Finals preview: Nuggets double-core 69 points to beat the Big Four, Tatum lost the tie, and the 20-game winning streak at home ended
On January 20, Beijing time, the league's No. 1 Celtics played at home against the defending champion Nuggets, and the Big Four of the Green Army faced off against the Nuggets Duocore, and the Big Four scored 45 points in the first half to beat the Nuggets Duo Core by 38 points, leading the Green Army to lead by 6 points in the first two quarters. When the Celtics led by as many as 12 points, they suffered a counterattack by the Nuggets in the second half to overtake the score, Tatum missed a key attack, and finally the Celtics lost to the Nuggets 100-102 to end a three-game winning streak, swallowing the 10th defeat of the season, and ending the fourth-longest record in history of 20 consecutive home wins at home. Jokic 34 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists and Murray 35 points, 69 points to win, Celtics 3 scored 20+, Tatum 22 points, Porzingis 21 points and White 24 points, but Tatum lost key shots in the last moments, especially missed the tie and hated, and also lost a "Finals preview".
The two sides ushered in the first meeting of the season, and in the first quarter of the game, the two sides started the giant duel mode, and Jokic and Porzingis started the duel between the two European interior players. Jokic played 12 minutes in the first quarter and contributed an efficient crosshair of 7-of-9, including 1-of-1 three-pointers, and scored 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, leading the Nuggets to 14-of-24 in the first quarter to close to 6 crosshairs. Porzingis was 4-of-5, including 3-of-4 three-pointers, and scored 15 points in the first quarter, leading the Green Army to 11-of-20 in the first quarter, especially 6-of-12 from the outside three-pointers, so that the Celtics led the Nuggets by one point in the first quarter.
In the first half, the Nuggets used the inside and outside duo to compete with the Celtics Big Four, and Murray ushered in a resurgence in the second quarter, with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 8-of-11 shooting in the first half. Jokic was limited to just four points in the second quarter, but he was also 8-of-11 in the first half, scoring 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and the Nuggets combined for 38 points. On the other hand, the Celtics Big Four Porzingis scored 19 points and 5 rebounds in the first two quarters with an efficient 6-of-7 shooting, plus Tatum scored 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists on 5-of-13, only 1-of-7 three-pointers performed sluggishly, Brown scored 9 points on 12 shots and Holiday got 3 points and 3 assists on 1-of-3 shooting, the Green Army's Big Four scored a total of 45 points in the first half, and the Celtics led the Nuggets by 6 points in the first two quarters.
In the rematch, the Nuggets continued to rely on the super power of Jokic and Murray's dual core, and constantly pressed offensively and defensively to suppress the Celtics. The Nuggets scored five points at 26-21 in the third quarter, and the Celtics led the Nuggets by just one point at 82-81 at the end of the third quarter. While the Celtics struggled on the offensive end of the floor, White exploded as another offensive core, playing against Porzingis, Tatum and the Nuggets.
After the Celtics led 98-97, Jokic hooked up with Porter Jr. for a layup. Brown rarely missed two free throws, Tatum bit the score violently, the two sides continued to fight in the subsequent stage, the two teams missed one after another, Jokic and Gordon missed three times in succession, Tatum missed the key rebound, Gordon was fouled and made two free throws, and then the two sides jumped in the middle circle, Tatum missed the ball, the Celtics missed the counterattack, and finally the Celtics lost to the Nuggets and suffered their first home defeat of the season. The failure of the Big Four to exert their power at the same time was a key factor in their loss to the Nuggets.
(Text/Drunken Sleeping)