I really can't handle the ball

Chapter 140 Dismissing the Nuggets
On May 11, at the American Airlines Center Arena.

Tonight, the Mavericks will play at home against the visiting Denver Nuggets. This is also the first duel between Li Xuan and Carmelo Anthony.

Although Nowitzki was absent from the game due to injury, it did not affect the enthusiasm of the Dallas fans at all. Before the game even started, the arena was completely surrounded.

At this time, there are no absentees in the arena, waiting for the start of the game.

Amid the cheers of the fans in the audience, the Mavericks players came out of the player tunnel one by one with high spirits.

The on-site DJ quickly introduced the players of the Mavericks. Core players such as Li Xuan and Nash made their grand finale appearances, so they were naturally introduced grandly.

When it was the turn of the Nuggets to play, there was no such battle, and it was good enough that the fans didn't boo them, after all, this is part of the home court advantage.

After the simple entrance ceremony, the players of the two teams came to the court one after another for warm-up activities.

In order to boost the morale of the team and at the same time hurt the morale of the opponent, Li Xuan decided to make a high-profile, long-lost long-range warm-up.

After trying a few fixed-point shots, Li Xuan took a big step back every time he scored a goal until he reached the middle circle.

Amidst the exclamation of the fans, Li Xuan made five shots in the middle circle, hit three goals, and the hit rate was mediocre.

"Look! Lee's iconic midfield three-point warm-up is back on the court. It has been a long time since he did this. It seems that he is very excited tonight and may set a new career high."

"The shooting percentage is good. It indirectly gave the Nuggets a blow and told them that without Dirk, the Mavericks would not be able to beat easily. It's a very smart idea."

In the on-site commentary booth, Barkley and Kenny Smith expressed their views and warmed up for the game in advance.

Li Xuan's warm-up activities naturally attracted the attention of the Nuggets players, who expressed their views one after another.

"The shooting ability is too good, at least reached the top of the league." Miller said enviously.

"It's just a flashy performance. During the game, he won't get such a comfortable shooting environment. If he gets into the penalty area, I will teach him a lesson." Camby said disdainfully. In the eyes of the shot-blocking king, everything is just a cloud.

Anthony on the side did not express his opinion, his eyes were full of endless fighting spirit.

My good brother LeBron didn't beat this guy before, so let me do it myself!

Maybe, after defeating Li Xuan, he could make headlines again.

After Anthony made up his mind, he was earnestly doing warm-up activities.

Not long after, the warm-up activities ended, the players from both sides returned to the bench, and the starters were making preparations before going on the field.

At the same time, on the big screen at the scene, the list of starting players of both sides was displayed.

Mavericks starting lineup: Nash, Finley, Jamison, Li Xuan, Nesterovic.

Nuggets starting lineup: Andre Miller, Voshan Leonard, Carmelo Anthony, Nene Hilario, Marcus Camby.

After a while, the referee blew his whistle to signal the players from both sides to come to the middle circle and prepare to fight for the ball.

Li Xuan followed Nash and others to the court, frowning, did the dog system issue temporary tasks?

Nash happened to see this scene, patted Li Xuan on the shoulder and said, "Li, don't be nervous. Even without Dirk, we can beat our opponents. When I cooperate with you, the Nuggets won't be able to handle it."

Li Xuan nodded, since he was misunderstood by Nash, it's okay to misunderstand, anyway, he has benefited.

After the players from both sides took their positions, the referee looked at the timer, waited for a while, blew his whistle, and ran the ball into the air.

Camby jumped up and touched the basketball first, and the Nuggets got the first down.

Miller dribbled forward and came to the top of the arc to organize the offense.

Seeing Anthony reaching out for the ball outside the right three-point line, he immediately passed the ball.

After receiving the ball, Anthony made a three-threat move and took a tentative step. Seeing Jamison sticking to the defense, he quickly started to break through to the basket.

Jamison secretly thought it was bad, and immediately turned around and chased after him.

At the same time, Li Xuan, who was defending on the edge of the penalty area on the right, quickly stepped forward to prepare for supplementary defense.

Anthony saw Li Xuan blocking his breakthrough route, and wanted to compete with him, but he didn't pass the ball to Nene who was reaching for the ball in the low post on the right.

When the two were about to collide, Anthony used his explosive power to quickly turn around and pass Li Xuan, rushing into the penalty area.

"Looks like I won this round!"

Anthony is extremely confident, feeling that he has come to the basket and can easily score a layup.

But the accident still happened. The moment Anthony made a layup, Li Xuan rushed back, took off vigorously, stretched his arms, and slapped the rising basketball on the backboard.

"Unbelievable! Lee Chase blocked Anthony's layup and the Mavericks counterattacked."

After Li Xuan landed, he held the basketball high to prevent Anthony from stealing him from a sneak attack. After seeing him return to the defense, he immediately passed the ball and ran towards the frontcourt.

Nash dribbled forward, and several other Mavericks quickly followed up and launched a defensive counterattack.

The Nuggets retreated quickly. After all, they had studied the Mavericks' style of play before the game. After losing Nowitzki, the Mavericks will definitely speed up their offensive rhythm and reduce their offensive position.

Nash dribbled the ball beyond the three-point line, saw no chance, then slowed down and reorganized the offense.

Li Xuan, who was near the penalty area, quickly ran out of the three-point line, emptying the penalty area to create a breakthrough space for his teammates.

Seeing this, Nene was forced to follow, and he couldn't help complaining in his heart: "You are an outside player, why come here to join in the fun? I hate players like you the most. I thought I would never run into Nowitzki, no. Thinking of meeting a guy who is even more troublesome than him."

At this time, Nesterovic also ran forward to pick and roll for Nash.

Instead of following, Camby came near the free-throw line so he could protect the paint and interfere with the ball-handler's shot.

When Nash used the screen to break into the three-point line, Jamison, who was in the bottom corner, quickly cut inward along the bottom line.

Nash had quick eyes and quick hands, and passed the ball to Jamison, who was on the move. The latter caught the ball and scored an easy layup.

2: 0!

There was thunderous applause in the auditorium, and cheers and shouts resounded through the arena.

"Exquisite cooperation, it seems that Dirk is not there, the Mavericks' offense is still playing smoothly." Kenny - Smith appreciated.

Looking back, the Nuggets played a pick-and-roll.

Miller used the cover to break through to the basket. When Li Xuan changed his defense, he immediately felt a strong sense of defensive pressure. He felt that he could not break Li Xuan's defense and immediately passed the ball back.

Nene is a blue-collar player. At this time, he has not rushed into the penalty area, and there is no threat to receive the pass, so he can only pass the ball again.

After receiving the pass, Camby at the basket immediately turned around and threw the basketball in his hand.

Bang bang!Fight with anger!
Li Xuan, who retreated to the basket, grabbed the rebound, found Nash and passed it immediately, and then ran forward.

Nash dribbled forward, changed direction and passed Leonard who wanted to intercept, accelerated and pushed across the center line, seeing his teammates have an opportunity, he immediately passed the ball.

After running beyond the three-point line, Finley took the ball without any hesitation, and took off directly to shoot.

The basketball hit the front of the rim and bounced out.

Later, Li Xuan, who was plugged in, rushed into the penalty area, soared into the air, grabbed the basketball in the air, and dunked the ball into the basket with one hand.

4: 0!

Cheers and shouts erupted in the auditorium instantly, and the atmosphere of the scene reached its peak.

(End of this chapter)