During the timeout, Van Gundy once again clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Tsk, tsk..."
"It's opening night. The first game of the new season, and Blake has already exploded for 70 points."
"This is insane."
"Honestly, Blake's talent and scoring explosiveness are historic."
"If he hadn't been in the league for such a short time, I could call him the greatest scoring talent in history and not feel like I was exaggerating."
"Absolutely."
Mike Breen nodded.
"And remember, the Raging Mamba has 54 points tonight too."
"That is an outrageous number on its own."
"But even 54 looks small next to The Emperor Blake's 70."
"Exactly."
Van Gundy tapped the desk excitedly.
"Tonight has basically been a scoring duel between Blake and Kobe from beginning to end."
"That's the kind of battle we expected before the game."
"But Blake has clearly been better."
"He doesn't just have that absurd 70-point total. He has also erased the deficit."
"There are only about three minutes left now."
"This is the decisive stretch."
"Who comes out on top? Who wins this game?"
"We'll find out after the timeout."
"BOOM!"
Van Gundy's passionate call only pushed the atmosphere inside the arena even higher.
"Let's go, Blake!"
"Go, Blake!"
"Go, Suns!"
The cheers were endless.
Amid the deafening noise, the timeout ended and both starting lineups returned.
The final two-minute battle began.
Lakers ball.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Kobe brought the ball up himself.
It was winning time, and everyone knew the man holding the ball intended to attack.
Paul wanted to win just as badly.
But he also knew that giving Kobe the ball in this situation was the right decision.
Kobe held it at the top.
George stepped up to defend him.
Then, in the very next instant, another figure appeared in front of George and directly in Kobe's path.
Who was it?
Blake.
At the decisive moment, the two teams' absolute leaders were finally matched up head-to-head.
"Isn't it a little late to start guarding me now?"
Kobe smiled faintly.
"Not really."
Blake smiled back.
"I already have 70."
"You only have 54."
"Tch."
Kobe snorted, though the corner of his mouth twitched.
Blake's 70-point performance had genuinely surprised him.
A second-year player had dropped 70 in the first game of the new season.
Even Kobe, the Black Mamba and one of the best scorers in the league, had to be impressed.
But that was as far as his admiration went.
He still intended to win.
Kobe stared at Blake, his eyes turning cold.
"If you want to stop me, then show me you've got the ability."
The words had barely left his mouth before he attacked.
"Whoosh!"
Kobe burst forward.
Blake met him head-on.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Their bodies collided.
Kobe's expression immediately changed.
He was surprised.
No, he was shocked.
What's with this strength?!
Whether during the previous season or early in the offseason, Kobe had played Blake one-on-one many times.
Even though Kobe was a guard and Blake was a center, Kobe had never been afraid of the physical matchup.
But now, he could not move Blake at all.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Still unwilling to believe it, Kobe bumped into him again and again.
The result never changed.
It felt like running into a mountain.
Blake would not budge.
Kobe had two main ways to attack Blake.
The first was to create space through physical contact.
The second was to use his post game and footwork to manufacture a shot.
The first option was no longer working.
So Kobe turned half away from the basket and posted Blake at the right elbow.
He leaned into him, then suddenly spun halfway back and chained together several shoulder fakes.
Kobe read Blake's center of gravity, found the smallest opening, then turned into a fadeaway jumper.
"Whoosh!"
He released it over Blake's defense.
"Swish!"
Good.
"Beautiful!"
Van Gundy clapped.
"A textbook post move and a picture-perfect fadeaway."
"Kobe gets that one to fall."
As the two ran back the other way, Kobe glanced at Blake.
"What the hell did you do in the offseason? How did you get this much stronger?"
"Guess."
Blake smiled.
"Not interested."
Kobe shrugged and turned his attention back to the game.
Curry brought the ball up, then threw a high entry pass to Blake at the right elbow.
Blake caught it with his back to Kobe.
"Thud!"
One hard bump.
Blake now possessed half of rookie Shaquille O'Neal's strength.
The impact slammed into Kobe.
