J.R. Smith Fails Tribulation, Consecutive Sweeps!

"That was too difficult!"

"That shot by Carmelo Anthony was just too difficult."

"Yeah... his touch really was on tonight... First, he drove straight at the basket, used a crossover to beat P. J. Tucker's defense, then faced Kobe's help defense and flowed into a spin move. Using a pause in rhythm, he slipped past Chris Andersen as he rose to protect the rim and finished with a finger roll."

In the Heavenly Dynasty Sports Studio, the two commentators marveled.

But the very next moment...

The Lakers' offense came crashing back. After Kobe and Zhou Ze ran a simple pick-and-roll, the Purple and Gold Double Elbows connected. Zhou Ze sprinted toward the rim. Although Kenyon Martin and Nene Hilario had both anticipated Zhou Ze's offensive intent, Zhou Ze's acceleration was simply not something interior players could match. The Nuggets' two big men could only watch his taillights as he finished the alley-oop slam with a BANG!

Zhou Ze's dunk pushed the lead to 18 points. There were still 49 seconds left before halftime.

50-68!

Although Carmelo Anthony was on fire offensively tonight, pouring in 32 points in the first half.

The Lakers' Purple and Gold Double Elbows had 24 points from Zhou Ze and 20 from Kobe.

Compared to Carmelo Anthony, who seemed to be exhausting himself on nearly every possession, the Purple and Gold Double Elbows looked completely at ease.

The game entered the second half, and the Nuggets made some adjustments to their lineup...

"J.R. Smith" replaced "Arron Afflalo." At this stage of his career, J.R. Smith still had a bit of a troublemaker streak, and he was anything but obedient after checking in.

First, he knocked down a difficult catch-and-shoot three-pointer.

Then...

Facing Zhou Ze's straight-line drive, J.R. Smith actually came up with a steal. But unfortunately...