CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 177, DUNK OVER CARMELO, SHINE IN MADISON, 40 POINTS IN THE FIRST HALF! _2

Zeng Xingyang passes the ball to Grant, and Grant sends it back.

The triple threat position is set, Afflalo moves closer to Zeng Xingyang, giving him no room for a shot.

Zeng Xingyang dribbles, "Bang!" "Bang!"

He starts a series of crossover moves.

Crossing hands, changing rhythm.

Afflalo keeps spreading his arms wide for defense.

Zeng Xingyang finds a small gap in the rhythm change, explosively breaking to the right.

Zeng Xingyang accelerates in, then steps back with a retreat.

Afflalo closely follows Zeng Xingyang, only a bit behind in rhythm, giving a significant disruption.

Zeng Xingyang shoots a three-pointer against the defense; this shot is extremely challenging.

Afflalo’s movements are intense.

"Bang!"

Afflalo crashes into the shooting Zeng Xingyang.

"Beep beep!"

The referee raises three fingers.

"Swish!"

Then slashes down forcefully.

to 36.

And one!

The basket counts, plus a free throw.

"So cool!"

"Amazing."

"Dominating and one."

"Is the explosive night at Madison Square Garden coming?"

"The exciting moment is starting, go, go, go."

Zeng Xingyang’s fans are extremely excited.

Zeng Xingyang has become the Nuggets’ strongest offensive output, continuously pressuring the Knicks on offense.

Jokic and Grant quickly pull up Zeng Xingyang.

"Zeng, you’re incredible," Grant admires.

Since entering the NBA, Grant has never admired a player like this.

Even players like James and Durant didn’t evoke this kind of admiration from Grant.

But as Zeng Xingyang’s teammate at this moment, he can feel Zeng Xingyang’s uniqueness on and off the court.

Zeng Xingyang nods, then steps to the free throw line.

"Swish!"

Makes the free throw steadily.

to 36.

The momentum at Madison Square Garden is subdued once again.

Barkley says, "To make a shot like that against such defense, Zeng’s touch is something else."

Smith adds, "Tonight might just turn out to be another special moment."

Barkley responds, "Haha, yeah, watching tonight’s Knicks, it’s hard to stop Zeng’s impact."

Both commentators start to anticipate.

This NBA season, Zeng Xingyang has been the most shocking and surprising element.

From time to time, Zeng Xingyang delivers crazy performances, shocking media and fans alike.

Clearly, this could be another one of those nights.

On the Knicks’ side, Calderon calls a timeout after crossing half-court.

Zeng Xingyang bounces back to his bench, high-fiving teammates in celebration, and Mike Malone gives him a bear hug.

After taking over the second unit, the Nuggets have crushed their opponents’ spirit.

Timeout ends.

"Offense!"

"Offense!"

"Offense!"

The crowd constantly chants to cheer for the home team.

They can feel that Zeng Xingyang is planning to deliver a big surprise at Madison Square Garden.

Though unsure what it might be, there’s a sense of impending danger.

The Knicks’ offense.

Calderon brings the ball to the frontcourt.

Calderon’s expression is serious; he knew before the game Zeng Xingyang would be tough to deal with, but didn’t expect it to be this challenging.

Calderon passes the ball to Anthony.

Zeng Xingyang raises his arms wide to defend Anthony.

Anthony, outside the left three-point line, tests Zeng Xingyang with a jab step.

Zeng Xingyang’s defense shows no flaws, making it hard for Anthony to attack.

Anthony calls for a screen from Lopez.

Lopez slightly delays Zeng Xingyang, and Anthony accelerates to the right.

Jokic quickly provides help defense.

Anthony passes to Lopez in the middle.

Anthony isn’t a very good passer, and his passing rhythm is off.

When Lopez catches the ball, he stumbles, and by the time he controls it, the best scoring chance is gone.

Lopez spins to attempt a layup, with Zeng Xingyang trailing him from behind.

"Bang!"

Swiftly delivers a block.

Zeng Xingyang blocks Lopez’s shot.

Jokic secures the rebound.

Jokic doesn’t hasten the pace but controls the rhythm, moving to the frontcourt.

Waiting for Zeng Xingyang to join.

Jokic dribbled with his back against Lopez and moved to the low post.

Zeng Xingyang started positioning on the left side of the frontcourt.

His defender was still Afflalo.