It did not send him flying, but the sheer force still drove him back one full step and created half a body's worth of separation.
That one step was enough.
Blake immediately turned into a fadeaway.
With both the separation and his overwhelming height advantage, Kobe had no chance to contest the release.
"Whoosh!"
"Swish!"
Blake's mid-range jumper dropped cleanly.
On the next possession, Blake caught the ball at the top, about a meter beyond the three-point line.
Kobe was in front of him.
Before Artest could arrive with the double team, Blake fired.
"Whoosh!"
Another ultra-deep three.
"Don't let that go in!"
Some of the Kobe fans in the arena cried out.
But the answer came immediately.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
"Blake scores five straight!"
"He's up to 75 points tonight."
"At this rate... is he really going for 80?!"
Mike Breen roared.
Kobe pushed the ball up the floor.
That absurd Blake three had put the Lakers down three, and there was almost no time left.
Kobe had to answer.
"Whoosh!"
He attacked Blake again.
Using footwork and changes of rhythm rather than strength, Kobe worked his way into the paint.
There, Blake and Yao Ming closed in on him.
Two centers.
Suffocating defense.
Kobe still tried to force the finish.
Would it fall?
"Clang!"
No.
But Bynum secured the critical offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to Paul on the right side of the arc.
Paul caught it, looked toward Kobe as if he were about to pass, then calmly rose into a three.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
"Wow! What a huge three by Paul!"
"Don't forget, Kobe isn't the only player on this Lakers team who can handle pressure."
"The Point God, Chris Paul, has that same big-game mentality."
"That three was exactly what Los Angeles needed."
"It pulled the Lakers back from the edge."
One minute remained.
The score was tied again.
Phoenix ball.
Curry brought it up.
The moment he crossed half court, Paul, desperate to win, rushed forward and pressured him.
He wanted the steal.
Curry's handle was excellent too.
He first tried to get around Paul.
When that failed, he moved the ball to Klay.
"Whoosh!"
Klay swung it to Blake at the right elbow.
Blake caught it with his back to Kobe.
Artest and Murphy immediately arrived.
Three defenders surrounded him.
The Lakers were forcing Blake to give up the ball.
At this point, they would rather let any other Suns player shoot than give Blake another attempt.
But Blake had already reached 75 points.
He was getting more dangerous by the minute.
He had decided to close the game himself.
"Thud!"
Blake drove his back into Kobe, then half-spun and accelerated toward the left low post.
"Screech!"
He stopped suddenly and rose.
Kobe was directly in front of him.
Murphy and Artest closed from either side.
Three defenders contested.
Blake still forced up the mid-range jumper.
The difficulty was enormous.
But for a 215-centimeter player with Blake's ridiculous physical gifts, it was still a shot he could make.
Would it fall?
Countless Suns fans held their breath.
Every possession mattered now.
"Clang!"
The ball hit the rim and bounced high.
Then...
"Swish!"
It fell through.
"Yes!"
Yao Ming, already positioned for the rebound, pumped his fist and shouted.
George and Curry rushed over to high-five Blake.
Phoenix led by two.
42.4 seconds remained.
Lakers ball.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Paul raced up the floor and spotted Kobe sprinting at full speed on the opposite side.
He delivered the pass.
Kobe caught it without slowing down.
If anything, he accelerated.
"Whoosh!"
He practically ignored George in front of him and drove straight at the rim.
Blake rotated over in the paint.
Was Kobe really going to challenge him at the basket again?
No.
Blake was too tall.
"Whoosh!"
Kobe lofted a high floater over the defense.
"Swish!"
His touch was scorching.
Good.
"Wow! Kobe answers with a floater on the break."
"We're tied again."
"This game is unbelievably tight!"
34.1 seconds remained.
Phoenix ball.
Curry brought it up.
Paul pressed him again.
And just as Curry was about to make his move, Paul reached in with perfect timing.
"Smack!"
The ball was knocked loose.
Paul had the steal!
But George reacted instantly.
He chased down the loose ball before the Lakers could control it and immediately fired a pass to Blake on the right side.
