Your comments, reviews, and votes really help me out so much and they make me super motivated to keep working on this story!
Pat*eon : Belamy20
Naruto: Uchiha Shiroge Rebellion
During halftime, the Zen Master didn't waste a single second.
He had already mapped out the tactical focal point for the second half.
Every arrow on the whiteboard pointed to the same name—Link.
Start of the second half. The Suns came out aggressive.
Nash opened up with a beautiful dribble hand-off with Stoudemire.
"STAT" knocked down the mid-range jumper.
67-66. Suns retook the lead!
Lakers ball.
Following the game plan, Kobe posted up Raja Bell deep on the left block.
He banged his way in, drawing Shawn Marion's attention from the strong side.
The moment Marion turned his body to help, Link took off on the weak side!
He started with a fake toward the baseline.
Then, he exploded into a V-cut, using a double screen from Odom and Bynum to pop out to the top of the key!
almost simultaneously, Kobe delivered a bounce pass.
The ball hit Link right in the hands.
Link caught it. Wide open space in front of him!
Honed muscle memory and System skills surged through his veins.
No adjustment needed. Catch, rise, fire!
The basketball traced a high arc.
Swish!
Nothing but net!
69-67!
"The Prophet's hot streak continues! Link's movement and Kobe's passing are absolutely telepathic!" the commentator shouted.
The Suns missed on the other end. Odom grabbed the board, and the Lakers pushed the break.
Link put his head down and sprinted. Just as he crossed half-court, Odom's outlet pass arrived with pinpoint accuracy.
Link caught it. Only a retreating Steve Nash stood between him and the rim.
He dropped his shoulder into the contact. The slender Nash was sent flying back two steps.
Link followed up with an easy finger roll.
Good!
71-67!
The boos in the Footprint Center quieted down, replaced by a ripple of uneasy murmurs.
The Suns were forced to call a timeout.
Mike D'Antoni waved his arms furiously, clearly livid about the team's defensive communication.
Marion walked off the court with a face dark enough to summon a thunderstorm.
Out of the timeout, the Suns ramped up the physicality, trying to deny Link the ball and bump him off his routes.
But the Lakers' tactics weren't static.
Link started using screens to cut backdoor to the rim.
On one play, Kobe drove and kicked. Link caught it and immediately slashed into the paint.
Facing Stoudemire's rotation, he executed a silky smooth double-clutch layup!
His 30th point of the night!
Next possession, the Suns finally stopped the bleeding with a Nash assist to Marion for three.
76-71.
But the Lakers' offensive tidal wave was unstoppable.
Link's hand was scorching hot.
Catch-and-shoot threes, finishing at the rim, cutting for mid-range jumpers—he was virtually unconscious!
The Suns rotated Bell and Marion on him.
But Link found a way to put the ball in the basket every single time.
With 6:18 left in the third quarter, Link's scoring performance reached its climax.
The air in the Footprint Center was thick and loud, filled with the deafening cheers of Suns fans trying to rally their team.
Every time the Lakers touched the ball, ear-piercing boos rained down.
"Lakers moving the ball... Link curls out————catch and shoot!" The commentator's voice struggled to be heard over the noise.
"Got it! The Prophet's 33rd point!"
The arena went quiet for a split second. The fans were getting anxious.
The Suns rushed a shot and bricked it. Lakers transition!
Kobe sliced through the defense, drawing the collapse, and kicked it to the corner.
Link was already there, feet set.
"Kobe kicks to the perimeter... Link from the corner————BANG!!" The commentator's voice cracked with excitement.
"36 points!"
The entire Footprint Center fell dead silent. It was as if the Suns fans had been collectively choked.
Despair was written all over their faces.
D'Antoni called another timeout.
The Lakers bench was in a frenzy.
"Hey! Hey! Listen up, everyone! Set good screens for Link! He is on a heater right now!"
Kobe shouted while wiping sweat from his face.
Jordan Farmar was flushed with excitement.
Everyone was shook by Link's explosive scoring burst.
Link sat on the bench, the Gatorade bottle in his hand trembling slightly.
It wasn't fatigue.
It was the physical tremor of extreme adrenaline!
His body was flooding with it.
He felt like he had entered "The Zone."
