Boom!
Denver guard Jamal Murray was sent flying by Ogawa Tetsuya's two-handed, violent dunk.
The impact was so immense that after crashing to the floor, Murray continued sliding backward from sheer inertia—only stopping when he slammed into the advertising boards beneath the basket.
"Oh, damn it!" Murray cursed angrily.
Jokić and Barton rushed over immediately, pulling him up.
"Jamal, are you okay?" Jokić asked with concern.
Murray's face was as dark as charcoal. He shook his dizzy head and replied in frustration,
"I'm fine… but that Tetsuya's strength is terrifying. It felt like I got hit by a truck."
"Fuck—since when did players from that country become this freakish?" Barton muttered, completely baffled.
Jokić patted both of them on the shoulders and spoke with confidence.
"Relax. Just look at the way Tetsuya plays—he's nothing but a reckless brute. He's nowhere near the level of their legendary star, Yao. Leave him to me."
Murray and Barton glanced at the layers of fat covering Jokić's body, then exchanged relieved smiles.
Meanwhile.
At the commentary table, Big Mouth Barkley wasn't about to miss such a golden opportunity to tease the Big Diesel.
"Hahaha! Shaq, I think I've just seen your successor—only this one's a Yellow Shark!"
The long-retired, chubby Shaq grinned smugly.
"The Big Shark's legacy never dies. The league needs someone with Tetsuya's kind of violent dominance."
"Poor Murray—brave kid," Barkley laughed.
"But trying to guard a rampaging interior beast was never a smart move. Sure, Tetsuya's got yellow skin and black hair—but his strength? That's pure Big Shark level!"
Barkley joked mercilessly about the Denver guard who'd just been sent flying, while clearly enjoying Ogawa Tetsuya's destruction of the Nuggets' interior.
4:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Both teams traded baskets as the score climbed.
The Lakers continued to run offense through Ogawa Tetsuya—either through pick-and-rolls with Lonzo Ball or Ingram, or by capitalizing on Tetsuya's terrifying defense to launch fast breaks.
The Nuggets' perimeter shooting tonight was outright absurd.
Their three-point percentage had soared to 63.5%.
Lakers (18) : (22) Nuggets
Ogawa Tetsuya already had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Yet Denver had drained six three-pointers.
Lakers possession.
"Damn it—another pick-and-roll!"
Seeing Ogawa Tetsuya step out beyond the three-point line again, Jokić muttered helplessly.
With his slow lateral movement, he'd already been cooked five straight times by the Lakers' pick-and-roll—and every single one ended in a made basket.
When Lonzo passed the ball back to Ogawa Tetsuya, Jokić immediately retreated.
An opening appeared.
Ogawa Tetsuya looked at the flustered, rushing Human Pork Belly Jokic, a knowing smile creeping across his face.
Everyone assumed he'd pass it back to Lonzo—
Or swing it to Ingram, who had his hand raised beyond the arc.
But to everyone's shock—
Ogawa Tetsuya chose to attack himself.
Boom!
Catching Jokić off balance, Ogawa Tetsuya suddenly accelerated, driving hard toward Jokić's weak right side.
His speed exploded to the limit.
One massive step.
And Ogawa Tetsuya blew past Jokić.
Being beaten off the dribble by another seven-footer was a humiliation Jokić couldn't accept.
Seeing Ogawa Tetsuya about to take off, Jokić shook his fat violently and lunged toward Ogawa Tetsuya's left-front side.
He had only one thought in his mind.
I can't let him dunk that damn ball!
Without hesitation, Jokić jumped to contest.
Beep—Beep!!!
The baseline referee saw it clearly.
Jokić committed a blocking foul in midair.
He was determined to stop the dunk—even if it meant giving up a foul.
However.
Ogawa Tetsuya didn't give up.
Instead of bailing out, he brutally slammed downward.
BOOM!
Even after losing his balance in midair, Ogawa Tetsuya relied on his terrifying wingspan—
Pressing Jokic down as he violently hammered the ball through the rim!
"WOOOOOO!!!"
"Oh my God—Tetsuya is playing insanely hard! He just facial-dunked Jokic!"
"That was unbelievable!"
"..."
The entire arena erupted.
Applause, screams, stunned shouts—along with explosive curses of excitement—collided into a single deafening roar.
On the sidelines, the Lakers' cheerleaders jumped to their feet, waving pom-poms wildly and pushing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
On the bench, Lakers players spun towels overhead—some even mimicking Ogawa Tetsuya's dunking motion.
Lonzo Ball, Ingram, and the others rushed over, slapping Ogawa Tetsuya's back and even his backside in celebration.
"Holy shit, Shaq! That Tetsuya is just as brutal as you, you damn Big Shark!"
Barkley leapt to his feet, eyes bulging as he shouted.
Shaq simply grinned from ear to ear—clearly enjoying being called brutal.
Lakers (20) : (22) Nuggets
And one free throw coming.
Ogawa Tetsuya stepped to the line.
And knocked it down.
On the next possession, Barton hit another three.
Lakers (21) : (25) Nuggets
Denver's perimeter shooting was scorching hot—helped, of course, by the Lakers' weak perimeter defense.
Ogawa Tetsuya had just posterized Jokic.
And Denver immediately answered with a three.
Ogawa Tetsuya frowned.
He knew this game wouldn't be easy to put away.
"Boooooo!!!"
A wave of boos echoed through the stands.
Turnover.
Ingram made a mistake—
When trying to pass to Caldwell-Pope, he somehow threw the ball straight into head coach Luke Walton's hands.