The Suns... suffered another upset, losing to the Grizzlies and falling behind 0-2 in the series.
News of the upset started spreading like wildfire almost the moment the game ended. It would not be long before it dominated the spotlight.
However, before that, the fans' attention was still on the other three games. First and foremost was the matchup between the Bulls and the Pacers.
That game had started at almost the same time as the Suns' game.
Now it was in the final quarter, with three minutes left, entering the decisive stretch. Only... the result was already beyond doubt.
Tonight, Derrick Rose, the "Windy City Rose," played every bit like the leader of his team. He had already put up 28 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists, running the offense while also unleashing his unstoppable individual scoring.
The Rose... bloomed tonight.
In terms of overall strength, the Bulls were several levels above the Pacers. The Pacers had pulled off an upset win in the previous game and managed to hang on for three quarters tonight.
But in the final quarter, a burst of offense from Rose left them completely stunned. With three minutes still on the clock, the gap had already reached 13 points.
The Pacers had no intention of giving up, but such a large deficit was simply too much to erase.
"Swish!"
Once again, Rose changed direction without slowing down, shook off his defender, and burst into the paint like lightning before finishing with a reverse layup.
His personal tally reached 30 points.
At the same time... the game lost all suspense.
In the end, the Bulls cruised past the Pacers with a 14-point win, taking one back at home. Their powerful offense also dealt a heavy blow to the Pacers players' confidence.
Next came the matchup between the Mavericks and the Thunder.
In the previous game, the Mavericks had been overturned in the final minutes despite leading by a full 6 points. Tonight... they had no intention of repeating that mistake.
And in fact, they didn't.
With home-court advantage, the Mavericks controlled the game almost from the opening tip. On the Thunder's side, "Foul-baiting Harden" and "Step-Back Harden" had yet to take shape.
Westbrook's offense was still not stable enough.
Durant was the Thunder's true core in the playoffs. His drives, pull-up jumpers, and mid-range shots off sudden stops were still ruthless.
Unfortunately, Nowitzki, the "German Tank," was even more unstoppable and despair-inducing with his "One-Legged Fadeaway." On top of that... the role players all performed well too.
Especially "The Jet" Terry.
Coming off the bench, he took a lot of offensive pressure off Nowitzki. Add in the defense from Stevenson and Marion, and tonight, the Mavericks gave the Thunder no chance at all.
They controlled the tempo for the entire game and maintained their lead. Although they never went on one massive run or blew the game completely open, they kept the Thunder pinned down the whole way.
Of course, the "Thunder Trio" were not easy to deal with either. At the start of the third quarter and near the end of the fourth, the trio both showed signs of sparking a comeback run.
However, every single time, Nowitzki killed their momentum in its cradle with an utterly unreasonable jumper from the perimeter.
In the end, there was no comeback. The Mavericks, who had led the whole game, defeated the Thunder by 7 points and also took one back at home.
The series was tied 1-1.
At the same time, at Amway Center, the Magic's home arena, the matchup between the Magic and the Hawks had also entered its final battle and reached a fever pitch.
Magic ball.
The Magic wanted to get the ball into the hands of "Superman" Howard, but how could the Hawks let them have their way? They sent three defenders to pressure him.
"Smack!"
Howard did receive the ball, but not under the basket. He caught it in the low post instead. Facing the double-team, he forced up a hook shot, but it missed.
Transition offense.
"Iso Joe" pulled up for a trailing three.
"Swish!"
Clean hit.
That stretched the lead to 5 points with 56.4 seconds left. It was a three-pointer strong enough to kill the game.
The ball went back to the Magic. In the final critical moment, they could only rely on Howard, their strongest point. But under layer after layer of pressure, "Superman" could not attack from under the basket. His low-post drive toward the rim...
"Clang!"
Still no good.
The game lost its suspense right there.
In the end, the Hawks once again won as the lower seed, taking a 2-0 lead on the road. Next, they would return home with two wins already in hand.
They held a massive advantage!
After the game, at the commentary desk, Jon Barry shook his head and laughed. "This game really was interesting!"
"Oh?"
Mark Jackson blinked, sensing there was more behind Jon Barry's words.
"Heh."
Jon Barry smiled and continued, "Howard was efficient all game long, but in the final moments, facing double-teams, with barely any outside shooting ability, he tried to force his way inside and missed two straight shots, losing the chance to win.
"And Joe Johnson, before hitting that backbreaking three, had gone just 2-for-8 from three-point range, only 25 percent.
"He was that cold, yet in the end, he hit the lethal three that killed the game.
"You really never know who the winner will be until the final moment. That's the charm of basketball."
"That's true."
Mark Jackson nodded, paused for a moment, then continued, "And... maybe this is becoming a trend."
...
The next day.
Looking at last night's games, aside from the Suns suffering another upset, the other matchups had more or less gone the way fans expected.
So the Suns were once again pushed into the center of controversy.
"Unbelievable. The top team in the West, a team with two 20-plus-game winning streaks this season and 'Monster Rookie' Blake Su, actually lost two straight games at home?
"And they lost both to the eighth-seeded Grizzlies?!"
"Tsk, tsk... honestly, it's kind of hard to believe!"
"This has to be fake. In Game 1 of the first round, all the strong teams got upset, so the Suns losing then was still understandable. But now they've lost again? What is going on?"
"Two straight home losses. Even if the Suns are the top seed in the West, the rest of this series against the Grizzlies is going to put them under huge pressure."
"Exactly. If they can't even beat them at home, it'll only be harder on the road. Don't tell me... the Grizzlies are really going to pull off a No. 8 seed upset."
"No way. Absolutely not."
"Hard to say!"
"The Suns... this is seriously confusing."
"Kind of disappointing!"
"Don't overthink it. Look at the other strong teams. Didn't they all win the games they were supposed to win? The Suns just haven't adjusted yet.
"Losing two games doesn't matter.
"I believe that after these two games, now that they've adapted to the intensity of the playoffs, they'll hit bottom and bounce back. They'll start winning.
"They'll definitely win the series!"
"..."
Opinions were all over the place.
Although there were plenty of supportive voices, as the top seed in the West, losing two straight home games to the eighth-seeded Grizzlies still disappointed some fans.
Of course, talk was just talk, and disappointment was just disappointment.
That night.
American Airlines Arena.
The matchup between the Heat and the 76ers tipped off. After their upset loss in the previous game, the "Heat Big Three" were burning with anger. Tonight, they went full force and blew the game open in just three quarters.
With a blowout win, they tied the series.
At the same time... they fully displayed the poise of a powerhouse, even the poise of a championship-caliber team!
...
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