Adams won the opening tip, and Westbrook took the ball up the floor. He signaled for Little Sabonis to set a pick, then sent a bounce pass to him as he rolled to the basket.
Little Sabonis turned to face Ballista, who was closing in. Rather than shoot, he whipped the ball out to Chen Xi on the wing.
Chen Xi caught it and used a triple threat to make Barton back off from his tight defense. Then he raised the ball for a shot fake, easily getting Barton off his feet. He drove to the basket again, and with Gallinari coming over to help, he leaped and spun in midair, waiting until just before he landed to toss up the ball.
"Wow, an airborne 360-degree spin layup!!! Chen is putting on a dazzling show right out of the gate!!!"
He stumbled two steps after landing, steadied himself, then turned and ran back to his own end. Cheers filled the sidelines. Chen Xi spotted plenty of fans in Thunder number three jerseys, shouting and applauding his basket.
"Now this is what it feels like to be a star! This is awesome!"
Nuggets Head Coach Mike Malone watched Chen Xi from the sideline, feeling more than a little jealous. Here was a rookie ready to contribute at a high level, and still improving—and he was only the 56th Pick, earning just $550,000 a year!!! Presti, you bastard, you really make me sick!
The Nuggets' offense struggled to flow, running into trouble right away. Westbrook, Chen Xi, and Butler formed an outer defense that might not have been an Iron Wall, but it certainly let nothing through.
Chen Xi and Westbrook were already strong one-on-one defenders. Now the Nuggets also had to contend with Butler, who was excellent both on the ball and as a help defender. Their guards were under pressure from the start, at one point struggling even to keep control of the ball.
After Barton managed to get him the ball with a difficult pass, Ballista tried to organize the offense from the free-throw line while waiting for his teammates to move. It took a while before he spotted Moody, whom Westbrook had lost while defending off the ball. He passed immediately, and Moody cut to the basket, caught the ball, and laid it in.
2–2
The Thunder went on offense. Chen Xi used Butler's screen to shake his defender, caught the ball, and let it fly. When the silver Catch-and-Shoot badge lit up in his field of vision, he confidently turned and headed back downcourt.
Swish~~
The ball dropping through the net sounded crisp as could be. Chen Xi's swaggering turn back to defense set the arena alight, and a deafening roar surged skyward, as if it would tear the roof off.
"Pure confidence!!! Chris has entered Scoring Mode!!!! Good heavens, we've only ever seen this from Stephen before!! Thunder fans finally get to experience the thrill Warriors fans have been feeling all this time!!!!"
Westbrook charged over and shoved Chen Xi hard.
That was how the Black bro celebrated—by absolutely bulldozing him. Chen Xi was worried he'd have a bruise on his back. He kept a straight face as he played it cool, while silently wiping away tears inside. It hurt! It hurt so much!
The Nuggets went on offense again. This time, Westbrook intercepted a pass between their two guards. He fired a long pass, and Butler had already crossed the Nuggets' three-point line.
BANG!!!!
JB finished with a one-handed slam.
7–2
Beep!!!!
Malone called the game's first timeout at once. He had to stop the Thunder's momentum, or they'd get blown out before long.
Chen Xi sat on the bench, took a swig of Gatorade, and glanced toward the other half of the court. Yikes. Scary.
Malone was practically spitting on Barton as he chewed him out. Coaches yelling at players on the sidelines was common enough, but anyone would hate having a finger pointed in their face while they were being yelled at.
The game resumed soon after. Chen Xi was surprised to see Kobe Mamba, Jamal Murray, guarding Turtle Turtle.
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Well, Malone had guts. He'd put a rookie in right away. He'd been yelling at Barton, but it was Moody who got benched. Nice.
The Nuggets had possession. Rookie Kobe Mamba brought the ball to the top of the key. Faced with Westbrook's tight defense, he surprisingly managed to keep control of the ball. His fundamentals were solid—at least better than the Black bro who'd just been taken out.
Chen Xi stood off to the side with his hands on his hips, sizing up the seventh pick, who'd been drafted 49 places ahead of him.
Gallinari moved up for a pick-and-roll. Murray used the screen to create space from Westbrook, then rose for a pull-up mid-range jumper and knocked it down.
The Thunder had the ball again. Westbrook drove hard to the basket and easily made a right-handed layup through contact.
Murray stood with his hands on his hips. Malone could only sigh.
There was nothing he could do about that. Expecting a 1.93-meter rookie guard to stop Westbrook in his prime was pure fantasy. All they could do was hope Murray would give the team enough of a boost on offense to help them fight back.
But this Thunder team wasn't just Westbrook anymore.
Chen Xi and Butler both provided steady offense. With the Nuggets' Offensive Efficiency, there was no way they could make up the difference.
When Donovan took Adams out just six minutes into the first quarter and put Grant in, bringing back the Pseudo Five-Out lineup, the Thunder went on a 19–4 run. Malone called two timeouts, but neither could reverse the slide.
The game turned into a chance to get the reserves some experience in the second quarter. Donovan kept experimenting with different lineups, hoping to find the right Transition Period rotation. With Chen Xi in the starting lineup, the bench had far less firepower. Against teams with strong second units, they'd have to rely on Westbrook and Butler taking turns leading the team to keep things steady.
After an easy win over the Nuggets, the Thunder seemed to be back on track. Chen Xi's return, Butler's arrival, and the starting lineup's overwhelming performance against Denver had the whole world taking another look at the team.
"Charles, do you think the Thunder are good enough to challenge Golden State now?"
On a basketball show on TNT, Kenny Smith posed the question to Barkley.
"Honestly, this year's Thunder have really surprised me. You know, they basically lost Durant for nothing. It was hard to believe the players they had left could do much of anything. But now, no one can afford to overlook them—except the Warriors."
"So you still think they aren't good enough to challenge the Golden State Warriors?"
"Of course. Just look at this damn Warriors team! Who do they have? Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant! Good heavens, those two alone have three MVPs! Then there's Draymond Green, a DPOY, and Klay Thompson, one of the League's top 3-and-D players. They even have Iguodala coming off the bench!! What a ridiculously stacked roster."
"That's true. This year's Golden State Warriors are an all-time great team."
"I don't mean to disrespect the Thunder, but you know, right now they're a Playoffs team at best. The Warriors, though, are good enough to be compared with the great dynasties in history."
"No, no, they're still a long way from being a dynasty." Shaquille couldn't sit quietly any longer.
"Are you talking about the Lakers? Come on, Shaq. You have to admit, this Golden State team might not lose to those Lakers."
"You think Pachulia could guard me?"
"You think Grant could guard KD?"
The two launched into their usual bickering again. They seemed to love it: they got to yell at the guy they hated, and the ratings went up.
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