"BOOM!"
The home crowd was undoubtedly the most excited of all.
Because...
"He did it! Blake did it! The Sun God did it! On opening night, the Sun God exploded for 82 points!"
"He broke Kobe Bryant's single-game record of 81 points!"
"And to top it all off, he hit the game-winner right over Kobe! Phoenix's Sun God is just too strong!"
"Incredible. Absolutely incredible!"
"My God, 82 points in one game, and he's only in his second year. Blake... how did he even do that?!"
"What kind of monster can score 82 points in an NBA game?!"
"I honestly thought that aside from the Ancient Beast Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, Kobe's 81 was already the limit."
"The absolute ceiling for an NBA player in a single game."
"I never imagined Blake would go one better and drop 82, breaking Kobe's almost mythical 81-point performance."
"This is unbelievable."
"He did it against Kobe too. Eighty-two points, breaking Kobe's 81, surpassing him while Kobe was right there on the court, then hitting the game-winner over him."
"Blake is ridiculous!"
"I'm convinced. Completely convinced!"
"I'm a Kobe fan, and even I have to admit Blake's godlike performance tonight won me over. He was unbelievable."
"Kobe scoring 61 tonight was already incredible, but Blake's 82 makes him the one and only MVP of the night."
"Seriously."
"As a die-hard Kobe fan, I'm honored I got to watch a game like this."
"And I'm thrilled that the very first game of the new season gave us a showdown this insane."
"I feel lucky."
"And now I'm even more excited for the rest of the season."
"Exactly!"
"Agreed!"
"Hahaha! Because of The Emperor Blake, the NBA has gone up another level. The league just keeps getting more exciting!"
"..."
The fans were completely fired up.
They kept praising and discussing the game until they had practically said everything the commentators themselves were supposed to say.
In the commentary booth, Van Gundy and Mike Breen remained excited for quite a while too.
It took some time before they finally calmed down.
Van Gundy drew several deep breaths, then smiled.
"What a game."
"What a night."
"This was an opening night that is absolutely going to be remembered in NBA history."
"For us as commentators, and for every fan in this building, getting to witness a game like this in person is something special."
"Tonight, the Suns and Lakers gave us an unbelievable show."
"Now let's look at the numbers."
"For Phoenix, Blake went into full rampage mode. He already had 28 points in the first half, then scored another 54 by himself after halftime."
"Eighty-two points in total."
"Tonight, he was the brightest star on the floor."
"For the Lakers, Kobe scored 61 points, while Paul finished with 37 points and 15 assists."
"The Lakers Twin Stars were outstanding."
"But even they were overshadowed by The Emperor's 82."
"Blake took over in the second half and completely controlled the game."
"And his performance did more than amaze everyone in the arena."
"It rewrote the record books."
"First of all, with 82 points, Blake became the youngest player in NBA history to score 80 in a game at only 19 years old."
"He's also the only player in NBA history to score 80-plus before turning 20."
"Second, Blake's 82 surpassed the 81 points Kobe scored against the Raptors on January 23, 2006."
"That record was widely viewed as almost impossible to break."
"Now a second-year player has broken it."
"With 82 points, Blake moves past Kobe into second place on the NBA's all-time single-game scoring list."
"Only the Ancient Beast Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game remains above him."
"The Emperor Blake!"
"In the very first game of his second season, on opening night itself, he's already forcing us to rethink what he's capable of."
"This man's future is limitless!"
"Exactly."
Mike Breen nodded repeatedly in complete agreement.
Meanwhile, while the arena was still exploding with excitement, the same thing was happening across the ocean.
On social media, four topics shot onto the trending list almost the instant the game ended.
Opening Night: Suns Beat Lakers
Blake: 82 Points
Blake Surpasses Kobe
Blake's Allen Iverson-Style Game-Winner
Their popularity rose at an astonishing speed, and the comment sections beneath them were overflowing.
"Holy crap! Eighty-two points in one game and a game-winner over Kobe? What the hell did Blake just do?! How is this even possible?!"
"F-Fake, right? There's no way!"
"This is completely ridiculous. How did Blake even manage that?!"
"Terrifying!"
"Wait, Blake really scored 82? He really passed Kobe's 81? My God, what kind of game did I just miss?!"
"A center used Allen Iverson's double crossover for the game-winner? What kind of physical talent is that? This is insane!"
"Blake is freaking awesome!"
"Guys, there's nothing else to say. This is the Sun God we've been waiting months to see. Start the hype!"
"Sun God against the Lakers Twin Stars was incredible, but... my TV broke today."
"I'm devastated."
"Brother, if you missed this one live, you might regret it for the rest of your life."
"Seriously."
"Uh, if I remember right, Justin.tv has been promoting NBA broadcasts recently. We should be able to watch NBA games online before long."
"Really?!"
"Should be true."
"That's great! The internet keeps getting better and better. Watching everything on TV is starting to feel a little inconvenient."
"I can't wait for Justin.tv's NBA section."
"That's still a little ways off. Right now, today, this second, keep hyping Sun God!"
"Blake is the man!"
"The Emperor is the best!"
"..."
Fans back home were every bit as excited.
...
Back on the court, Blake and his teammates remained huddled together, celebrating for quite a while.
Eventually, Kobe Bryant walked over.
He threw an arm around Blake's shoulders, gave him a playful punch, and growled, "You little punk."
"Did you really have to go that crazy?!"
"You broke my record right in front of me, then hit the game-winner over me too."
"We're friends, aren't we? Isn't that going a little too far?!"
"Heh."
Blake scratched his head and shot back, "You've got some nerve saying that."
"If you and Paul weren't so damn good, would I have needed to play this hard?!"
"And you knew it was coming down to a game-winner too!"
"I scored 82 points and still needed a last-second shot to win."
"If we'd lost, the media would've torn me apart."
"You, the Bloodthirsty Mamba, didn't exactly give me any room to breathe!"
"Hahahaha!"
Kobe burst out laughing.
Blake laughed with him.
On this night, Blake was the winner with 82 points.
Kobe's 61 was hardly anything to be ashamed of either.
Both of them had thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular battle.