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(EXTRA CHAPTER)
Blake Su and Bynum go up for the tip.
Bynum once dared to battle peak "Big Diesel" Shaq head-on. When it came to sheer strength, he absolutely had the tools.
But.
When it came to vertical leap, even as the starting center of a championship team, he was no match for Blake Su.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
They rose at the same time. With the boost from his [Iverson's Talent], Blake Su's explosive bounce sent him soaring more than a full palm higher, cleanly tipping the ball to his side.
That high?!
Yes.
Blake Su was fully locked in tonight. Not just because of his showdown with Kobe, but because the opponent was the two-time defending champion, a powerhouse aiming to restore the "Purple and Gold Dynasty."
"Smack!"
Steve Nash secured the tip and pushed the ball up, initiating the Suns' first possession.
At the top of the arc, he faced Artest. A small-on-big hesitation drive fake… but the angle wasn't there. He kicked it back out to Curry, who didn't hold it—swinging it immediately to Carter in the left corner.
"Swish—!"
Carter set his feet and fired a three. But Pau Gasol, who had been lurking inside and ready to rotate, used his length to slide over and contest hard.
Heavy pressure.
"Clang!"
The three rimmed out.
Rebound?!
Frye stepped in to grab it, but Artest and Bynum crashed in at the same time. In the collision, four massive hands beat him to the ball. It was shoveled out to Kobe, who pushed in transition.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Kobe brought it up against Curry. He accelerated to the left high post, backed Curry down, bumped him off balance by half a step, spun, and rose into a fadeaway.
"Swish!"
A textbook fadeaway—smooth arc, clean net.
Curry had a hand up, but it made no difference.
Suns (0) : (2) Lakers.
The Lakers struck first.
Suns ball.
Curry advanced and fed Blake Su at the top of the key, where Ron Artest waited.
"That's Metta World Peace. One of the best one-on-one defenders in the league. Back in the day, guys like Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson hated facing him.
Even Kobe, before they were teammates, found him tough to deal with.
He takes pride in locking people down. His defense is brutal."
Mike Breen commented.
Jeff Van Gundy added, "Exactly. Artest has both strength and quickness. He's physical, aggressive—and tonight he's clearly locked in on the Suns' biggest weapon, Blake Su.
We'll see if Blake Su can keep scoring the way he usually does against someone who gave even Kobe and Iverson trouble."
On the court.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Blake Su dribbled calmly in front of him, eyes fixed on Artest. There was caution in that steady gaze. He wasn't afraid of the defense itself—
but—
the image of that vicious elbow to James Harden's head flashed through his mind.
As someone who had witnessed it, he remembered it all too clearly. Every time he thought about it, it sent a chill down his spine.
That was savage.
Blake Su had even joked to himself that maybe "The Beard" stopped defending after that elbow scared the defense out of him.
Facing what many called the "NBA's No.1 enforcer," even Blake Su felt a trace of unease. If Artest lost his temper and threw an elbow—
Who could take that?
Whether he could or not, Blake Su had no intention of finding out.
So—
Left hand on the ball, he sold a hard drive with a wide in-front crossover—Iverson's signature crossover. Artest shifted just half a step off balance.
He could've attacked the rim.
But—
"Skrrt!"
Blake Su stopped sharply at the right elbow and rose straight into a jumper, not giving Artest a chance to recover.
"Swish!"
Mid-range. Pure.
Possession flipped.
Kobe pushed it up again, facing Curry once more. A smooth left-hand in-and-out dribble sent Curry's weight sliding right. Kobe burst left, took one more step—
"Skrrt!"
Pulled up.
Curry, off balance and undersized, could only watch.
"Swish!"
Another mid-range dagger from Kobe.
Blake Su came back down, lowered his stance as if preparing to drive on Artest—but subtly signaled. Carter stepped up to set a screen. Blake Su exploded around it.
"Whoosh!"
Fisher rotated over to help. Blake Su rose right over him, using his height advantage to shoot clean over the contest.
"Swish!"
Another one.
8:13 remaining.
Kobe on the left block, backing down Carter. A half-spin, burst of speed, baseline drive—he slipped past Carter, glided under the rim, double-clutched midair, and finished with a reverse off the glass.
"Swish!"
Count it.
Back the other way, Nash pushed and glanced toward Curry calling for the ball in the left corner—but instead swung it right.
High right wing.
Blake Su caught it on a cut into the paint, facing Bynum and Gasol collapsing on him.
He folded midair to avoid the block and flipped up a soft underhand layup.
"Swish!"
Good again.
6:13.
Kobe at the left wing, sizing up Curry. Another left-hand in-and-out. Curry retreated a step—
Kobe pulled up from deep.
From way downtown.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
Curry inbounded quickly. Up ahead, Blake Su caught it in stride, sprinting full speed. He shook Artest, stopped hard at the left wing, and launched a pull-up three in transition.
Gasol reacted late, scrambling back—
Too late.
The ball flew like a missile and detonated through the net.
"Swish!"
Three-ball.
3:33 remaining.
Suns fast break. Two-on-two.
Blake Su took it coast-to-coast, attacking the rim, drawing a hard collapse from Artest and Gasol.
He kicked it out.
At the top of the arc, Curry let it fly.
"Swish!"
Deadly accurate.
Kobe caught it and attacked again. At the top, he called for a screen, split Nash and Carter, forced his way into the lane, and drew Frye's help.
Three defenders on him.
Midair, he adjusted and kicked it back to Gasol at the free-throw line.
Gasol rose.
"Swish!"
Automatic.
1:14.
Blake Su curled off the baseline to the right wing, facing Artest. A quick jab step. Artest slid back half a step.
Blake Su wasn't driving.
He rose instantly.
"Swish!"
Two more.
"Wow… Blake Su is just so tall. A simple jab, a sliver of space, and he's already shooting. Metta World Peace doesn't seem to have much of an answer."
"True—but if Metta keeps getting scored on like this, things could get dangerous if he gets fired up."
Possession change.
Fisher brought it up and fed Kobe on the left block. Facing Carter, Kobe pump-faked repeatedly, then suddenly leaned into a fadeaway.
Caught off guard, Carter clipped Kobe's arm.
"Tweet—!"
Whistle.
"Swish!"
It still dropped.
And-one.
Free throw—good.
Three-point play.
"Haha!"
In the ESPN studio, Mike Breen laughed.
"Right from the opening tip, Blake Su and Kobe are trading buckets. It's like watching two offensive kaleidoscopes putting on a show.
This game is incredible."
Then, as if remembering something, he turned to Jeff Van Gundy with a grin.
"So tell me… who's better—Blake Su or Kobe?"
Jeff Van Gundy: "…Now that's a dangerous question."
...
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