NBA: Rising Superstar!

Chapter 500 - 412: Nuggets Forced to the Brink!

Game 5!

The teams arrived at the Nuggets’ home court.

This match wasn’t as easy as imagined.

The battle continued.

The time quickly reached the last minute.

The score was 122 to 119.

The Nuggets were trailing by 3 points.

The Rockets have been the most pressure-inducing team for the Nuggets in this year’s playoffs, their offense is explosive on the court.

Paul and Harden with their outside capabilities relentlessly challenge the Nuggets’ defense.

"Damn, the Rockets are fierce."

"Even with a poor series score, they are truly giving the Nuggets trouble."

"Can’t be stopped, the Rockets’ offensive is really amazing."

"Love watching series like this, wonder if it will go to Game 7."

"Only the Rockets could push the Nuggets to this extent."

"The Nuggets lost Harris and Grant this year, leading to a slight dip in their depth, but otherwise, they’re absolutely formidable."

"Love watching games like this, it’s insane."

Fans were buzzing with discussions.

On the court.

Jokic dribbled to the frontcourt, then passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang on the right.

Ariza was defending him.

Zeng Xingyang signaled for a clear-out against Ariza.

It’s crunch time, and it’s star vs. star.

The Nuggets cleared out, but the Rockets refused.

Ariza and Harden came to trap Zeng Xingyang.

At this moment, Jokic came up to set a screen.

"Bang!"

Zeng Xingyang used Jokic’s side to quickly slide across, then exploded with a step to offset the rhythm.

A quick step-back three-pointer.

Ariza tried hard to chase and block, giving a significant interference to the shot.

This is where Zeng Xingyang’s jumping height was exceptionally high.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc.

"Swish!"

Pierced through the net.

to 122.

Zeng Xingyang leveled the score with a clean and decisive offense.

seconds left, both sides were back to square one.

D’Antoni called a timeout.

"God, it went in."

"Oh oh, nice job."

"Zeng conquered me again!"

"Love watching these clutch matchups."

"No one can stop this."

"This version of the Nuggets can potentially beat the Rockets."

"Let’s see if the Rockets can hold up at the critical moment, they often lose in such instances."

Fans were screaming.

On the court, the timeout ended quickly.

Paul received the ball and swiftly launched an attack.

Paul dribbled a step forward to break through, with Butler closely guarding him, Paul’s on-the-move pass reached Gordon on the other side.

Gordon changed directions and barely got past Pope, after entering the paint, Gordon opted for a floater.

"Swish!"

The basketball was precisely tossed into the net.

to 122.

The Rockets scored on this possession without Harden touching the ball.

They showcased their tenacity.

seconds left.

Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the frontcourt.

Ariza gritted his teeth to defend.

The Rockets players’ stamina was greatly drained, yet the double team persisted.

But Zeng Xingyang was quick to pass the ball, he gave it to Jokic at the top of the arc.

Jokic held the ball calmly, not trying to score himself, but continued to wait for Zeng Xingyang.

On the other side, Butler set an off-ball screen for Zeng Xingyang, and Jokic quickly passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang.

Zeng Xingyang got the chance to face Harden one-on-one.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Continuously making sharp change of directions, Harden emphasized guarding Zeng Xingyang’s three-pointer, as long as Zeng Xingyang doesn’t hit a game-winner, the Rockets can accept being tied.

Zeng Xingyang did a retreat-dribble as if he would hold the ball, but he didn’t, he feigned and completely faked out Harden.

Zeng Xingyang surged into the interior, Capela stretched his long arms for help defense.

If it were a typical guard encountering Capela’s height, major interference would be likely.

But not Zeng Xingyang, he first engaged Capela with his strong body, then finished a layup after shoving Capela aside.

Capela wasn’t willing to be shrugged off easily and instinctively reached out to pull Zeng Xingyang.

"Bang!"

"Swish!"

"Beep beep!!"

Even pulling couldn’t hold him back, the ball went in, whistle sounded

And one!!!

to 124

seconds left.

Zeng Xingyang demonstrated his clutch finishing ability, his offensive consistency on the court was terrifying.

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

When Zeng Xingyang stepped to the free-throw line, MVP chants echoed throughout the venue.

Zeng Xingyang took a deep breath, and shot steadily.

"Swish!"

Pierced right through.

to 125.

Paul quickly dribbled over.

Paul first passed to Harden.

Harden faced Zeng Xingyang with furious cross-overs.

Yet Zeng Xingyang’s defensive ability continually kept pace with Harden, he constantly disturbed Harden on the court.

Harden didn’t dare to easily commit a foul, he knew fouling Zeng Xingyang might not work well, and could instead drag the team into trouble.

At this moment, Ariza cut inside.

Harden quickly passed the ball to Ariza, Gordon’s follow-up defense was slightly delayed, causing a problem.

Ariza received the ball and flew to the basket for a layup.

"Clap!"

Gordon’s block!

The basketball came down, and time ran out.

However!!

"Buzz!!!"

"Goal interference!"

The referee quickly gestured.

The Nuggets’ team jumped up.

"OMG!!!"

Slow motion showed that Ariza’s ball hit the backboard first, then got blocked by Gordon.

to 125.

The Nuggets were plunged into despair!!

The referee set the time back to 0.7 seconds.

No one expected Harden to give Ariza the final shot to finish inside.

The Nuggets’ defense still showed a slight flaw at the final moment.

"Timeout!!"

Mike Malone decisively used the last timeout.

No one expected the Nuggets’ defense to falter in the final moments.

Gordon signaled to his teammates on the bench that it was his fault.

He thought Harden would shoot it himself, but Harden made a different choice.

No one on the Nuggets blamed Gordon.

Even if today’s game ends in a loss for the Nuggets, they still have a fallback.

"Zeng, you get the ball!"

"Nikola, Aaron, you screen."

"Make sure to get the ball to Zeng, only his shooting speed is fast enough!"

"OK!"

Mike Malone continuously drew tactics on the board.

The fans in the arena all stood up to watch, many covered their mouths.

Ariza’s layup made the atmosphere almost solidified!

Are the Nuggets being defeated?

It hasn’t happened in a long time.

Zeng Xingyang wore a serious expression, pondering how he should shoot soon.

0.7 seconds, forget dribbling, even a jump shot with more movements wouldn’t work well, only a catch and shoot would be possible.

But for the Nuggets, there was a slight advantage since the Rockets had to guard the basket, after all delivering directly underneath for a putback also had a chance.

"Keep an eye on Zeng!"

"Watch him!"

"Protect the basket!"

D’Antoni shouted to his players.

Barkley said, "The Rockets are playing desperately, they are going all out to try to beat the Nuggets."

Smith said, "The Nuggets are in big trouble, I’m happy to watch this series go a couple more games."

Barkley said, "This series might be a preview of the finals this year."

Smith smiled and said, "Either team could win the championship."