"Two straight logo threes! Blake Su's three-point shooting is way too accurate!"
"Scary accurate!"
"Those are deep logo threes, and Blake Su made them look so easy, so casual. Are threes this simple now?"
"Is he really that smooth?"
"Blake Su hit both of his logo threes, while Curry only made one out of three. They're both shooters, but Blake Su is still stronger."
"That's right."
"The key is that Blake Su is a center. Having such insane three-point shooting as a center is the most terrifying part!"
"Seven threes in less than ten minutes, including two logo threes. Blake Su is really strong!"
"..."
Thunderous cheers echoed through Staples Center, and the fans' discussions, gasps, and screams kept ringing out.
"Blake Su won again, just like in practice!"
Steve Nash laughed loudly.
He did not seem surprised by the result at all.
"Yeah."
Carter nodded with a smile. "Curry was great too. After all, having one player as strong as Blake Su in the league is already terrifying.
"If Curry were just as strong as him, and if our Suns had two players like that, the whole league would probably change."
"Heh heh heh, true."
The stands were buzzing.
On the court.
After Blake Su hit another logo three, Curry walked over and snorted. "Fine, you won again. Blake Su, your threes really don't look like they come from a center."
"How many times have I told you? I really am a center!"
Blake Su smiled faintly and even compared his height with Curry's, proving that he was, in fact, a center.
Curry shook his head, looking helpless but also somewhat at peace with it. "Only you. If any other center beat me in three-point shooting, I'd be furious.
"But Blake Su, in tomorrow's three-point contest, I'm definitely going to beat you and win the championship."
"If you've got what it takes, then bring it on."
Blake Su shrugged, completely unconcerned.
As the two talked while heading back, Jennings brought the ball past half court and was about to attack when the first-years called a timeout and subbed Blake Su out. The second-years also took Curry off the floor.
Even though both of them were playing extremely well, this was still the Rookie Challenge. The other players needed a chance to show what they could do too.
Since the Rookie Challenge only had two halves, each twenty minutes long, Blake Su was sent back in with four minutes left in the first half.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Two more threes.
Then, off passes from Wall, he threw down two alley-oop dunks and set the arena on fire.
At halftime.
First-years 73, second-years 71.
Blake Su had hit nine threes and dropped 35 points. Even so, the second-years were still slightly better overall in strength and experience.
On top of that, Curry's offense had been genuinely impressive.
So even though Blake Su had personally scored 35 points, the lead was only two.
In the second half.
Blake Su and Curry both started on the bench, and most of the starters did not come on either. The coach's intention was obvious. He wanted to save them for the final battle.
For the first ten minutes, it was a duel between the bench rookies. They were all talented players, with threes, dunks, drives, passes, and plenty of exciting plays.
With eight minutes left.
"Beep, beep!"
After a timeout.
The starters from both sides began returning, and the game entered its final decisive stretch.
However, with the score still tight and plenty of time left, no one was taking it too seriously yet. Instead, Wall and Jennings started trading threes.
That was exciting too.
Of course, their accuracy was still clearly a level below Blake Su and Curry's earlier shootout.
During this stretch, Curry piled up assists while Blake Su grabbed rebounds. He attacked occasionally too, keeping the game entertaining and the arena atmosphere high.
Soon.
There were only three minutes left.
First-years 130, second-years 128.
A two-point game with three minutes remaining. The real battle to decide the winner had finally begun.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Blake Su held the ball at the top of the arc, facing Ibaka. He feinted a drive with one step, and when he saw Ibaka's center of gravity drop, he rose up smoothly and fired a three.
"Swish!"
Right on target.
Nothing but net.
"Strong!"
"From the look of Blake Su, he's about to take over the game!"
The commentator had barely finished speaking.
On the next possession, Blake Su caught the ball on the left high post with his back to Gibson. He bumped once, half turned, then suddenly accelerated and blew past Gibson in one step.
"Boom!"
He charged into the paint and hammered down a fierce dunk.
"Swish!"
Curry pushed the ball coast to coast, used a screen, attacked straight into the lane, took off from the left side, adjusted midair, and banked it in from the right side to answer.
But.
"Swish!"
On the fast break, Blake Su pulled up for a transition three, facing the defense of both Ibaka and DeRozan, and knocked it down cold-bloodedly.
It was not over yet. On the next possession, Blake Su once again went right at Ibaka's defense. With Ibaka contesting directly in his face, he forced up a three.
Would this one go in too?
"Clang!"
No.
But DeMarcus Cousins grabbed the rebound and passed it back out to the perimeter, giving Blake Su another chance. Blake Su caught it, decisive and confident, and fired another cold shot.
"Swish!"
Straight through the net.
Another clean make.
Against a group of second-year rookies, scoring was simply too easy for Blake Su.
In less than two minutes, Blake Su took over the game. He scored 11 straight points and single-handedly led an 11-2 offensive storm, stretching the lead to 11.
There were less than two minutes left.
Although Curry hit one last ultra-deep three, it was not enough to change the result.
In the end, the first-years defeated the second-years by seven points.
Winning or losing was not the only thing that mattered. Tonight, Blake Su and Curry had delivered a three-point feast, while the best of the rookies played a gorgeous game.
They lit up the arena.
That was what mattered most.
After the game.
TNT commentator Charles Barkley said, "Congratulations to the first-years on the win, and congratulations to Blake Su, who hit 12 threes and scored 50 points tonight, on being named Rookie MVP!"
"That's right."
Reggie Miller took over and said, "Congratulations to Blake Su on winning Rookie MVP. It's worth mentioning that tonight, Blake Su hit 12 threes and scored 50 points.
"Not only did he break the rookie single-game record of 11 threes set by Daniel Gibson in 2006, he also broke the rookie single-game scoring record of 46 points set by Kevin Durant in 2009.
"Breaking two extremely difficult records in one game, Blake Su truly lives up to the title of 'Monster Rookie.'"