An assist from Blake Su.
Curry knocks down the three.
Possession switches.
Billups brings the ball up and finds Anthony posting up at the right high post. Facing Carter, he backs him down one step, then turns and rises for a jumper.
"Swish!"
Smooth and steady, money in the bank.
5:13.
Nash drives in for a layup, then, midair, throws a no-look pass over his shoulder to Blake Su in the left corner. It's a great look. "Melo" Anthony flies over on a frantic closeout.
But.
"Whoosh!"
Knowing his shot isn't falling, Blake Su doesn't take it. After drawing the defense, he kicks it back out to Carter on the perimeter. Carter rises for three.
"Clang!"
No good.
But... Blake Su crashes into the paint, soaring through traffic to grab the offensive rebound. He fakes a shot to draw attention, then kicks it out again.
"Whoosh!"
Nash catches it in the right corner and fires a three.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
4:11.
Blake Su guards Billups one-on-one. Just when everyone expects him to use his size to overpower him, he switches to aggressive pressure defense.
With a quick swipe, he steals the ball cleanly from Billups.
"Whoosh!"
Without stopping, he fires a long pass across half court to Curry for a fast-break layup, but... Anthony blocks Curry at the rim.
"Whoosh!"
The Nuggets immediately push the fast break the other way.
Billups leads the charge. As Blake Su steps up to defend, Billups dishes it across to Afflalo, who gathers and goes up for the layup.
But.
Right as he's about to release the ball, a massive hand slaps it away mid-motion, ripping it loose.
Who was it?
Blake Su!
And instead of just knocking it loose, he controls it and instantly launches another full-court pass.
"Swish!"
This time, Curry finishes the fast break with an easy layup.
"Wow... one second he's guarding Billups at the high post, the next he's under the rim stripping Afflalo.
Blake Su's speed and athleticism are simply unbelievable."
Inside the broadcast booth.
Mike Breen clicks his tongue in amazement, while Jeff Van Gundy looks equally stunned.
"And the craziest part is that this level of athleticism belongs to a 215-centimeter center.
That just makes it even more absurd."
As he speaks, Blake Su once again uses his elite physical tools to block Martin at the rim and secure the rebound.
"Whoosh!"
He even pushes the ball himself on the fast break. When Anthony steps up to defend, under normal circumstances Blake Su would power straight to the rim.
But tonight.
His shot isn't there, so he kicks it out again to Carter, who finishes the layup.
With that basket, the Suns erase a 7-point deficit and... take a 1-point lead.
By the end of the first quarter, the Suns go from down 7 to up 5. But that's not the key point.
The key is that Blake Su scored only 2 points in the entire quarter.
In the stands.
"Wow~"
Pippen glances at the stat board, puzzled.
"What's going on? Blake Su went 1-for-6 and only scored 2 points. How are the Suns still up by 5?"
"That's normal."
Jordan shrugs.
"Look closely at his stat line. With numbers like that, even without scoring, it's completely normal for his team to be winning."
Hearing this, Pippen takes a closer look and freezes.
Jordan chews his gum, eyes on the Suns bench, then on Blake Su, shaking his head with a faint smile.
"This rookie center is ridiculously versatile."
...
Inside the broadcast booth.
Van Gundy voices the same confusion, while Mike Breen laughs in amazement.
"Even though Blake Su struggled with his shot in the first quarter.
6 attempts, just 1 make, only 2 points.
But... beyond scoring, he put up 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Add in his aggressive, physical defense.
That kind of impact doesn't even fully show up in the stats.
Despite scoring just 2 points, he led the team to erase a 7-point deficit and build a 5-point lead through sheer all-around play.
Blake Su is incredible!"
"Exactly."
Van Gundy nods with a smile.
"Don't be fooled by the fact he's just a rookie. He's already a qualified leader. Even when he's not in rhythm,
he knows how to lead his team to win.
And that's exactly what a true team leader does."
Even though Anthony put up an impressive 14 points and 5 rebounds in the first quarter, the two commentators keep praising Blake Su.
It can't be helped.
After all, he's one of their own.
On the court.
Second quarter.
The bench units take over first.
JR Smith, who was shut down by Harden last night, bounces back tonight. Coming off the bench, he scores continuously and plays his role.
"Streaky shooter" is his nickname.
Hot and cold. That's his trademark. Tonight, he's hot. In 4 minutes and 44 seconds, JR helps his team cut the gap to 5.
"Beep!"
Gentry calls a timeout.
Both teams bring their starters back.
Suns ball.
"Clang!"
Blake Su tries another three. Misses again. He shakes his head repeatedly, clearly frustrated with his cold shooting.
But.
Only for a moment.
He quickly refocuses, contributing through defense, passing, and steals to help the team.
Of course.
Even if his shot isn't falling, he can't be ignored.
On a fast-break opportunity after a steal, Anthony chooses to ignore Blake Su and instead tracks Curry on the other side.
Blake Su goes straight to the rim.
Martin scrambles over to help.
"Beep!"
Whistle.
Martin is called for a foul.
Blake Su steps to the line.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Both free throws are good.
But on his next two attempts, Blake Su misses again.
Until, with 15.7 seconds left in the half, he comes up with another steal.
He also secures the final possession of the quarter.
At the top of the key, several steps beyond the three-point line, he holds the ball, not rushing.
He lets the clock run down.
Five seconds left.
He moves forward slowly.
Then.
"Whoosh!"
From about a meter beyond the three-point line, he launches a deep three.
"Thud!"
Given the difficulty of the shot and his cold hand, Anthony only gives a light contest.
In his eyes, there's no way this goes in.
But.
"Swish!"
A crisp, clean sound.
Blake Su drills the buzzer-beating deep three!
"Boom!"
His first three of the night comes as a long-range buzzer-beater. The crowd has been waiting for this moment, and they erupt instantly!
Even so, the Nuggets keep their offense sharp. The Suns head into halftime trailing by 4.
Inside the broadcast booth.
Mike Breen says,
"At halftime, the Suns are down 4. Let's take a look at the stats. First up, Blake Su's numbers... Blake Su...
Hahaha!"
Just as he's about to read them, he bursts out laughing.
"Huh?!"
Van Gundy looks confused.
Mike Breen continues, still laughing.
"This is hilarious. Blake Su has put up one of the strangest stat lines you'll ever see in a half."
"What is it?!"
"8 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks, 3 turnovers, 2 free throws, and 1 three-pointer!"