The arena erupted in cheers.
Watching Bogut, who had just been viciously dunked on by Blake Su and was now stumbling backward in a sorry state, the fans felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. They wished every one of Blake Su's plays would be a poster dunk that humiliated him like that.
"Tch…"
Feeling the crowd's hostility, Bogut curled his lip and snorted. Getting dunked on by a rookie like Blake Su left him thoroughly annoyed.
His gaze turned cold.
He fixed his eyes on Blake Su, intent on teaching him a lesson.
What he didn't realize was that Blake Su had been watching him the entire time.
"Beep beep!"
Blake Su's momentum-shifting dunk forced Bucks head coach Scott Skiles to call a timeout to slow the Suns' surge.
After the timeout.
Jennings used Delfino's screen and launched a three from the right wing at a 45-degree angle.
"Clang!"
No good.
But under the rim, Bogut fought hard for the offensive rebound, shoving Frye aside to create space. It was almost a free bucket, but his soft hook off the glass—
"Clang!"
—still bounced out.
"Huh…"
A wave of groans spread through the arena again.
"F**k!"
Hearing the jeers and seeing his own miss, Bogut cursed at the air, his face flushed red with anger.
"Thud!"
Blake Su secured the rebound and passed it to Curry to push the pace. Facing Jennings, he lowered his center of gravity and burst forward, drawing a defensive collapse.
He kicked it out to Carter in the left corner.
Carter took the three.
"Clang!"
No good.
Frye tipped the ball out. At the left high post, Blake Su grabbed it. Just as he was about to decide his next move, a solid figure stepped in front of him.
Who?
Bogut.
"Oh?"
"What's Bogut doing? Hasn't he been embarrassed enough? Coming out to the perimeter to embarrass himself again?"
"Still want to get a shot drilled over his face?"
"Addicted to it?"
"I'd say he's just furious and losing it!"
"So what? If he's getting dunked on in his own paint, then out here… he's just asking to get cooked!"
The fans scoffed at Bogut stepping out to guard Blake Su.
And they were right.
Normally, as a fellow center, Bogut had no chance defending Blake Su on the perimeter. But now that he had his sights set on him, Bogut had no intention of playing clean defense anyway.
"Coming at me uninvited? Something's off."
Ball in hand, Blake Su stared at Bogut's hostile expression and immediately sensed the problem. He knew Bogut's next defensive move wouldn't be clean.
Even so, Blake Su had no intention of backing down.
He had planned to dominate him from the very beginning.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Blake Su dribbled, facing Bogut, chaining together crossovers as he moved left. The moment he shifted the ball to his left hand, lowered his center, and dipped his left shoulder—
"Whoosh!"
He exploded forward with incredible speed, ready to blow past Bogut in a single step.
Bogut's eyes tightened. Sliding laterally, he stuck his leg out again. If Blake Su kept accelerating, he would likely end up just like Frye earlier.
Blake Su, already on guard, let his gaze turn cold. Just as expected.
"Whoosh!"
Instead of forcing the drive, Blake Su snapped into a quick crossover in front, completely shaking Bogut off. Then he burst forward, attacking down the right lane.
"Hmph!"
His trip attempt had failed. Seeing Blake Su shake him clean and about to get past him, realizing he was about to become a highlight victim again, Bogut's face twisted with anger.
He stuck his leg out again.
After getting a shot drilled in his face and being dunked on, he was determined to take Blake Su down.
But in his frustration, he forgot something crucial.
Their athleticism wasn't even close.
Blake Su could change direction and accelerate instantly.
But Bogut, who had just shifted his weight left and thrown his leg out, couldn't recover his balance that quickly. Forcing his other leg out as well, left then right—
He dropped straight into a split.
"Rip—"
"Ah—!"
"Thud!"
The first sound was the tearing stretch in his inner thigh ligaments, something only Bogut could feel. The second was his agonized scream as he clutched his groin. The third was the sound of him crashing onto the floor.
After dropping Bogut, Blake Su didn't rush the shot. Instead, he coolly glanced at him, sprawled on the floor in pain, for a couple of seconds before calmly pulling up for a mid-range jumper.
"Swish!"
It dropped.
Blake Su's swagger didn't feel excessive at all. If anything, it felt incredibly satisfying. Frye, in particular, felt a surge of relief seeing Bogut humiliated so thoroughly.
"Ahhhh!"
Bogut's miserable scream echoed through the arena. Anyone who hadn't seen the play might have thought Blake Su committed an offensive foul. The referees, however, had a clear view and didn't react.
"Hahaha!"
"I told you, coming out to guard him would just get him embarrassed!"
"Tsk tsk… getting crossed into a split by Blake Su, seriously?"
"This is the No. 1 pick? A real 'martial arts champion,' huh?"
"Man, just hearing that scream and imagining that split… must've felt amazing, right? Bogut sure looks like he's enjoying it!"
"Look at that smile!"
"Hahaha!"
The Suns fans showed no sympathy at all. Watching Bogut in pain, they only laughed harder. A dirty player like him didn't deserve any pity.
Still.
Since it might involve a sensitive area, the referees gave him a moment to recover. After a short while, Bogut got back up, still grimacing.
He bounced a few times. No serious injury, it seemed.
The game continued.
Bucks ball.
Jennings drove inside, but under Curry's defensive pressure, his layup missed.
"Ugh… Even with half a step on Curry, Jennings couldn't finish that. For a player who peaked in his debut, it really looks like that was his peak.
He's only in his second year, and already declining."
Blake Su grabbed the rebound and handed it off to Steve Nash to push the break.
"Whoosh!"
They ran.
The tension on the court was intense. After Blake Su repeatedly humiliated Bogut, the Suns, already riding high, launched into their run-and-gun offense again.
All five players sprinted.
A powerful sense of pressure swept over the Bucks, forcing them to scramble back on defense.
"Whoosh!"
Steve Nash crossed half court and passed to Carter at the top on the right side. With a defender closing in, Carter returned the ball. Nash drove, looked toward Carter on the right, but instead kicked it to Curry cutting in from the left.
"Whoosh!"
Curry caught it and accelerated toward the rim. Bogut was ready, bracing to stop the layup.
But just as he was about to jump—
"Whoosh!"
Curry suddenly tossed the ball high into the air.
"A pass?"
Bogut froze for a split second, then turned to track the ball.
What he saw wasn't just the ball.
Blake Su was already soaring up to meet it.
"Blake Su?!"
Bogut's pupils shrank.
In the next instant, he had only just turned around, with no chance to jump, when Blake Su rose above him, riding over him.
One hand pressed down on his head.
The other gripped the ball.
And with sheer, brutal force, Blake Su smashed it through the rim.
...
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