paul didn’t come to defend him, the other players were mismatched against him as well.
In playoff matchups, any obvious mismatch will be relentlessly targeted.
Paul didn’t perform poorly in the first half, but became a defensive liability for the Clippers.
The first half soon ended, with the score fixed at 47 to 57.
The Nuggets were leading by 10 points.
The second half started quickly.
Nuggets’ offense.
Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the frontcourt, passing the ball around along the perimeter continuously.
Then Butler passed the ball to Jokic inside.
Butler followed up by setting an off-ball screen for Zeng Xingyang, who cut inside.
Jokic passed the ball to the cutting Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang attracted the defense and then passed to the other side where Gordon was cutting along the baseline.
The inside was already open.
Gordon caught the ball in mid-air and slammed it down hard.
"Rim!"
The basketball was slammed into the basket.
to 59.
"So in sync."
"The Nuggets’ offense is very smooth."
"This play completely dismantled the Clippers’ defense."
"Love seeing such teamwork."
"This is awesome!"
Jokic passed to Zeng Xingyang, and Zeng Xingyang passed to Gordon.
Such continuous passing showcased the Nuggets’ team play.
In the second half, the Nuggets played as a team, suppressing the Clippers.
The Clippers attempted a comeback, Crawford had moments of consecutive three-pointers, but at crucial moments, both Zeng Xingyang and Pope responded.
This kept the Nuggets in control throughout.
Quickly, the game ended with the score 109 to 121.
The gap didn’t look big, but all the fans could feel the overwhelming superiority.
The Clippers didn’t pose much trouble for the Nuggets.
Zeng Xingyang finished the game with 58 points, 14 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.
During the post-game interview, a reporter asked, "Zeng, did you intentionally get 58 points to taunt Chris?"
Zeng Xingyang spread his hands helplessly, "I really didn’t do it on purpose, I wanted to score 60 points, but unfortunately, the last two three-pointers didn’t go in."
Everyone knew the number 58 was a huge blow for Paul.
Zeng Xingyang wasn’t really thinking much, he only found out his score was 58 points in the last two minutes, so he attempted some threes, but they didn’t go in, and that was it.
And the Nuggets seemed to constantly remind Paul that they were his nightmare.
Paul was numb seeing this number.
Is the 58 joke ever going to end?
Constant reminders!
F*ck!!
The fans at the scene laughed seeing Zeng Xingyang’s score.
During the post-game press conference.
A reporter asked Mike Malone, "Mike, do you think you will sweep the opponent?"
Mike Malone said, "We’ve only won one game, it won’t make us complacent, we’ll prepare well for every match."
The Nuggets are very steady now, they won’t jinx themselves.
The reporter continued to ask, "What do you think of Zeng scoring 50+ points?"
Mike Malone said, "It’s just his routine, he’s the MVP, the best player in the league, he can do things we can’t even imagine."
Indeed!
MVP!
The reporters then realized, even though Zeng Xingyang was only in his second year, he was a genuine MVP!
They were still not quite used to it.
Zeng Xingyang is the strongest player in the league, scoring over 50 indeed doesn’t need to be hyped up.
If some day Zeng Xingyang had a poor performance, that would be news.