The Trail Blazers were riddled with injuries at the start of the season, and for Ali, this was definitely a great opportunity to prove himself. He was no longer young and could not afford to waste time, so he would absolutely not miss it.
However, Beelman's decision left Petrović somewhat discouraged.
Before the third quarter ended, Petrović had already scored 21 points, leading the team.
But at the same time, he only had 3 assists and 3 turnovers, with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1:1.
Starting and playing as the sixth man are different. The sixth man can focus on scoring, while the starter has more to pay attention to.
Obviously, it was difficult for Petrović alone to support the Trail Blazers' external organization and offensive ball handling.
In the latter half of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers began to slowly increase their efforts. Gan Guoyang started a fierce attack on the Nuggets' inside from the low post.
