"What?!"
Crawford was stunned, completely unable to believe it.
He had already taken Blake Su's vertical into account before releasing that shot, yet Blake Su's leap still exceeded his expectations and sent it back.
Fortunately, they retained possession.
But there were only 9.7 seconds left on the shot clock.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
At the top of the key, Crawford gathered the ball again. Facing Blake Su, he went into another sequence of smooth behind-the-back dribbles, creating half a step of separation before accelerating from the left wing toward the basket.
Blake Su chased from behind.
"Step!"
Crawford hopped into the paint and flicked up a soft floater.
But Blake Su, who had been trailing him the entire time, had no intention of letting that go.
Like a hunter lying in wait, the moment Crawford released the ball, he exploded upward.
"Smack!"
From behind, he swatted the ball away, delivering yet another chase-down block.
"Bang!"
The ball ricocheted off the backboard.
George grabbed the rebound and pushed the pace, trying to ignite a fast break. However, as a rookie, his offensive finishing was still lacking.
Under pressure from backup guard Jeff Teague.
"Clang!"
George's layup rolled off the rim.
But Dragić secured the offensive rebound. Instead of forcing a shot, he kicked it back out to Blake Su, who had trailed the play. Pachulia, having just gotten back on defense, stood right in front of him.
Blake Su caught the ball and raised it as if to shoot a three.
Pachulia rushed up to contest, but Blake Su was only faking. Or rather, he had no interest in shooting over him.
That would be too easy. And far too boring.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
At the top of the arc, facing Pachulia, Blake Su's disdain was written all over his face. It was not just him. George, Dragić, even Nash had no fondness for Pachulia.
In the stands, many Suns fans felt the same.
The reason was simple. Like Bogut, he had a notoriously dirty playing style. Even if he had not yet pulled off blatantly egregious moves like undercutting jump shooters, that edge was ingrained in him.
Blake Su did not rush.
He dribbled calmly in place, then suddenly dropped his center of gravity and burst left. In the next instant, he snapped the ball back with a sharp crossover, catching his defender completely off guard.
Or perhaps Pachulia, slow to react, never had a chance to respond at all and was cleanly shaken off.
But just then.
Crawford stepped over in time to help.
Blake Su flowed straight into a series of crossovers, retreating back to his original spot, right where Pachulia was. Pachulia had wanted to stay inside and avoid guarding on the perimeter, but now, with Blake Su right in front of him and no one else nearby, he had no choice but to step up again.
The result.
Blake Su used the exact same move and shook him clean once more.
Just as he was about to rise for a shot, Powell rotated over, and Crawford also rushed in from the other side to help. Blake Su pulled the ball back again.
"Again?!"
Pachulia's eyes widened. Seeing that he was once again alone in front of Blake Su, and knowing he could not allow an open jumper, he braced himself and stepped up yet again.
This time, he told himself, he would not get fooled.
At the very least, he could not fall for the exact same move three times in a row.
But he was thinking too much.
Blake Su repeated the same crossover, deliberate and ruthless, and once again shook him completely. From the right side of the free-throw line, he rose into a pull-up jumper.
"Swish!"
The mid-range shot dropped right at the buzzer.
"Wow!"
Hawks fans in the stands stared in disbelief, shaking their heads.
"My God, a center just shook Zaza three times in a single possession, and each time completely lost him? That's unbelievable!"
Meanwhile, Suns fans burst into laughter.
"He's insane! Same move, three times in one possession, and he humiliated Zaza every single time!"
"It's a little cruel... but honestly, that felt amazing to watch!"
"Seriously, Zaza plays dirty anyway. Watching Blake Su toy with him like that, without even letting him touch the ball, is incredibly satisfying!"
"Using the same move to beat him three times in a row. Is this what they mean by beating a dead horse?"
"Beating a dead horse, that's brutal!"
"He's basically a traffic cone. Beating him three times is no different than once!"
Laughter and mockery echoed through the arena, much of it reaching Pachulia's ears. His face flushed red as anger burned inside him, fueling his determination to get his revenge on Blake Su.
What he did not realize was that this was exactly what Blake Su wanted.
On the next possession, Blake Su once again limited Crawford's attack. However, Jeff Teague slipped inside and finished a soft layup off the glass.
Dragić brought the ball up and handed it off to Blake Su at the top before drifting to the side.
Pachulia stepped forward on his own to defend.
Everyone could tell he wanted to redeem himself, so no one came to help.
"Nice spirit," Blake Su said with a faint smile.
Holding the ball in his right hand, he lowered his stance. With no fancy moves, he made it clear he was driving right. A quick pause, then he exploded forward.
"Whoosh!"
He was simply too fast.
Pachulia had no chance of keeping up.
But anger drove him forward. Determined to stop Blake Su, he lunged in pursuit, even ready to foul if necessary.
But Blake Su gave him no opportunity.
He stopped abruptly, turned his body, and pulled the ball back in one smooth motion, carrying a hint of Crawford's style.
Pachulia, who had been charging in to collide with him, never expected the sudden stop. He lunged past empty space, his momentum carrying him forward as his balance collapsed.
His feet tangled.
He dropped to one knee right in front of Blake Su.
Blake Su looked down at him, his gaze calm and commanding, like a ruler surveying his subject.
He held that look for a few seconds.
Then he calmly raised the ball and knocked down a long two.
"My God!"
Van Gundy shook his head in disbelief.
"A center just shook Zaza onto his knees. This is unbelievable!"
Mike Breen laughed in astonishment.
"A center? Blake Su is nothing like a traditional center. He just shook Zaza three times in one possession, and now he's dropped him to his knees.
That's not something a traditional big man could ever do.
Honestly, if you called Blake Su a giant Allen Iverson tonight, I would not argue at all."