He did not even get knocked down on contact, so how could that be an offensive foul?!
Blake Su soared right over Lowry, finishing the fast break with a monstrous dunk. With that overwhelming height difference, it was an absolutely jaw-dropping finish.
"Boom!"
The arena erupted with deafening cheers.
"Oh my god!"
In the ESPN broadcast booth, Mike Breen slammed the table and shouted,
"Unbelievable! Incredible! Blake Su is a center, and yet his vertical and explosiveness are so insane that he can literally jump over Kyle Lowry.
This… this is unbelievable!"
"Hahaha!"
Jeff Van Gundy laughed just as excitedly.
"Exactly. A normal center could never do something like that. But this is Blake Su.
So it's possible.
So it's… reasonable!"
"Oh? Reasonable?"
Mike Breen blinked, then laughed.
"Jeff, you're using the same kind of praise people use for Kobe on Blake Su now?"
"Huh? Am I? Haha, I'm just telling the truth."
On the court.
"Damn…"
Yi Jianlian in the stands could not help but click his tongue in amazement.
"A center jumping over a guard, even with a height advantage, that is still elite, top-tier athleticism.
And…
That was just insanely cool!
Blake Su, you're incredible!"
Behind him, Jeremy Lin instinctively swallowed. That dunk made him, someone from the same rookie class, feel completely outmatched.
"Blake Su… what a talent. Just keep shining."
Meanwhile, on the Rockets bench, Yao Ming leaned back in his seat, covering his face, but he could not hide the excitement in his eyes.
Anyone watching that dunk over Kyle Lowry would be stunned.
"Blake Su, nicely done!"
That overwhelming dunk instantly erased the momentum Lowry had built with his two defensive stops, and the home crowd's energy surged to its peak.
"Swish!"
Still, even in that intense atmosphere, Kevin Martin came off a screen and calmly knocked down an open three.
Give Martin enough touches, and a scorer averaging 24.5 points will always deliver.
That three was crucial.
"Whoosh!"
Steve Nash brought the ball up, reached the top of the key, and handed it off to Blake Su.
The moment Blake Su caught it, Shane Battier slid over to meet him.
"Battier…"
Blake Su narrowed his eyes, growing serious.
Battier, famous for his signature "hand-in-the-face" defense, was one of the league's elite defenders. Even superstars like Kobe and LeBron found him troublesome.
Especially that defense.
Even without blocking shots, even without superior athleticism, he could drastically reduce a scorer's efficiency.
Facing him for the first time, Blake Su took it seriously.
"Dribble, dribble!"
Blake Su controlled the rhythm, lowered his stance, then leaned left and exploded in that direction, followed by an Allen Iverson-style crossover.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp pullback crossover shook Battier's balance. Blake Su gathered, took one step to the right, stopped, and rose for a jumper.
"Step!"
But just as he elevated, Battier reacted instantly, closing hard from the side, his hand shooting straight up to cover Blake Su's vision.
Blake Su released.
But it was contested.
"Clang!"
Miss.
Luckily, Carter grabbed the rebound. With no good second-chance look inside, he kicked it back out to Blake Su.
"Wow, Battier really lives up to his reputation. That hand-in-the-face defense even bothered Blake Su."
"Yeah. Battier looks completely in control, while Blake Su clearly rushed that last shot under pressure."
"Could Battier be his matchup problem?"
"It's possible. Plenty of stars struggle against him. Blake Su has the talent, but maybe not the experience yet."
The crowd grew uneasy.
On the court.
Blake Su caught the ball again, his expression tightening.
"He's experienced. From the start, he is not trying to shut me down completely, just limit me as much as possible.
That is why he can recover even after being shaken, and still get a hand up in my face.
Whether I make the shot or not, he does not care."
Blake Su nodded.
Against players like LeBron, Kobe, or McGrady, no one can fully stop them.
So the best defense is maximum disruption.
"Dribble, dribble!"
At the top of the key, Blake Su looked at Battier, a spark of competitiveness in his eyes.
"Smart defense. But since you never intended to block me, then…"
"Whoosh!"
A quick jab step.
Blake Su rose immediately and fired.
"Step!"
Battier closed out again, just like before, hand straight to the eyes.
The ball left Blake Su's hand.
"Swish!"
Clean.
"He still made that? Even with the hand in his face? Lucky shot."
A Rockets fan muttered.
Lucky?
On the very next possession, Blake Su brought the ball up again, facing Battier just a step beyond the three-point line.
"Whoosh!"
Another three.
Right over the same defense.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
"That one too?!"
The same fan stared in shock.
Before he could even react, Blake Su, at the right wing, pulled up again over Battier.
"Swish!"
Three straight.
"How is that possible?!"
The fan froze, while another Rockets fan cursed under his breath.
"A center shooting threes like this, even against Battier's defense?
What the hell is this guy?!"
"Hey… it looks like that defense does not even affect him."
"What is going on?!"
On the court, even Battier was stunned.
"What is happening? Why does my defense have no effect on him? How can he be this accurate?!"
At the same time.
In the ESPN booth.
Jeff Van Gundy opened his mouth in disbelief.
"Against Battier's defense, Blake Su has gone three for three from deep, scoring nine straight points right in his face.
If you did not know better, you would think Battier cannot defend."
"Haha!"
Mike Breen laughed.
"Battier's defense is great, no doubt.
But against overwhelming talent…
it just does not matter."