Player of the Month + No.1 on the Rookie MVP rankings + No.1 on the MVP rankings.
And he did it back-to-back.
And he did it as a rookie. The sheer dominance of "Monster Rookie" Blake Su is almost impossible to comprehend. It simply defies logic.
It makes people wonder once again.
Is Blake Su really a rookie?
"The strongest rookie in history. It has to be Blake Su."
"Blake Su is a generational center and a generational rookie. He's the best rookie this year, the one and only."
"Blake Su is just too strong."
"Hey, with how dominant Blake Su is, his popularity must be through the roof. When the total votes come out in a few days, he'll probably be the top vote-getter."
"That's very possible."
"Not necessarily."
It was evening. Even though multiple regular-season games were being played, the NBA's official announcement instantly made Blake Su the center of attention among fans.
Of course, Dwight Howard was also in the spotlight.
As last month's Eastern Conference Player of the Month, although he did not repeat, both his individual performance and his team's record were still outstanding.
The Magic remained a serious contender for the Eastern Conference Finals.
In addition, although he did not repeat as Player of the Month, he was named Defensive Player of the Month.
It is worth noting that Howard also won the award in December, making it two consecutive months. This season, he has a strong chance of winning Defensive Player of the Year.
If he does, he will become the first player in NBA history to win the award three years in a row.
That alone shows just how dominant the "Beast" is.
While fans were still discussing the monthly awards, the Rookie MVP rankings, the MVP rankings, and the Defensive Player honors, the game between the Nuggets and the Thunder tipped off at the Pepsi Center.
Aside from the Suns,
the Thunder, this season's biggest dark horse with Durant, Westbrook, and Harden, faced the Nuggets, who were riding a seven-game winning streak and looked unstoppable.
There was no doubt.
This was going to be a big game.
In the first quarter, the two teams were evenly matched, trading leads back and forth as the game quickly turned into a tight battle.
In the second quarter,
Harden's explosion shifted the momentum.
A strong contender for Sixth Man of the Year, Harden led the bench unit in a dominant stretch. He knocked down threes, organized the offense, attacked the rim, and drew fouls with ease.
His only weakness was defense.
Tonight, Harden delivered a textbook Sixth Man performance.
On the Nuggets' side, JR Smith, who also had the potential to compete for Sixth Man of the Year, was completely overwhelmed by Harden and essentially disappeared.
With Harden leading the charge, the close game quickly opened up. In just over four minutes of rotation time, the Thunder extended their lead to nine points.
The Nuggets' head coach, George Karl, immediately called a timeout to slow things down before the deficit grew even larger.
However, after the timeout, the Thunder's trio became even more aggressive. By halftime, they had built a 15-point lead, and the game was starting to slip away.
This was something the home crowd in Denver had not expected at all.
"It's fine."
"It's only halftime. There's still plenty of time."
"That's right. This is our home court. We can come back."
Despite trailing, most fans remained hopeful.
But when the second half began, Durant and Westbrook each knocked down a three-pointer right away, dealing a heavy blow to the Nuggets.
The deficit instantly grew beyond 20 points.
Was the game already decided?
It certainly looked that way.
With those two early threes pushing the gap to 21 points, most fans felt the game was slipping out of reach.
However, starting from that moment, Anthony, who had already scored 17 points in the first half, completely erupted.
He became an offensive machine.
Pull-up jumpers, post-up turnarounds, drives to the rim, powerful dunks, mid-air bank shots, floaters, deep threes.
Everything you could imagine on offense, he displayed in that single quarter.
He went 11-for-15 from the field, 4-for-7 from three, and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.
"Melo" Anthony exploded for 30 points in the third quarter alone.
He completely took over the game.
The crowd erupted.
"30 points in a single quarter."
"This is Carmelo's scoring arsenal. This is his explosive scoring ability. Incredible."
At the commentary table, Jon Barry could not hold back his praise.
Mark Jackson was equally stunned. "Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Thirty points in one quarter. Anthony erased a 21-point deficit by himself in that stretch.
And now,
they're up by one.
Even though the lead is just one point, the entire Pepsi Center is roaring for the Nuggets. They've completely seized the momentum."
Just as Mark Jackson said,
in the fourth quarter,
the Thunder, having lost their momentum, quickly fell apart. Midway through the quarter, the Nuggets had built a seven-point lead and held onto it until the final buzzer.
In the end,
the Nuggets completed a 21-point comeback to defeat the Thunder.
There was no doubt about the MVP of the game.
"Melo" Anthony, with 30 points in a single quarter and 57 points overall, was the unquestioned star of the night.
This was truly Melo's night.
After the game,
Jon Barry looked at Anthony's stats and shook his head in admiration. "Carmelo is incredible. A true representative of the 2003 draft class."
With this win,
the Nuggets moved ahead of the Thunder in the standings and climbed to fifth place in the Western Conference.
Ahead of them were the Suns, Spurs, Mavericks, and Lakers. All elite teams.
At the same time, the Nuggets extended their winning streak to eight games.
Tomorrow night, they would face the Suns on the second night of a back-to-back, with both teams riding eight-game winning streaks.
On one side, Blake Su, who had just gone back-to-back as Western Conference Player of the Month while topping both the Rookie MVP and MVP rankings.
On the other side, "Melo" Carmelo Anthony, coming off a 57-point explosion, including 30 in a single quarter.
Suns vs. Nuggets. Blake Su vs. Anthony.
Tomorrow's game between the Suns and Nuggets would be must-watch basketball. No explanation needed. Everyone knew just how exciting it would be.
Mark Jackson smiled and added, "I've been looking forward to this matchup for a long time.
And after the Nuggets, the Suns will face the defending champion Lakers again. That's another game you won't want to miss."
...
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