Afflalo was aggressively chasing, and now his defensive pressure was immense.

Zeng Xingyang didn’t immediately find an opening, so Jokic passed the ball to the cutting Pope.

Pope, holding the ball, penetrated the inside but faced a double team, then passed the ball out to Harris.

Harris, after receiving the ball, made a feint and broke through again.

Calderon couldn’t keep up with the defense, and the Knicks’ defense was compressed.

Zeng Xingyang now found an open spot at a 30-degree angle on the right side beyond the three-point line.

The Nuggets’ defense now aimed to create opportunities for Zeng Xingyang, and Harris passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang on the outside.

Zeng Xingyang caught the ball while on the move, didn’t hesitate at all, and decisively took a jump shot.

Afflalo tried his best to defend, his defense at its utmost, but he couldn’t interfere with this shot.

Zeng Xingyang’s release point was very high, and his release speed was very quick.

This was a textbook shooter’s posture.

"Swish!"

to 36

This three-pointer was precisely shot in.

Jokic came over to high-five Zeng Xingyang in celebration: "Nicely done, I’ll keep getting the ball to you."

Jokic knew that when Zeng Xingyang was feeling it, all he needed to do was get him the ball, and he’d lead the team to victory.

"Okay," Zeng Xingyang nodded.

His touch was getting hotter!

Right now, in Zeng Xingyang’s eyes, breaking the Knicks’ defense was simple.

Whether Afflalo, Anthony, or anyone else on the Knicks, none were elite defenders, giving Zeng Xingyang plenty of shooting opportunities.

The Knicks’ offense.

At this critical moment, Anthony’s low-post play caused a foul on Grant.

He calmly made two free throws, 43 to 38, and closed the gap a little.

The Nuggets’ offense.

Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the frontcourt and passed to Jokic.

Jokic held the ball on the right side of the free-throw line as Zeng Xingyang continued his positioning.

The Knicks’ defensive lines were all drawn by Zeng Xingyang, with their defensive focus entirely on him.

Jokic’s gaze was directed to the left side of the outside but passed the ball to the right side, up in the sky.

Grant, making an inner cut along the baseline, grabbed Jokic’s pass with both hands and dunked it forcefully.

"Bang!"

An alley-oop was completed.

to 38.

Though the aim was to pass to Zeng Xingyang, Jokic was not fixated.

When a teammate had a better opportunity, he was willing to pass.

The Knicks’ offense.

Calderon dribbled to the frontcourt and continued to pass inside to Anthony.

The Nuggets’ outside defense was terrifying, making it very challenging for Anthony to initiate an offense from the outside with his current speed.

Anthony chose to back down Grant again.

Grant’s defense was cautious enough, but he was still outmaneuvered with a couple of bumps and spun past.

Anthony quickly went for a layup off the glass.

While everyone thought this shot was very sure, a figure dashed in out of nowhere.

Zeng Xingyang sensed Anthony’s intention, decisively abandoning Calderon to chase back!

Even though Calderon was in a wide-open position, if Anthony could see Calderon at this juncture, he wouldn’t be Anthony.

Just as Zeng Xingyang anticipated.

Anthony had nothing but the basket in his eyes.

"Bang!"

Completing a fingertip block.

Grant controlled the rebound.

Anthony looked up at the big screen in despair.

Zeng Xingyang had been locked onto him like a viper, yet he never noticed.

If he had passed to Calderon, Calderon would have had a high chance.

What a pity.

While Anthony was still in a daze over the last play.

Grant launched a fast break.

The Nuggets’ overall speed was incredibly fast.

Grant charged up the left side, with Zeng Xingyang coming in from the front.

The Knicks’ defense couldn’t cover both ends.

Grant passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang in the middle.

Zeng Xingyang took the ball, stepped, and soared into the air.

Grabbing the ball with one hand, a tomahawk dunk!!!

"Boom!"

The basketball was slammed hard into the basket.

This play revived the Nuggets’ momentum.

Next, the Knicks started double-teaming Zeng Xingyang.

Zeng Xingyang reduced his personal offense, becoming a massive distraction.

The Nuggets had a bad hand from the outside, so they kept attacking the basket to create damage.

The Knicks had good outside shooting and luck, making a few miraculous shots.

.....

.....

The first half ended quickly, with the score at 64 to 57.

Zeng Xingyang exploded for 40 points in the first half!