Blake caught it more than a meter beyond the three-point line.
"Oh my God!"
"Blake is taking another ultra-deep three!"
"This would be his 12th three-pointer tonight."
"Can he make it?!"
"Does he have it?!"
"Bang!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"Blake does it again!"
"Another completely unreasonable, backbreaking three from way downtown!"
"And with that shot, his 12th three of the night, Blake has poured in another 28 points in this quarter and has now exploded for a terrifying 80 points in the game!"
Phoenix led by three.
Only 18.4 seconds remained.
The Lakers' Twin Stars had once again been pushed to the edge of the cliff.
"Beep, beep!"
Los Angeles immediately called timeout.
"BOOM!"
The home crowd had completely lost its mind.
"My God! What am I watching?!"
"We waited through months of offseason basketball for the first game of the new season, and this is what The Emperor Blake gives us!"
"On opening night, against the Lakers Twin Stars who have the entire league terrified, Blake goes into full rampage mode and drops 80 points!"
"This is insane!"
"Insane! Absolutely insane!"
"Blake became a legend the moment he entered the league, and after one offseason of growth, he's somehow gotten even better!"
"Unbelievable!"
"Tsk, tsk... twelve threes, back-to-back quarters with more than 20 points, 80 points in the game."
"Blake is creating his own unique version of the small-ball era."
"And at the same time, he's looking more and more like the man who will rule this era."
"Exactly."
"Who could possibly imagine a second-year player scoring 80 points in one game?"
"It's absurd."
"It's unbelievable."
"Hey, Blake already has 80."
"His opponent tonight, Black Mamba Kobe Bryant, has a career high of 81."
"There are still 18.4 seconds left."
"Doesn't that mean Blake actually has a chance to pass Kobe's 81?!"
"Hiss..."
"He really might!"
"Wow! Passing Kobe's 81?"
"Just thinking about it is crazy!"
"Can he do it?"
"I can't wait!"
The fans were boiling over with excitement.
On the Lakers' bench, however, the mood was far heavier.
Only 18.4 seconds remained.
They had to score on the next possession.
Ideally, they needed a three.
Even if they scored a quick two, they would still have to foul, get the ball back, and score again to have any chance of completing the comeback.
Either way, the difficulty was enormous.
Bynum, Artest, and several of the others looked tense.
Paul and Kobe, on the other hand, simply rested.
Neither seemed burdened by the situation.
From the beginning, both men had expected to win.
Now they were down three with time still on the clock.
For two players with such overwhelming desire to win, that did not mean the game was lost.
They believed unconditionally that the next possession would work.
More than that, they believed they were going to hit a three and tie the game.
"Guys, we still have time."
"Stay calm and execute the three-point set."
Mike Brown was drawing up a three, not a two.
Soon, the timeout ended.
The final 18.4 seconds began.
Paul stood on the sideline to inbound.
That alone told everyone what the Lakers were planning.
The shot was going to Kobe.
Sure enough, Kobe first cut toward the basket.
Then, using an Artest screen, he reversed direction and curled back outside.
Paul delivered the ball perfectly.
"Smack!"
Kobe caught it at the top.
Blake immediately appeared in front of him.
Phoenix had put its best possible defender on Kobe.
If anyone could limit him now, it was Blake.
Kobe stayed calm.
He did not rush into the shot.
Instead, he called for Artest and Murphy to come up together and set a double screen.
"Whoosh!"
Kobe accelerated left and shook Blake.
He attacked.
But George and Klay immediately closed in with another double team.
"Whoosh!"
Kobe changed gears again.
He gained half a step on George and moved with Klay toward the left wing, around the 45-degree angle.
Then he stopped.
Step-back.
"Whoosh!"
Kobe rose into a forced three over Klay.
Klay stayed with him perfectly and got a strong contest.
The shot was away.
But the difficulty was enormous.
"That's off!"
Under the basket, Yao Ming grunted and prepared to fight for the rebound.
Then the ball traced a beautiful arc through the air.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
Good.
Game tied!!!