"You couldn't even win on your own home court, and now you think you can win here in the Grizzlies' house? Based on what? What makes you think you have the right?!"
"Just wait to get knocked out by the No. 8 seed!"
"Go Grizzlies!"
Amid the roaring cheers of the home crowd, the game officially began.
"Jump ball!"
Once again, Blake Su took the lead, beating Marc Gasol to the ball and tipping it away to secure the Suns' first possession of the game.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
Blake Su had just brought the ball to the top of the arc when Marc Gasol stepped up to defend him. At the same time... Rudy Gay was already preparing to rush over and help.
Or rather... to double-team him.
But George saw it clearly as well and immediately came up to set a screen, giving Blake Su the chance to face Marc Gasol one-on-one.
It was not an open look.
But for Blake Su, even a one-on-one was a luxury.
"Whoosh!"
Facing Marc Gasol, Blake Su dribbled with his left hand. The instant he drove to the left, he suddenly pulled the ball back with a wide crossover in front of his body.
Allen Iverson's signature crossover.
With one move, he shook Marc Gasol off, then accelerated and blew right past him.
Although both of them were centers, and although Marc Gasol had some ability to defend on the perimeter, out there against Blake Su, Marc Gasol was no different from a wooden post.
"Whoosh!"
After shaking off Marc Gasol, Blake Su attacked the rim directly.
"Step!"
"Step!"
Gay chased in from the wing, while Randolph rotated up from under the basket. The two immediately moved to help defend Blake Su. In the Grizzlies' eyes, it seemed as if Blake Su was the only player on the floor.
They continued to clamp down on him.
"Whoosh!"
Blake Su's gaze sharpened, and he fired a pass across to Curry in the left corner, creating a wide-open chance for him. Curry caught the ball, raised his hand, and launched a three.
"Swish!"
Quick release, clean make.
Nothing but net.
"Great shot!"
George raised his arm and roared.
"Smack!"
Curry smiled and slapped hands with Blake Su. The chemistry between Su and Curry was still quite good, and Curry knocked down his very first three of the night.
He seemed to be in decent form tonight too.
Only... it seemed that was the only three he had in him. After that, Blake Su used his own threat to create several more chances for Curry.
But once again, Curry failed to cash in.
"Clang!"
Another nearly wide-open three hit iron.
"Tch!"
Curry huffed in frustration. The smile that had just been on his face vanished.
He really wanted to hit those open threes and help take some of the scoring pressure off Blake Su, but... the shots just would not fall.
And the more he missed, the less confident he became. His offensive efficiency kept dropping.
"Why is this happening?!"
Curry could not understand it either.
By the end of the first quarter, the Suns' best-performing player was once again Blake Su, the one who had been constantly swarmed and double-teamed. Yet the team still trailed by 6 points.
"In the last game, the Suns led by 6 after the first quarter at home, only to get overturned in the end. Tonight, they're on the road, and they're also carrying the pressure of being down 0-2.
"Now they're down 6 after the opening quarter.
"It feels like everything bad is piling up on the Suns. This is a very dangerous situation for them!"
During the break between quarters.
At the commentary desk.
Van Gundy frowned, worried for the Suns.
"Sigh..."
Mike Breen sighed and said, "Blake Su is creating the chances. As a rookie center, he's facing high-intensity double-teams and still giving his teammates several good looks.
"That's already very impressive.
"It's just... his teammates can't seize those chances. They can't make the shots.
"Looks like these young Suns players really haven't adapted to the intensity of the playoffs. They can't bring out that aggressive offense they had in the regular season."
"That's true.
"With no playoff experience, how could they adjust properly in only three games?"
Van Gundy nodded slightly, then continued, "To put it plainly, the Suns are a single-core team. Their strongest point is Blake Su alone.
"He's being double-teamed like that, his teammates aren't making shots, and they lack experience. Meanwhile, Nash, the one with real experience, is old, and Carter is injured.
"With all that, winning really is difficult for them.
"Even so, I still hope the Suns can win tonight. If they lose again, this series is truly over."
"Let's hope so."
The commentators spoke as, on the court, the second quarter began.
First came the bench rotations. Neither team was very efficient, and there was not much scoring. That was actually fine, giving the starters proper time to rest.
After 5 minutes and 15 seconds.
"Beep, beep!"
Hollins was the first to call a timeout.
Both teams' starters returned. Gay used a screen to shake off George, then accelerated toward the rim, taking off into his three-step gather.
On this play, he wanted to dunk.
Under the basket, Frye had just prepared to jump and contest, only to realize it was already too late.
But.
"Thud!"
Just as Gay was about to dunk, Blake Su flashed over from the wing, planted his foot, and leapt. His even more terrifying vertical and wingspan let him arrive despite jumping later.
His long arm whipped out straight, and his palm came down hard.
"Bang!"
"Thud!"
The first sound was the muffled impact of his palm pressing down on the ball, a head-on block.
The second was Gay crashing to the floor after losing his balance through the physical contact.
On this defensive possession after the timeout, Blake Su... directly blocked Gay and sent him tumbling hard onto the court.
"Whoa!"
The arena immediately erupted in waves of shocked cries.
Buzz!
That domineering block also gave the Suns a huge surge of momentum. George grabbed the rebound and passed it to Nash, who immediately sped forward to push the counterattack.
"Thud!"
A bounce pass split the floor and found Curry, who had settled at the top of the arc on the other side.
"Whoosh!"
"Swish!"
Catching the ball in transition, the cold-blooded shooter fired. The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air, like an arrow piercing the heart, and dropped in for a transition three.
One defensive play, one offensive play.
The Suns instantly gained momentum, and Blake Su had always been the type to press the advantage once he had it. On the very next possession, he powered past Marc Gasol, ignoring Gay's help defense from the wing.
"Whoosh!"
Carrying the defense of two players, he stormed into the paint and rose up with authority. With his height and wingspan, he went straight at Marc Gasol and Randolph.
Right over the "Black and White Bears."
"Boom!"
A one-handed tomahawk slammed through the rim!
"Boom!"
The rim kept groaning, and with it came the cheers of the Suns fans inside the arena. This was the Suns' "Run-and-Gun."
They had waited far too long.
And... it was not over yet.
After Conley missed a transition three, possession changed hands. Nash sent another long pass across half court, finding Blake Su in the frontcourt with pinpoint precision.
At the left side of the arc.
One step beyond the three-point line, facing Marc Gasol's defense at a full 216 centimeters, Blake Su raised his hand and launched a pull-up transition three.
"Whoosh!"
The ball flew over Marc Gasol's fingertips.
"Here it comes!"
The moment the ball left his hand, Curry and George had already raised their arms, ready to celebrate.
The next instant.
"Swish!"
With a crisp sound, the ball pierced through the net.
"Boom!"
In the stands, even though this was an away game, the cheers and shouts surged like a tide.
...
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