"Beep, beep!"
After Blake Su buried that unreasonable, soul-crushing three and led the Suns to a 2-point lead, the Heat were forced to call another timeout.
Three minutes remained.
The Suns led by 2.
"14 threes, 69 points!"
In the stands.
"Skyhook" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar kept shaking his head, his face filled with astonishment. "Crazy. Absolutely crazy. Blake Su, this center, is just too crazy!"
"Another phenomenal, insane performance!"
"The Round Mound of Rebound" Charles Barkley clicked his tongue and said, "Blake Su, this center, really doesn't play like a center at all. He's more like an all-around sharpshooter!"
"A center hitting 14 threes, a rookie exploding for 69 points in a single game, and against the 'Heat Big Three,' no less. Now he's leading by 2 in the final moments.
"Even that guy Michael Jordan couldn't do that, right?"
"Magic" Johnson was just as stunned.
"Heh."
Only "The Dream" Hakeem Olajuwon looked calm. He smiled faintly, as if everything was under control and all of this had been within his expectations.
...
Elsewhere in the stands.
Pippen's eyes went wide as he said in shock, "14 threes, 69 points. This rookie, Blake Su, is every bit as crazy as you were back then, shaking the whole league."
"Me?"
Jordan shook his head and said, "I admit I was at my peak the moment I entered the league, but honestly, without much of a three-point shot, I really wasn't as crazy as Blake Su.
"This guy is truly an era-defining center.
"His greatness has already gone beyond what we imagined. In the future, he might really be like me and lead an entire era.
"Of course.
"Before that, he needs to become a superhero first and win this game!"
"Boom!"
During the timeout.
After Blake Su's 14th three-pointer gave the Suns the lead, the atmosphere in the arena became unbelievably heated. The home crowd had completely exploded, their momentum surging like a wave.
The initiative was now firmly in the Suns' hands.
"Beep, beep!"
Soon.
Play resumed.
The final three-minute battle began.
Blake Su had already hit a wild 14 threes tonight and poured in 69 points. He had gone completely godlike, and the Heat, now trailing by 2, were fully on guard.
They raised their defense on Blake Su another level.
Basically, whenever the Suns had the ball, LeBron and Bosh, or LeBron and Wade, stayed locked on Blake Su, double-teaming him at all costs.
No matter what.
They could not let Blake Su score again, because if he did, it would not just be about the points. His presence alone would give the Suns players a huge boost in confidence.
At the same time.
The Heat players' mentality might collapse.
And so.
Blake Su's offense was smothered. LeBron, who was locked in against Blake Su, also saw his offensive efficiency drop, so the Heat tried to hand the offense over to Wade and Bosh as much as possible.
On the Suns' side.
Curry took on more of the offensive load, while George, who had been thrust into a crucial role, had to keep contributing on defense, and he had to do it well.
In fact.
They did do it well.
George guarded Bosh, Blake Su guarded James, and Curry guarded Wade.
Blake Su and LeBron were both the absolute cores of their teams. Whenever either of them attacked, they were swarmed by double-teams, so they could only draw the defense and create better space for their teammates.
Both of them were smart, so neither forced many shots.
George defended Bosh. Not wanting to let down Carter's position, George was completely locked in tonight and put plenty of defensive pressure on Bosh.
He defended well.
As for Curry on defense, even though he wanted to hold his ground, "Flash" Wade's individual ability was simply too strong. Curry was clearly overmatched.
But.
If defense was not enough, he made up for it on offense.
After being pressured by Wade's defense for more than three quarters, Curry finally found his touch again. Or rather... he gradually adjusted to Wade's defense.
He began to get his offense going and showed the ability expected of the Suns' second option.
And so.
The first half of the final three minutes basically turned into a scoring duel between Curry and Wade, with George's all-out defense on Bosh also playing a key role.
With 31.4 seconds left.
Facing LeBron and Wade's trap, Blake Su showed no fear. He did not slow down, instead accelerating hard toward the rim. After driving into the paint and drawing Ilgauskas's defense.
"Whoosh!"
He passed back to the side, finding Nash cutting in from the right. Wade hurriedly rushed over.
"Whoosh!"
Nash went up as if for a flying layup, then made a wraparound pass under the basket to Curry cutting in from the left corner. With Blake Su having drawn three defenders, Curry caught the ball.
He was completely wide open.
"Step!"
He flew straight in for the open layup.
"Smack!"
LeBron reacted immediately, but he was too late to block it. He simply pulled him back, committing a tactical foul and sending Curry to the free-throw line.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Curry had a free-throw percentage as high as 93.4 percent. Sending him to the line was practically giving away points. He calmly hit both free throws, and the Suns took the lead again by 2.
"Beep, beep!"
Spoelstra called timeout.
Only 22.8 seconds remained.
The Heat had every chance to run one complete offensive set, either tying the game with a two-pointer or killing it with a three!
...
"Tsk, tsk..."
Inside the ESPN studio.
Mike Breen clicked his tongue and said, "It's really hard to believe. The Heat controlled the Suns for almost the entire game, but in the end, they've put all the pressure on themselves.
"They have to score on this next possession."
"Hey!"
Jeff Van Gundy smiled faintly and said, "That's because Blake Su has been too incredible. 14 threes, 69 points. Even though he hasn't scored in the last few minutes, he's still created excellent offensive opportunities for his teammates.
"He is absolutely the biggest reason the Suns have this advantage."
"That's true."
Mike Breen nodded in agreement, then continued, "But now isn't the time to praise Blake Su. After the timeout, let's see how the Heat execute this next possession."
...
On the court.
"Smack!"
LeBron held the ball at the top of the arc with 22.8 seconds left. He did not rush the offense, instead slowing the tempo and searching for the best, most reasonable scoring option.
13.8 seconds.
Bosh came up to set a screen. LeBron went around Blake Su, and George stepped up to help. LeBron passed to Wade on the wing. Facing Curry, Wade decisively accelerated and drove.
"Whoosh!"
"Flash" pushed his ability to the limit. One bump, one burst of speed, and he shook off Curry, charging straight at the rim.
This looked like... he wanted the game-tying two.
"Step!"
But Blake Su slid over and stood in front of Wade. Wade's gaze sharpened as he drove into the paint and rose into the air. Was he going to try to finish over Blake Su's block?
No!
"Whoosh!"
While hanging in the air, Wade pulled the ball back and passed it across Frye and George, straight to LeBron on the perimeter.
"Wow. What a brilliant pass! LeBron catches it wide open and rises for a three. George flies over to contest. Can he block it?!
"No!
"The ball is away. Will it go?!
"Straight through the heart.
"Nothing but net.
"Wow... with 4.2 seconds left, 'Flash' Wade's pass and 'King James' LeBron's three. The LeBron-Wade connection strikes again, hitting a near game-winning three to take a 1-point lead!
"4.2 seconds.
"The pressure is instantly on the Suns!"