in2ebook Chapter 496 Every second that passes is equivalent to a one-second reduction in "The King'
Chapter 496 Every second that passes is equivalent to a one-second reduction in "The King'
A beam of light shone on Wang Xiucheng, who was sitting alone on the bench.
Wang Xiucheng, who had been keeping his head down and his arms on his lap, raised his head, stood up, and walked through the tunnel formed by the players on both sides.
When they reached the last row in front of Westbrook and Durant, all three of them suddenly jumped up and collided in mid-air.
Instantly, all the lights in the venue turned on.
Wang Xiucheng was finally scheduled to perform last for the first time at the finals.
However, neither Durant nor ordinary fans felt there was anything wrong with this arrangement.
In this team now, Wang Xiucheng is clearly the most indispensable person.
A group of people gathered together, stacking their hands on top of each other, and then Durant yelled, "Fuck him!"
"Fuck him!"
Suddenly, the fans throughout the stadium joined in with a shout.
This startled Wang Xiucheng.
Everyone's hands touched briefly before parting. Wang Xiucheng was the first to turn around and come onto the court, shaking hands briefly with the Nuggets players.
In Wang Xiucheng's opinion, neither side would be in the mood to shake hands after the match.
Claxton and Jokic took their positions at center circle.
Amid cheers from the crowd, the first game of the Finals finally began as the basketball was tossed up by referee Mark Davis.
With a snap, he slapped the ball, which was slightly favoring Jokic, first.
Aaron Gordon caught the ball and passed it to Murray, who was standing nearby.
Murray didn't move forward immediately, but waited a moment.
Murray only advanced after Jokic had already moved into the paint.
Westbrook guards Murray.
Jokic then started running outwards, then used his body to push Westbrook aside, received the ball from Murray, and suddenly tossed it behind his head.
Porter Jr. somehow managed to shake off Durant and get into the paint.
A bang!
Porter Jr. scored the Nuggets' first point in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with an alley-oop dunk.
Jokic reached out and patted Porter Jr.'s hand, then slowly backed away.
After taking only two steps back, Jokic had to turn around and start running.
Because Wang Xiucheng suddenly accelerated and ran towards the front field.
Wang Xiucheng's escape triggered a run by everyone at the Nuggets.
As a result, there was no one left in the backcourt in an instant.
Westbrook easily dribbled the ball past half-court.
At this point, Murray finally found Westbrook to match up against.
Westbrook slowed down, seemingly wanting to observe the area near the center circle.
But at that moment, Wang Xiucheng, who had been standing in the corner for a few seconds, started moving again, slipping past Jokic like an eel and reaching another corner.
Durant, standing there, understood perfectly and blocked Pope, who was following Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng immediately turned and ran towards the center circle.
Without hesitation, Westbrook passed the ball to Wang Xiucheng.
Then, Wang Xiucheng received the ball without hesitation. The basketball was in Wang Xiucheng's hands for less than a second before he flung it above the rim with both hands.
Bang!
With a loud bang, Benciunas slammed the ball in with one hand, scoring the Nets' first point in Game 1.
"what!"
Ben West had just yelled when Durant slapped him on the head.
With his spellcasting interrupted, Ben West had no choice but to follow Durant back to defense.
Wang Xiucheng stood in the center circle, stretched out both hands, and patted Ben West and Durant on the hand respectively.
Nash fielded Ben West in this game instead of Royce, O'Neal, or Joe Harris, because the Nuggets, their opponents tonight, were too tall.
Since Ben West is capable of playing, sending him up to match up against Porter Jr. or Aaron Gordon would be excellent choices.
Moreover, even with Westbrook and Wang Xiucheng both being marked, Ben West was still able to hold the ball.
Ben West's return in the Finals can be considered a signing for the Nets.
The Nets' basket finally made the standing fans start to sit down.
The Nuggets were on offense, and Murray passed the ball to Jokic again, who then stood on the three-point line with the ball.
Facing Claxton, Jokic immediately turned and shoved Claxton two or three meters away with his butt.
Then Jokic easily scored with a layup, netting two more points.
Claxton looked exasperated; although he was prepared, he still couldn't withstand Jokic's back-to-the-basket move.
"attack!"
Wang Xiucheng shouted.
This time, Wang Xiucheng did not move forward immediately, but reached out for the ball.
Claxton immediately left the baseline, picked up the ball, and passed it to Wang Xiucheng.
Murray, who was retreating, suddenly lunged at Wang Xiucheng, seemingly about to attack him from both sides with Pope.
Wang Xiucheng remained calm and, when the two players were close enough, passed the ball to Claxton, who was standing in the center circle.
There was no one in front of Claxton at this moment.
Jokic was still standing at the top of the key, waiting for Claxton to come over.
Claxton had no choice but to dribble the ball twice himself to avoid running out of time in his own half.
Durant received the ball and, facing Porter Jr.'s interference, made the first three-pointer of the night for both teams.
Swish!
The ball goes in!
5:2.
In the next possession, Jokic continued to hold the ball at the top of the key.
Claxton stood in front of Jokic.
Jokic faked him out twice, and Claxton was forced to take a slight step back, seemingly afraid that Jokic would break through.
But the next moment, Jokic threw the ball out.
Jokic's shooting speed looks slow, but his feet hardly leave the ground. By the time you realize he's shooting, it's too late to block the shot.
With Claxton having already backed down, it was impossible for him to interfere with Jokic.
Swish!
The basketball grazed the inside of the rim and went into the net.
5:5.
Jokic also made the Nuggets' first three-pointer of the night.
With the addition of three-pointers, both teams found their rhythm in the game.
The game went smoothly, with both sides committing occasional fouls, but the flow was still relatively fluid.
The score remained close, with neither side able to pull away from the other.
But after the first substitution by both sides six minutes later, the shooting percentage suddenly dropped.
Sometimes it takes three or four rounds to score a single goal.
Fortunately, the impact is mutual, so both head coaches seem to be able to accept it.
The game came to the final minute of the first quarter.
The Nuggets were now leading 24-22.
The good news is that the Nuggets are not only leading, but also in possession of the ball.
The bad news is that it's time for "the King's Time".
Jokic dribbled the ball himself and almost used a back-to-the-basket move to push it all the way to the top of the key.
Jokic controlled the ball and used his backside to shield Claxton from behind.
At this point, no Nets player chose to double-team Jokic.
Jokic has proven that he can pass the ball anywhere.
Time just passed by like that.
For the Nuggets, this kind of expenditure is naturally the best outcome.
But for the Nets, every second that passes is equivalent to a second less of "King's Time".
Finally, with 7 seconds left on the shot clock, all the Nuggets players got moving.
Jokic used his body to push past Claxton into the paint, then passed the ball to Pope on the perimeter.
Bang!
It's a pity the ball didn't go in; it hit the rim.
But Jokic had already made his way into the paint and had Claxton behind him.
Therefore, he was already prepared to grab the rebound.
This is a tactic he often uses: he holds the ball on the perimeter, draws the opposing center out, then goes inside and passes the ball out, while he goes to grab the rebound.
This approach leaves many teams with few options.
How do you defend a heavy center who can handle the ball, pass, attack, and shoot threes?
Jokic is like a bug, carving out his own path in this small-ball era.
While using his hand to block Claxton behind him, Jokic reached out to grab the basketball.
Jokic didn't jump. For him, grabbing a rebound doesn't require jumping; he just needs to hold off the person behind him.
But this time, just as Jokic was about to touch the basketball, an arm suddenly appeared on his side.
With a snap, the basketball was snatched away by that arm and held in its hand.