"Wow!"
"Tony is on fire tonight!"
"Haha, Tony was already strong to begin with. And when the team has momentum, he becomes even more dangerous!"
"That's right!"
"Never let the Spurs get into rhythm. Once they do, Tony alone can destroy a team."
"This is San Antonio. The Suns, who've been riding an 18-game winning streak, might finally fall tonight."
...
Seeing their team jump out to a 10-point lead, the Spurs fans at home were thrilled.
Right now, plenty of teams around the league wanted to see the Suns lose. If the Spurs were the ones to end their streak, it would be a huge badge of honor.
In the stands—
John Wall, who had come specifically to watch Blake Su embarrass himself, couldn't help but grin.
"Yes, yes, that's it. Tony, keep crushing the Suns like that.
If he can put Blake Su on a poster too, that'd be even better."
Blake Griffin, on the other hand, felt conflicted.
He was happy that the Suns were struggling, which meant Blake Su wouldn't have a chance to show off. But he was also worried—Parker playing this well was bad news for the Clippers tomorrow night.
And the real problem was—
The Spurs weren't strong because of Parker alone.
They had the entire "GDP" trio.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the stands, Yoona and Jessica—whose youthful charm couldn't be hidden even under their caps—were chatting while watching the game.
"Hey, Yoona, didn't you say Blake Su was really good? Why are they already down by so many points?"
Jessica asked.
"Hehe~"
Yoona smiled.
"He's usually amazing. Maybe he hasn't found his rhythm yet tonight.
And besides… please don't suddenly act so serious and professional.
You originally came here because of his looks."
"Shh~"
Jessica wrapped an arm around Yoona's arm, slightly tilting her head toward her. With her other hand, she placed a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, smiling brightly.
On the court—
Gentry called a timeout.
Not because he was panicking, but simply to slow the Spurs' momentum and disrupt their offensive rhythm.
The players understood this as well.
Soon—
The timeout ended.
Play resumed.
The Suns inbounded from the sideline near midcourt.
Blake Su caught the ball, facing Jefferson. He dribbled with a series of crossovers before suddenly accelerating down the left wing.
Ginóbili immediately came over to help.
Instantly—
Ginóbili and Jefferson trapped Blake Su.
Whoosh!
Blake Su drove and kicked the ball out to Nash on the perimeter.
Nash had a clean look but didn't shoot. As Parker quickly closed out, Nash fired a sharp pass across the court.
Snap!
Curry caught it in the left corner and immediately rose for a three.
Parker tried to recover—
Too late.
Clang!
The shot missed.
Duncan grabbed the rebound and once again found Parker, who had been playing brilliantly tonight.
The "French Sports Car" pushed the ball up the court.
At the top of the arc, he attacked Curry again.
Lightning-fast acceleration followed by a perfectly timed spin move—
Whoosh!
He blew past Curry again, spinning toward the right side of the basket.
While turning in midair, he attempted a scoop layup.
But just then—
Blake Su burst over from the wing.
Jump!
Smack!
He exploded upward, his long arm fully extended, and pinned Parker's shot against the backboard.
The ball bounced out.
Curry grabbed it.
Go!
Curry sprinted down the court with the ball while Nash ran the opposite lane.
Ginóbili chased Curry.
Curry passed to Nash—
Then accelerated forward again.
Whoosh!
As Ginóbili closed in, Nash returned the ball to Curry.
Whoosh!
Curry caught it at the left wing and immediately launched a three.
Dead-eye accuracy.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
"A true shooter never loses confidence. He just missed a shot moments ago, yet on the fast break he still chooses the three instead of the easy layup. That's Curry's confidence."
"Curry isolates against Ginóbili. He accelerates from the left wing, spins to change direction, drives right, spins again, and then steps back—
Ginóbili loses his balance.
Curry for three!
Draws the bow—
Fires the arrow—
Another clean hit!"
"Two straight threes from the left wing! With his confidence soaring, Curry attacks Ginóbili again.
Acceleration—stop—then another burst of speed.
The rhythm change shakes Ginóbili off completely.
Curry drives into the lane. Duncan steps up to help.
Curry slides sideways and floats a high bank shot!"
Bang!
In!
"Curry's athleticism isn't elite, but his offensive rhythm is incredible. Add in his deadly shooting and soft finishing touch, and his ceiling is extremely high.
You can see why the Suns were willing to trade Richardson—a $10 million player averaging over 20 points—for Curry."
Jon Barry delivered the call with excitement.
Late in the first quarter—
Curry exploded.
He hit 3 of 4 threes, scoring 13 points.
On the final Suns possession of the quarter, Blake Su attacked the rim one-on-one against Duncan.
Swish!
He finished with a hanging layup.
Spurs 31 : 29 Suns
End of the first quarter.
Thanks to Curry's brilliance, the Suns erased their 10-point deficit and cut it to just two.
Second quarter.
Curry, who had rested for the final two minutes of the first, returned to the floor leading the bench unit.
For the Spurs, Ginóbili led their reserves.
When it came to bench strength—
The Spurs were famous for being a team where everyone could contribute. Under Popovich's extreme team-basketball system, both starters and reserves had offensive ability.
Off the bench, George Hill and Gary Neal sometimes even scored more efficiently than starters Jefferson and Blair.
That was the Spurs.
Everyone was a weapon.
However—
Tonight, Curry was simply on another level.
Facing the Spurs' bench mob, he immediately stole the ball and nailed a fast-break three.
After Ginóbili missed a responding three—
Swish!
Curry pulled up from a step beyond the arc and hit another transition three.
Threes raining down.
In just 4 minutes and 17 seconds of rotation time, barely more than a quarter of play—
Curry had already hit five three-pointers and scored 23 points.
The explosive scoring ability that would later make Curry a superstar was already beginning to reveal itself.
At the same time—
The Suns erased their early 10-point deficit and surged ahead by five.
Whistle!
Popovich could no longer sit still.
He had been preparing defensive plans for Blake Su, but Curry's sudden explosion caught him completely off guard.
He immediately called a timeout.
At the commentary table—
Jon Barry laughed.
"Curry is incredible. With performances like this, even as a second-year player, he's quickly becoming the Suns' second option.
That's pure talent."
Mark Jackson chuckled.
"Well, if you put it that way, isn't Blake Su—still a rookie yet already the Suns' franchise centerpiece—even more impressive?"
"Of course."