"Enough complaining!"
Gentry stepped into the middle of the group.
"We should be relieved that only Terry is on fire, instead of Terry and Nowitzki both going off.
"It's fine. We still have the stronger team, while their hot streak won't last.
"We're only down seven. That's three possessions, and there's still an entire quarter left. We still have a very good chance of winning."
"That's true."
Blake nodded.
"I'll admit the Mavericks keep producing 'X-factors,' and Terry has been playing out of his mind. But we're not losing this game."
"Exactly."
George immediately agreed.
"This win is ours."
"That's right."
Curry nodded repeatedly.
"We'll take the lead in the fourth quarter, go up 3-0 in the series, and put ourselves one win from the Finals.
"We'll show the Mavericks that even with Lady Luck on their side, they're still staring down a sweep."
"Well said."
Nash applauded, while Carter gave Curry a high five.
When the team was struggling, someone needed to step forward and say something inspiring.
Tonight, Curry had done well.
"Let's go!"
"Two more wins, and we're going to the Finals together!"
Blake raised his fist and roared.
"Yeah!"
Everyone threw their arms up and shouted with him.
The entire Suns team was fired up.
...
Before long, the fourth quarter began with both teams' reserves on the floor.
Could "Wonder Kid" Barea keep producing?
No.
He dropped out of the ranks of the "X-factors" and returned to normal, once again looking like an ordinary backup point guard for the Mavericks.
But as soon as one problem disappeared, another emerged.
Backup small forward Peja Stojaković suddenly caught fire.
Over a 3:15 stretch, he went three for four from beyond the arc and scored nine points by himself.
Now transformed into an "X-factor," Stojaković helped the Mavericks stretch their lead back to twelve.
"Beep! Beep!"
Gentry had no choice but to call a timeout and prepare to send the starters back in.
"Peja's heating up too? If he really gets going, that's terrifying."
George looked alarmed on the bench.
But Peja was only a reserve, so why did his outburst worry George so much?
Because Peja Stojaković was one of the notable players from the Class of '96.
Selected fourteenth overall in the first round, Stojaković had once been the Kings' top sharpshooter and one of the league's premier three-point specialists.
His shooting ability had been considered comparable to Ray Allen's, making him one of the best shooters in the league.
At his peak, he averaged 24.5 points while shooting an astonishing 44.4 percent from three and an incredible 92.2 percent from the free-throw line.
His efficiency had been remarkable.
However, after leaving the Kings, his form steadily declined. Over the past several seasons, he had averaged only a few points per game.
He had reached the point where few teams showed interest in him, and retirement seemed close.
But tonight, with the Mavericks in serious trouble and one "X-factor" after another emerging, Peja finally became one himself.
It was as though he had returned to his prime, displaying his deadly three-point shooting in full.
Once he became an "X-factor," he was extremely difficult to handle.
The Mavericks had widened the gap once again.
"Peja's hitting everything now too? Are you kidding me? Can the Mavericks stop this nonsense and play one normal basketball game?!"
"So they're really going to keep producing one 'X-factor' after another?!"
"I'm sick of this."
"What is this? Why are the Mavericks getting this much luck?!"
"Shit! This game should have been over ages ago, but somehow it's been dragged into the fourth quarter, and now the Suns might actually lose?!
"What kind of joke is this?"
The eruption of yet another Mavericks player finally pushed the Suns fans past their limit, and they shouted out their frustration one after another.
Meanwhile, on the Suns' bench, Gentry was developing a pounding headache.
First Barea, then Terry, then Stevenson, and now Peja Stojaković.
It was chaos.
With the Suns trailing by twelve, even Gentry was beginning to lose his composure. He did not know how they were supposed to deal with so many "X-factors" and still win.
"Haa..."
Gentry took a long breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Peja is extremely hot right now.
"We have to contain him.
"If he really gets going, we may not be able to stop him."
"Right."
Everyone understood and nodded.
After the timeout, the Mavericks kept Peja on the court as expected.
Their closing lineup was Terry, Peja, Kidd, Nowitzki, and Chandler.
Yes.
Other than Chandler, every player on the floor was a shooter, and every one of them was in excellent form.
George felt a headache coming on just from looking at the lineup.
Blake frowned as well.
He could already sense how difficult the rest of the game would be. Winning would not be easy.
Still, he had no intention of giving up.
"Swish!"
Using George's screen, Blake moved to the right elbow and forced a mismatch against Kidd.
Without hesitation, he rose directly over Kidd's defense.
Kidd had no answer. All he could do was watch.
"Swish!"
Blake knocked down the mid-range jumper and cut the deficit by two.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Kidd brought the ball up the floor, then passed to Terry on the right.
George immediately closed out, refusing to give him an easy three.
"Whoosh!"
Terry moved the ball to Peja at the top of the left wing.
"Step!"
Blake quickly rotated over.
Peja stood 206 centimeters tall, making him a tall shooter. With him playing like an "X-factor," the Suns needed someone with Blake's size to contain him.
Blake closed out, leaving Peja no opportunity to shoot.
Peja immediately lobbed the ball into Nowitzki on the left block, giving him a mismatch against Stephen Curry.
"Whoosh!"
Nowitzki went straight into his One-Legged Fadeaway.
Curry had no answer.
"Swish!"
Nowitzki buried the mid-range jumper.
On the following possession, Terry and Peja once again commanded attention on the perimeter, giving Nowitzki another opportunity to isolate George.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Nowitzki backed him down, used a series of elegant footwork, then suddenly accelerated and created half a step of separation.
He attacked the basket directly.
"Swish!"
The finger roll dropped in.
George stayed with him, but Nowitzki was simply too tall for him to block the shot.
"This is bad!"
On the Suns' bench, Gentry sensed that something was wrong.
Inside the broadcast studio, Hubie Brown watched the sequence unfold and spoke up.
"Blake has shifted over to guard the 'X-factor' Stojaković, and it has been effective.
"But that has also freed Nowitzki.
"He may not have played well so far tonight, but we can't forget that the German Wunderkind is still the Mavericks' greatest threat.
"By focusing on the 'X-factors' Stojaković and Terry while allowing Nowitzki more freedom, the Suns are covering one threat only to expose themselves to another.
"They've completely lost their composure!"
...
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