"Mom!"
"Oh, it's Blake—my precious son~"
"Yeah, Mom. What are you up to?"
"Just got up. I'll be heading to school soon. Making some breakfast right now."
Only then did Blake Su realize the time difference—it was early morning back in China. He smiled. "It's getting colder there. Make sure you dress warmly."
"As if I need you to remind me! I've wrapped myself up so tightly I look like a rice dumpling. It's almost hard to drive."
"Hehe, better to stay warm. Catching a cold would be miserable. Ah—right, Mom… I won't be able to come home for Christmas this year."
He hesitated for a moment, but said it anyway.
"It's fine."
On the other end, his mother had the phone on speaker while making breakfast. She laughed. "My son isn't a little kid anymore. He's a big star now—always busy."
"A big star?"
Blake Su froze.
"Hehe!"
His mother chuckled. "I know all about your deal with Adi. You're their spokesperson now. Soon your face will be everywhere—plazas, shopping mall screens, ads all over the place.
Isn't that what a big star is?
And I know you're popular in the NBA too. My son is really something now. Ah—! The bread's burnt! Haha… guess that's what I get for bragging too much."
"Heh…"
Hearing how cheerful and optimistic she sounded, Blake Su felt a weight lift from his chest.
"Mom, I'll definitely come back when I have time. And if you're on break, you can always come visit me."
"Mhm~ I know!"
They talked for quite a while, until she had to leave for school. Only then did Blake Su hang up.
"A basketball career… even though the offseason gives you plenty of free time, once the season starts, you're tied down for more than half the year.
No.
I can't let Mom keep living like this. I need to find the right time and bring her over to live with me."
With that thought, another responsibility quietly settled into his heart.
...
The Suns vs. Lakers showdown was set for tomorrow night.
But tonight, the Lakers still had a home game against the Grizzlies.
At 8 p.m., the game tipped off.
The Grizzlies were a classic defense-first team. Inside, Randolph and Marc Gasol—the "Black and White Bears"—formed an imposing wall in the paint.
Arthur, playing power forward on the perimeter, was also a defensive enforcer.
Add to that Rudy Gay, who could both drive and shoot, and Mike Conley, who could penetrate and organize the offense, and you had a roster that was close to complete.
But the defending champion Lakers were no slouches either. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum formed a trio of big bodies anchoring the defense and protecting the boards, giving Kobe Bryant the green light to fire at will.
Only—
Tonight, Pau Gasol was completely shut down. Marc Gasol controlled the paint, while Randolph outplayed Bynum. The Lakers had no edge inside.
The "Black and White Bears" dominated the restricted area, scoring repeatedly.
After the first quarter, the Grizzlies led by 7. Kobe had 8 points, including one three, but he couldn't tilt the scoreboard in the Lakers' favor.
In the second quarter, the Grizzlies found their rhythm. The "Black and White Bears" continued to wreak havoc inside, while Gay and Conley added scoring from outside. With scoring coming from both inside and out, the lead ballooned to 13 midway through the quarter.
The Lakers… were on the verge of collapse.
"Tweet!"
The "Zen Master" Phil Jackson quickly called timeout to steady things.
Out of the timeout—
"Clang!"
"D-Fish" Fisher missed a three. Gay pushed the ball in transition and pulled up for a three of his own.
Swish.
The lead stretched to 16.
"Boom!"
The arena exploded.
Were the Lakers about to fall apart?
Even Lakers fans felt uneasy. Yet just when it seemed like defeat was inevitable, Kobe Bryant stepped forward.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Three straight threes.
Kobe flipped the switch, entering full scoring mode. He buried four threes in the quarter and poured in 18 points, cutting the 16-point deficit to 8 by halftime.
After the break—
Switching ends, the game turned into Kobe's personal showcase.
Driving dunks. Pull-up jumpers. Smooth threes. Post-up fadeaways.
Every move in the scoring arsenal—
He had it.
In that quarter alone, Kobe drilled another five threes and exploded for 25 points, almost single-handedly erasing the 16-point deficit and pushing the Lakers ahead by 3.
Through three quarters, Kobe had 51 points and 10 made threes.
"Boom!"
The arena erupted again. But this time, it wasn't Grizzlies fans going wild—
It was the Purple and Gold.
The home crowd was on fire.
In the fourth quarter, Kobe stayed on the floor. Even under heavy double teams, he moved as if in open space. In just 5 minutes and 13 seconds, he knocked down two more threes and scored 10 points.
At the same time, the Lakers unleashed a 17–4 run.
From down 16 to up 16—
A stunning 32-point swing.
The Grizzlies were completely overwhelmed, the game blown wide open.
"Wow—"
As the game entered garbage time, Van Gundy roared from the broadcast booth:
"Kobe Bryant has gone berserk tonight! Twelve threes! Sixty-one points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals!
Twelve threes and over sixty points!
The first '60-point man' of the season! Kobe, with the power of the 'league's best player,' sends a message to the Grizzlies—and to the entire NBA: the defending champions are still the strongest!
And with twelve made threes tonight, Kobe surpasses Marshall to become the first player in NBA history to hit twelve threes in a game twice!
'Black Mamba'… cold-blooded!"
"Boom!"
The moment those words left Van Gundy's mouth, the arena shook with deafening cheers.
Even many Grizzlies fans, having accepted the loss, rose to applaud Kobe.
"MVP!"
"MVP!!"
"MVP!!!"
As the final buzzer sounded, the entire arena echoed with MVP chants—chants meant for Kobe.
Twelve threes. Sixty-one points. A 16-point comeback.
A nearly flawless performance that turned the night into—
Black Mamba Night.
And this god-tier explosion from Kobe set the stage perfectly for what was coming next:
The Suns vs. Lakers showdown.