Bogut's loud and reckless smear campaign dragged on for several hours before finally ending when he could no longer withstand the flood of abuse and deleted his tweet.
It had little impact on Blake Su, but for Bogut, it left him trapped in a long stretch of fear and anxiety.
...
7:00 PM the following evening.
In the Suns' locker room, just before their matchup with the Thunder.
Alvin Gentry walked in holding a sheet of paper, even humming a tune. He was clearly in a great mood.
That made sense.
Although the team's 23-game winning streak had come to an end, it had already satisfied him completely. What mattered most was this.
Losing a game was a small matter.
Having Blake Su on his team was what truly mattered.
As long as Blake Su was fine, what did it matter if they lost one game, or even a few more? This year, he firmly believed that the Suns he coached would ultimately shock the league.
"Ahem."
He walked up to the players, who were changing and preparing for the game, and spoke casually.
"Well… we lost, but we also made history. Everyone did a great job.
So.
There's no need to stay tense all the time, thinking about extending the winning streak. Our goal is the playoffs, not a regular-season streak. Got it?"
"Got it!"
The players responded in unison, their faces full of confidence.
Clearly, the previous loss had not affected them much.
"Good."
Alvin Gentry nodded slightly and smiled.
"Before that game, we were constantly on edge, fighting for the streak one game at a time.
Now.
The streak is over, so let's take a breather.
If someone ends up injured and misses games, or even the rest of the season, that would be a huge loss for the entire team.
Tonight.
Blake Su will rest. Everyone else plays as usual. Don't carry any mental burden. Even if we lose, it doesn't matter. Understood?"
"Got it!"
The players answered again.
"I get to rest?"
Blake Su smiled slightly. That did not sound like a bad thing.
The coach was right. Recently, he had been too focused on winning, chasing the streak and trying to break the Rockets' 22-game record. That kind of mindset was not ideal.
Now, taking a step back was a good thing.
Gentry said the goal was the playoffs, but for Blake Su, the goal was the Finals and ultimately the championship. Everything had to be planned with the long term in mind.
And everything started with staying healthy.
...
Alvin Gentry gave Blake Su a rest day, citing soreness in his forearm.
Tonight.
The Suns played without Blake Su.
Earlier in the season, without him, the Suns had gone 2-8 and were near the bottom of the Western Conference. But tonight, even without him, they did not look bad.
George moved into the starting lineup.
Curry took full control of the offense. With George setting screens and Nash feeding him the ball, Curry exploded for 24 points in the first half alone, forcing the Thunder to take notice.
In the second half, they tightened their defense on him and managed to slow him down somewhat.
As for George, even as a starter, his main responsibility remained defense. From Russell Westbrook to Durant, he was tasked with guarding them.
Although he was just a rookie, aside from Blake Su, he was currently the Suns' second-best defender.
Of course, going up against elite talents like Durant and Russell Westbrook, his defensive impact was limited.
Still, it was a solid effort.
After three quarters, the Thunder led by 5 points.
"Wow, without Blake Su, the Suns are only down 5 against the Thunder's Big Three. This team is really improving."
Van Gundy praised from the commentary booth.
Mike Breen adjusted his sleeves and nodded.
"Exactly. Since Curry joined the Suns, his potential has been fully unleashed. His ceiling is extremely high.
And George, this rookie, is developing through defense. He may be a bit of a slow starter, but give him time, and I believe he can grow into a star-level player."
"Agreed. The Suns have a lot of promising talent."
As the commentators chatted, the fourth quarter began.
Harden led the second unit. After a year of development, although he was still slightly behind Curry, his step-back jumper and ability to draw fouls on drives were becoming more and more evident.
With 4 minutes and 33 seconds remaining, Harden led the team to extend the lead to 8 points.
Gentry called a timeout.
Both teams brought their starters back, and the game turned into a tight battle. With 22.4 seconds left.
"Swish!"
Curry knocked down a deep three, finishing with 36 points.
However, the deficit was still 5 points. It would take at least two possessions to catch up. The Thunder held the ball with only 22.4 seconds remaining, and the Suns ultimately failed to complete the comeback, losing a close game.
"The Suns have lost two in a row?!"
Van Gundy blinked.
Mike Breen smiled.
"Yes, two straight losses. But without Blake Su on the floor, losing by just 5 to a powerhouse like the Thunder is still acceptable."
"That is true."
Van Gundy nodded.
"With Blake Su resting, it looks like Alvin Gentry wants the team to recover and recharge before getting back into form."
"Exactly."
...
The next day.
Even though the Suns had dropped two straight without Blake Su, a few "haters" still tried to stir things up.
"Tsk, tsk. Pride comes before a fall, huh? They just got 23 straight wins, started getting cocky, and now two straight losses. The Suns are still too young."
"What are you even talking about? Don't you know they lost because Blake Su didn't play?"
"Look how happy you are. You must have never seen the Suns lose before."
"Even if Blake Su had played, so what if they lost? Do you really think he is some kind of god who wins every game?"
"Hahaha!"
The scattered taunts were quickly shut down.
It was just a small morning episode, and not many people paid attention.
At 10 a.m., however, when the NBA official website released the second round of All-Star voting results, it immediately drew everyone's focus.
A glance at the leaderboard showed that in the East, "Superman" Howard still held the top spot with 1.052 million votes, while in the West, "Black Mamba" Kobe remained firmly in first with 1.374 million.
"Ah!"
A sharp-eyed fan suddenly shouted and quickly posted.
"Quick, look! Rookie Blake Su. He has 1.373 million votes.
He has surpassed 'Superman' Howard and overtaken the Eastern Conference's top vote-getter!"
...
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