Chapter 374: Chapter 286: A Resounding Victory Over the Western Champions by 60 Points!
Popovich was speechless; the Nuggets’ second lineup seemed to be playing quite well.
The Spurs not only failed to capitalize on their height advantage to catch up, but they also let the point gap widen.
This moment showed the depth of the Nuggets’ roster.
Barkley shouted, "Beautiful half-court offensive organization, it looks like the Nuggets have many players who can score now."
Smith said, "The two rookies on the Nuggets look so impressive on the court."
Johnson said, "I have to admire Connelly’s eye for picking rookies, it can be compared to Presti’s."
Often, when a team brings in a star player, it weakens the bench depth as a side effect, but the Nuggets managed to increase their depth this year while acquiring Butler.
This makes Connelly’s operations look more forward-thinking.
The Nuggets’ second lineup wasn’t being dominated like last season.
Thus, in the first five minutes of the second quarter, the Nuggets’ second lineup extended the point gap further, reaching 30 points.
No one expected that before halftime, the Spurs would fall behind to this extent.
Then, at 6 minutes and 34 seconds, Zeng Xingyang and Jokic came onto the court.
Zeng Xingyang dribbled forward for a look, then passed it to Jokic, who was double-teamed after getting the ball, and he flung it out to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang made a shooting feint, lifting Leonard’s defensive focus, and then made a big step inside.
Aldridge stepped up and covered himself, Zeng Xingyang jumped, twisted the ball around his waist, and handed it to Jokic, who was following up.
Jokic then lobbed the ball high to Grant, who cut in along the baseline.
Grant took off into the air and completed the alley-oop.
"Bang!"
The basketball was slammed into the hoop.
"An aesthetically pleasing performance."
"This is so amazing, really amazing."
"I love seeing this kind of teamwork."
"The Nuggets this season are going to be terrifying!"
"Wow, the Nuggets are about to massacre the Spurs."
The fans were in shock.
The game continued on the court.
The Spurs’ offense.
Aldridge received the ball inside.
This time Aldridge was mismatched against Butler.
Aldridge tried to post up.
But Zeng Xingyang’s double-team came quickly.
Aldridge wanted to pass the ball to Leonard on the outside.
But Gordon kept an eye on Aldridge’s movements and dashed out.
"Smack!"
The ball was intercepted.
Almost simultaneously, Zeng Xingyang took off on the other side.
Gordon passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang and then sprinted forward himself.
Leonard quickly retreated to defend Zeng Xingyang, constantly applying pressure.
Zeng Xingyang’s speed was incredibly fast, and he drove towards the basket.
It looked like he was about to finish when Leonard also stepped up preparing to interfere.
But Zeng Xingyang opted to lob the ball towards the backboard.
"Bang!"
After the basketball rebounded off the board, Gordon followed in from behind.
Gordon spread his wings in the air, catching the ball and slamming it hard.
"Bang!"
Zeng Xingyang and Gordon connected once again.
The cheers of the fans in the Pepsi Center in Denver kept rising.
Gordon landed and bumped chests with Zeng Xingyang in celebration.
The two played with great flair on the court.
Zhang Weiping said, "You can clearly feel the ease of the Nuggets in this game, they have always been in the rhythm of suppressing their opponent on the court."
Yu Jia said, "The Nuggets have too many players who can play now, Aaron Gordon’s addition is almost seamless, he fits the Nuggets’ style very well."
.....
.....
Just as the fans anticipated.
The Spurs never caught up with the score again, and the Nuggets’ starting and second lineups were very strong, continuously putting pressure on the Spurs offensively and defensively.
points!
points!
points!
The Nuggets fans in the stands felt like they were celebrating Christmas, the bigger the lead, the more excited they were.
On the court, Leonard seemed a bit befuddled, the Spurs were completely thrown off their rhythm.
...
During halftime, Butler was already preparing to pop champagne with the rookies in celebration; in this game, Butler didn’t feel much pressure and had already scored 13 points and 5 assists, which made him feel the game was so easy.
The second half of the game was essentially garbage time, Zeng Xingyang and Jokic played half a quarter before clocking out, and the Nuggets began to hone their rookie lineup.
The Nuggets fans all thought that after reaching garbage time, the Nuggets would win with a slightly smaller margin.
But the Nuggets’ second lineup rookies kept plundering the Spurs’ second lineup.
Zubac and Dejounte Murray only got their chance in the third quarter, letting up?
What a joke, this was their NBA debut.
There’s no way they’re letting up; they had to fight with their lives.
Butler also clocked out after the third quarter and sat on the sidelines chatting and laughing with Zeng Xingyang and Jokic.
With the efforts of the Nuggets’ group of super rookies, the final score was 81 to 141.
The Nuggets slaughtered the Spurs by 60 points at home, handing the Spurs their largest margin of defeat in franchise history.
points, that number is striking and bloody.
This number will make Leonard remember well.
"The Nuggets this season left last season’s nemesis, the Spurs, with no chance."
"The terrifying Nuggets have demonstrated their deep roster, and they announced to the entire league that they are completely different from last season."
Barkley marveled.
On the court, Leonard, Parker, Ginobili, and others were all hanging their heads because they all knew that starting this season, the Nuggets would no longer see them as a nemesis.
The Nuggets have fully grown up; they no longer fear facing the Spurs.
The Spurs are the Western Conference’s champion team, but they all know they are in a decline period, and this decline will only speed up over time.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are still in an upward period, in this exchange, the Nuggets can only increasingly widen the gap with the Spurs at an even more exaggerated speed.
The entire Nuggets team was celebrating with joy.
Butler shouted to Zeng Xingyang and Jokic, "Is this the Spurs team that defeated you two? They’re just too weak, how did you manage to lose to them?"
Butler spoke loudly, leaving Zeng Xingyang and Jokic with black lines all over their heads.
Zeng Xingyang complained, "How come you couldn’t even make the playoffs when you were with the Bulls?"
Butler was also embarrassed....
The three of them all knew very well that their partnership would undoubtedly elevate the team’s strength to a phenomenal level.
Many of the Nuggets doubters were silent because they all knew.
Today, the Nuggets did something that shook the league.
They beat last season’s Western Conference champion by 60 points! Not even the Warriors could do that!
The Nuggets this season look too strong!
Can such Nuggets challenge the Warriors?
Should we say, would the Warriors be scared of such Nuggets?
More and more Nuggets fans believe that this season they have the lineup to defeat the Warriors and that they will crush their opponents on the court.