in2ebook Chapter 503 The Similarities Between Wang Xiucheng and Jokic!
Chapter 503 The Similarities Between Wang Xiucheng and Jokic!
The last minute is getting closer and closer.
The good news is that the Nuggets retain possession of the ball.
The bad news is that Jokic just fouled Claxton, which was his fifth foul of the night.
Of course, this was Claxton's fifth foul.
Both players were just one foul away from being sent off.
Jokic dribbled the ball and quickly moved to the frontcourt. Facing Claxton's defense, Jokic faked twice, pretending to shoot a three-pointer.
But Claxton remained unmoved, standing half a meter inside the three-point line and refusing to come out.
This shot was too important; Jokic didn't dare to take a reckless shot at this moment.
Finally, Jokic backed down the ball and drove into the paint, then drew Wang Xiucheng over before passing the ball to Murray on the perimeter.
Swish!
Murray finally made that three-pointer!
118 to 114, the score has narrowed again!
Murray yelled at Wang Xiucheng's position in the paint, then immediately turned and walked back.
Murray, however, kept muttering something under his breath.
beep!
Nash called a timeout.
Wang Xiucheng, Durant, and the others all walked towards the bench.
Barkley, sitting in the broadcast booth, stared at Murray and said into the microphone, "You know I can read lips, so I'll translate for you. Murray said, 'I'm fucking better than you.'"
O'Neal turned to look at Barkley and said, "Translate what I'm saying."
Then O'Neal opened his mouth and started talking, but didn't utter a single letter.
Seeing O'Neal's lips moving to the letter F, Barkley suddenly looked behind O'Neal and asked, "Yao Ming, what brings you here?"
O'Neal was startled and immediately turned around to look.
With a loud slap, O'Neal felt someone slap him on the head.
O'Neal cried out in pain, clutching his head and turning around to see Barkley also touching his bald head, looking back as if searching for something.
"Fuck, who the hell hit me?" Barkley yelled.
O'Neal looked at Barkley, highly suspicious that the guy was staging the whole thing, but he had no proof.
The commentators in the surrounding countries' live broadcast booths were also laughing uproariously at these two clowns.
beep!
The pause is ongoing, and I don't know when it will end.
Nash put away his tactical board and stood up.
He didn't make any substitutions; his team's lack of points during this period wasn't due to a problem with their offense.
Instead, the Nuggets resorted to fouling tactics.
However, the Nuggets' current cost is that Jokic has already committed five fouls.
This is also good news for Claxton.
Claxton stood on the sidelines, took the basketball from the referee, and, despite Jokic's attempts to interfere, passed the ball to Durant.
Wang Xiucheng, Durant, Claxton, Seth Curry, and Royce O'Neal, who just came on as a substitute.
Ben West was DNP'd by Nash.
The Nets already have Claxton on their roster who doesn't have a three-point shot anymore, and adding Ben West, although he can help the team on the defensive end, is another option.
However, he could also become a target for fouls by the opponent, unless Bensi is prevented from touching the ball.
The problem is, if Benci doesn't have the ball, he's useless.
Nash simply abandoned Ben West.
Durant dribbled the ball twice, trying to find Wang Xiucheng.
But at this moment, Wang Xiucheng was being watched by two people.
Claxton was also blocked by Jokic and could not go over to cover for Wang Xiucheng.
Durant then passed the ball to Royce O'Neal, and Durant immediately entered the paint.
Standing next to Jokic, Claxton finally got away from the paint thanks to Durant's screen and came to Wang Xiucheng.
Royce O'Neal was left wide open, but he didn't shoot at that moment.
He had a really bad night, scoring only 3 points and playing very little. He really doesn't dare to take the blame for this.
Fortunately, Royce O'Neal saw that Wang Xiucheng had finally escaped using Claxton's cover.
So Reus O'Neill passed the ball to Wang Xiucheng.
Only Murray was following Wang Xiucheng, so Wang Xiucheng received the ball but did not dribble. He simply took another step, moved his foot out of the three-point line, and then gracefully shot the three-pointer.
Murray tried his best to block, but due to the difference in height and wingspan, plus the fact that Wang Xiucheng made the shot with a graceful motion, he didn't really interfere with the ball.
With a loud bang, Murray heard a sound that excited him.
That ball didn't go in!
The next moment, Murray turned around and looked.
Jokic and Durant were in the paint, and they both jumped at the same time to reach for the basketball.
Snapped!
Although Durant has a better jumping ability, Jokic's weight still caused him considerable trouble.
Jokic wrestled Durant's shoulder with one arm, preventing Durant from jumping fully.
Jokic touched the ball first, but the basketball bounced up again after being deflected.
The next moment, the two jumped up again and headed towards the basketball hoop.
Snapped!
This time, Durant got to the ball first and flicked it out to the outside.
Wang Xiucheng and Murray both rushed towards the basketball.
Murray is closer to the paint, giving him a more advantageous position.
But Wang Xiucheng has longer arms and a better jumping ability.
Snapped!
Finally, Wang Xiucheng's arm reached over Murray's head and touched the basketball at the very last second.
The basketball flew towards Royce O'Neal.
There was still no one in front of Royce O'Neal at this moment.
Royce O'Neal caught the ball, then looked up and saw that Wang Xiucheng seemed to be glaring at him.
Royce O'Neal felt a shiver run through him, then lowered his shoulder, gathered the ball, jumped, and released the basketball.
Swish!
The basketball drew a beautiful arc and went into the net.
Three-pointer, in!
The Nets led 121-114, regaining a 7-point lead.
At this point, there are still 57 seconds left.
The time has officially entered the sub-minute mark!
Wang Xiucheng slapped Royce O'Neal's hand and shouted, "Just keep shooting like that, shoot them to death..."
Royce O'Neal also breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness that ball went in, otherwise I'd probably be torn to shreds by the fans!
Ma Long stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, watching Wang Xiucheng, who was usually calm, suddenly appear somewhat excited.
Wang Xiucheng's temperament underwent a dramatic change that year.
He earned this through sheer skill, bit by bit.
He didn't believe the Nets' owner would tell the players that their boss was Wang Xiucheng.
This must have been earned by Wang Xiucheng through his own hard work.
The Nets have always given the impression that Durant is the boss.
But everyone knows that the real leader of the Nets is this 20-year-old Chinese player.
20 years old!
He still has plenty of time to conquer this alliance!
Swish!
Jokic's successful floater brought Malone back to reality.
The score was 121-116, with the Nuggets narrowing the gap to two points.
Malone looked at Jokic.
Jokic and Wang Xiucheng have one striking similarity: both became team leaders through their own abilities.
The difference is that Jokic was a second-round pick.
Wang Xiucheng, on the other hand, was just a player who didn't make the final draft!
"The league's scouts are all blind!"
Coach Malone was reminded of Shaquille O'Neal's outburst on a show, where he criticized scouts from various teams across the league.
Then, Coach Ma Long remembered that China seems to have several players participating in the draft this year.
There's also someone who supposedly plays a lot like Jokic.
Perhaps, this year, I can select another Chinese player for my team?