"Smack!"
"Thud!"
"Tap!"
The first sound came from Blake's palm slamming into the ball in LeBron's hands as he rejected him head-on.
The second came from their bodies colliding in midair, sending LeBron off balance and crashing to the floor.
The third was Blake landing firmly on the hardwood.
In other words, Blake had not only blocked "King James," he had knocked him to the floor with the rejection.
Two blocks on a single possession, with one of them sending LeBron crashing down.
"Whoa!"
Even on the Heat's home court, shocked gasps erupted throughout the arena.
"Unbelievable!"
At the commentary table, Jon Barry's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"This is the 'Monster Rookie's' defense?!
Strong!
Way too strong!"
Kenny Smith sucked in a sharp breath and said in astonishment, "That's 'King James.'
The best small forward in the league right now.
His athleticism and ability are enough to intimidate countless players, yet here on the Finals stage, a rookie just blocked him twice on the same possession.
And one of those blocks even sent him to the floor. That's scary. Absolutely terrifying."
In the stands, Kobe's expression turned serious as he watched the play.
"That's defense. Defense wins championships, and you have to play with that kind of toughness. Blake is giving everything he has to carry this team forward."
"Beautiful!"
Wall shouted excitedly, "Don't forget, Blake is a center. Protecting the rim is part of what he does.
His defense on that possession was incredible."
"What a freakishly talented guy!"
"The Answer" Allen Iverson kept shaking his head. He had already witnessed countless displays of Blake's overwhelming ability on both ends of the floor.
But now, on the Finals stage, Blake had stunned him all over again.
"That was insane!"
Iguodala shook his head repeatedly. "Blake is crazy. He's way too good. Back when I matched up against him... what made me think I could handle that?!"
"Dominant!"
Mount Mutombo roared excitedly, "So what if he's 'King James'? Two blocks on one possession. Blake is only a rookie, but that was pure dominance!
LeBron tried to dunk on him and got sent to the floor instead. After a defensive play like that, shouldn't Blake be wagging his finger at him?!"
"Uh..."
Iverson glanced at Mount Mutombo.
You think Blake is you?
On the court, after sending LeBron to the floor with the block, Blake obviously did not wag his finger at him.
But after landing, he instinctively glanced down at LeBron beneath him.
He said nothing.
Yet the cold look on Blake's stern face as he stared down at his opponent came across as unmistakably mocking to the Heat players and fans.
Their leader, their best player, had just been looked down on.
The tension on the court instantly shot through the roof, and the atmosphere inside the arena grew heavy.
But the game continued.
After Blake's second block on LeBron, the ball bounced out toward the perimeter, where Curry came away with it amid the scramble and immediately pushed the fast break.
LeBron had no time to dwell on what had happened.
Or perhaps he simply did not care.
A block was a block. No big deal.
He immediately got back to his feet and sprinted back on defense.
"Whoosh!"
Curry raced all the way toward the basket. Once Wade stepped up to stop him, Curry kicked the ball back to Blake at the top of the right arc.
"Whoosh!"
Blake caught it and immediately pulled up for a transition three.
Chalmers had hustled back and was closing from the side, but when he saw a 215-centimeter big man rise into his shot before he could even jump, there was nothing he could do.
All he could do was watch the ball leave Blake's hands.
To his dismay, it dropped straight through the net.
Nothing but net.
Two blocks on one possession.
Then a pull-up three in transition!
On offense and defense alike, Blake had put the full strength of the "Monster Rookie" and the "league's top center" on display.
"Boom!"
They were on the road, but the Suns' momentum was soaring.
"Beep! Beep!"
Seeing the situation turning against his team, Coach Spoelstra quickly called a timeout.
"LeBron!"
Wade walked over and was about to say something when LeBron waved him off.
"It's fine. This is normal.
"We need to stay solid defensively and keep our offense steady.
"Trust me. Blake can't maintain this level of intensity on both offense and defense for long. He'll wear down later.
"Tonight, we're going to win!"
"Yeah."
Wade nodded.
The rest of the Heat players nodded as well.
The Suns might have seized the momentum, but Miami still had two chances to close out the series and was playing on its home floor.
They remained confident.
Before long, the timeout ended.
The fierce battle that had been raging from the opening tip resumed.
"Whoosh!"
On Miami's first possession back, Wade tore through Curry's defense and used his signature "Eurostep" on the drive.
He shook off Frye.
"Swish!"
The scoop layup dropped in.
On the next possession, "The Flash" Wade tried the same attack again, looking to score with another "Eurostep."
This time, however, Blake rotated over and stopped him.
Blake also secured the rebound, then sent the ball ahead to Nash. Nash found Curry, who settled at the left wing.
A transition three?
"Whoosh!"
Curry passed instead, bouncing the ball across to George, who was already attacking the basket from the other side.
With the much shorter Chalmers in front of him, George caught the pass and went straight to the rim.
But...
"Clang!"
The layup missed.
On the following possession, Blake had the ball at the top of the key when LeBron and Bosh aggressively trapped him.
He had no chance to shoot the three.
And he did not want to start forcing his way to the rim this early and burn unnecessary energy.
"Whoosh!"
Blake stayed composed and found Curry in the right corner.
Curry caught the pass, gave a shot fake, and sent the closing Wade flying past him.
"Step!"
He moved one step to the side and fired an open three.
Surely this one was good?
"Clang!"
Still no.
Fortunately, George grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Nash at the left high post.
Nash pulled up from mid-range as Chalmers rushed out at full speed.
Chalmers was half a beat late, so his contest barely affected the shot.
And yet...
"Clang!"
Even Nash's normally reliable mid-range jumper failed to drop.
"Smack!"
Haslem secured the rebound, finally preventing the Suns from getting another offensive board, then handed the ball to LeBron to bring up the floor.
"Hm?!"
On the Suns' bench, GM Lance, who had come to watch tonight's game, frowned.
"George, Curry, and Nash all just got excellent looks.
"And not one of them went in?!"
"Yeah."
Gentry nodded, his own brow tightly furrowed.
"Throughout the Finals, our players have been almost flawless.
"That sounds like a good thing, but... in a way, it's also worrying."
"What do you mean?"
Lance looked puzzled.
...
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