In his eyes, the rim looked as wide as the ocean!
Timeout over.
The pressure shifted squarely onto the Suns.
Marion's eyes were spitting fire as he glued himself to Link the moment he crossed half-court.
However, the next second.
Link caught a pass from a teammate.
Facing the defensive specialist, there was no warning. No jab step.
Link pulled up right in his face from beyond the arc!
He barely even squared his body in the air.
"Link chooses to————pull up! Right in Marion's face————that is a bad shot!" the commentator screamed.
The ball traced an incredibly high arc through the air.
Swish!
"Oh my God————39 points! Back-to-back-to-back! He is unguardable!!"
The sound of the ball snapping through the net was crystal clear.
Home fans stood with their mouths open, staring at the scoreboard in disbelief.
But he wasn't done. Next possession.
Desperate to get one back, Marion tried to force a drive.
But in the physical exchange, he dribbled the ball off his own foot!
The ball careened away!
"Turnover! Lakers have it! Fast break!"
Link shot out like an arrow leaving the string, tearing toward the frontcourt.
Marion chased, but he was a step behind.
Odom brought the ball to center court.
He flung it to Link on the wing.
Every spectator—whether the dumbfounded home fans or the delirious Lakers supporters—held their breath as Link caught the ball.
He stopped on a dime. Rose up!
"Goodness gracious————Link————transition three!!" The commentator had lost all composure.
The ball seemed to carry the weight of the arena's silence.
It painted a long, beautiful rainbow in the air.
Time seemed to stretch. Everyone's eyes followed the ball as it flew, rotated, and dropped————
Straight into the heart of the net!
The white mesh splashed up like water!
BOOM!!!!
Link's 42nd point!
The faces of the Suns players were painted with helplessness and frustration.
Marion hung his head, unable to believe what was happening.
The few Lakers fans in the building were jumping, hugging, and screaming like maniacs.
The Lakers bench had already lost their voices!
The home crowd, however, had lost the power of speech.
Suns fans covered their faces, staring at the scoring number on the big screen that just kept climbing.
Countless people held their heads, their expressions a mix of shock, confusion, and even a trace of fear.
No one expected the Christmas Day battle to turn into this.
The hostility and noise of the arena had been punctured completely!
From earth-shattering boos to absolute deathly silence!
Looking at Link's calm, emotionless face, they felt fear for the first time.
End of the third quarter: Lakers led 98-85. Up by 13.
Link's personal tally had hit a staggering 42 points!
In the fourth quarter, D'Antoni tried to wake his team up.
But the Suns players had no fight left in them.
Kobe continued to score steadily, maintaining the lead.
With 2 minutes and 11 seconds left in the game, Link used a screen to catch the ball in the left corner.
Then, under the hopeless gaze of the entire arena.
He rose up calmly. Released.
Swish!
His 10th three-pointer of the night!
Personal point number 49!
"49 points!! God!!! The Suns have been absolutely dismantled by The Prophet!" the commentator sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
This shot drove the final nail in the coffin.
The Suns pulled their starters. They waved the white flag.
Final Score: 124-113.
The Lakers took the victory on the road, winning the ultimate Christmas Day shootout!
On the stat sheet, Link's line was blinding.
38 minutes played. 18-of-28 from the field. 10-of-15 from three. 3-of-3 from the line.
A monster 49 points, plus 5 rebounds and 3 assists!
Kobe contributed 25 points and 12 assists.
Odom grabbed a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.
For the Suns, Nash had 21 points and 17 assists. Stoudemire had 28 points and 11 rebounds. Marion had 22 points.
But in the shadow of Link's second-half explosion, their numbers looked dim.
When the final buzzer sounded, Link high-fived his teammates.
Kobe walked up to him, his eyes burning with intensity.
"I knew it! I knew it! Link, hell of a job!!"
Kobe pounded on Link's chest and pulled him into a hard embrace!
Tonight, he was the brightest star on this Lakers team!
Link looked up at the scoreboard, then glanced at Marion, who was walking toward the tunnel with his head down.
No taunts. No trash talk.
Nothing needed to be said.
The contract extension, the trade rumors.
This was the best possible response!
All the doubts and comparisons had been completely shattered by 49 points and 10 three-pointers!