Jefferson bullying Curry?
Blake Su taught him a lesson with two ruthless poster dunks.
"Smack!"
Curry happily slapped hands with Blake Su. The two of them gave Jefferson a dismissive glance, then calmly headed back on defense, leaving Jefferson standing alone under the basket in a mess.
Even though he had been blocked once, Curry had still been extremely efficient throughout the first half, knocking down a full six three-pointers and pouring in 27 points. Blake Su added 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
However, in the latter half of the second quarter, Deron showed the dominance expected of a top-five point guard in the league and kept the Suns from blowing the game wide open. Even so, by halftime, the Suns still carried a huge 19-point lead into the second half.
...
After switching sides, the Suns had no intention of wasting any time. They handed the offense to Blake Su, and with Curry's scorching-hot presence creating pressure on the wing, Blake Su went berserk.
He exploded for 17 points in a single quarter.
Through three quarters, he had racked up 35 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. The Suns led the Jazz by as many as 27 points, completely breaking them and turning the game into a rout.
In the fourth quarter, Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin gave up on the game outright, letting the final period descend into garbage time.
In the end, the Suns slaughtered the Jazz by 22 points.
Their brilliant first win after All-Star Weekend sent a clear message to the entire league: the Suns were still one of the strongest teams in the NBA.
Maybe All-Star Weekend had given the fans too much joy.
So... when fans realized that after beating the Jazz, the Suns had once again extended their winning streak to 16 games, they were stunned.
"Another 16-game winning streak?"
"If I remember correctly, aside from the Suns, no team this season has managed a winning streak of 15 games or more. And now the Suns have done it twice in one season."
"Also, in NBA regular-season history, no team has ever had two separate 20-game winning streaks in a single season.
Now... the Suns are only four wins away from setting a brand-new record. Honestly, I'm kind of looking forward to it."
"Right."
"That said, it doesn't seem like it'll be that easy. You've all heard about it, right? Carmelo and Chauncey went to the Knicks, and with Amar'e already there...
Tch, tch...
That team is seriously strong!
And the opponent for the Suns' 20th straight win just happens to be the Knicks. Beating the Knicks and getting that 20th win? Honestly, that won't be easy."
"Exactly. Tomorrow night, the Knicks play the Bulls, who are first in the East. We'll know just how strong the Knicks are with Carmelo and Chauncey after that game."
"Can't wait..."
"..."
...
That night, discussions about Blake Su, the Suns, and even the Knicks were everywhere online.
As soon as the Suns' game against the Jazz ended, everyone's attention shifted to tomorrow night's marquee matchup between the Knicks and the Bulls.
It would be the debut of the "Anthony + Stoudemire + Billups" trio.
Meanwhile, the Suns also had a home game against the Hawks tomorrow night, and their game would be played first.
Soon, that night arrived.
Although the Knicks-Bulls showdown was generating more hype, it was scheduled later. So for now, the fans' attention was still on the Suns' matchup with the Hawks.
"Whoa!"
Cheers for the home team's 16-game winning streak echoed through the arena.
That deafening roar, combined with the 16-game winning streak and "Monster Rookie" Blake Su holding down the court, gave the Suns a complete edge in momentum over the Hawks before the game had even begun.
Before long, the game officially began.
"Jump ball!"
Blake Su and Al Horford went up for the opening tip.
As expected, Blake Su got there first and knocked the ball away. Curry took possession and pushed into the frontcourt, initiating the Suns' first offensive possession of the game.
"Whoa!"
At the top of the arc, Curry handed the ball off to Blake Su, who had come up to meet him. Facing "J-Smoove" Josh Smith, Blake Su lowered his center of gravity, took one step toward the right wing, then abruptly stopped.
"Whoosh!"
A pull-up jumper.
"Thud!"
Josh reacted half a beat late and lunged sideways to contest, but he couldn't block it. However, Blake Su failed to hit the shot. The ball rolled around the rim and came out, and Joe Johnson grabbed the rebound.
"Whoosh!"
He took it himself and brought the ball up.
Joe Johnson dribbled to the left side of the arc, called for a screen, and ended up facing Blake Su near the top of the key. Then he gave a signal, and Josh and Marvin immediately spaced out to one side.
This setup...
"Joe Johnson is going to isolate against Blake Su right from the start?"
At the commentary desk, Van Gundy looked surprised. Mike Breen smiled and said, "True to his nickname, 'Iso Joe.' Is he trying to give the Suns a warning right from the opening possession?
But...
Blake Su isn't that easy to deal with. He isn't just strong on offense. On the defensive end, he's not someone you can underestimate either."
While the two commentators were still talking, on the court, "Iso Joe" had already launched his attack on Blake Su. He went through a series of crossovers in front of his body, reading Blake Su's defense and searching for an opening.
"Whoosh!"
Joe Johnson accelerated to the right. Seeing Blake Su's center of gravity follow him, he suddenly stopped and pulled up for a fadeaway jumper from the right side of the free-throw line. But...
The instant the ball left his hands.
"Smack!"
Blake Su sprang off the floor and slapped his hand directly onto the ball in Joe Johnson's hands, forcefully stuffing the shot right in front of him.
"How is that possible?!"
Joe Johnson was shocked.
But why wouldn't it be?
In a one-on-one situation, only three types of players had a chance to break through Blake Su's defense.
The first type was speed-based players like "Windy City Rose" Derrick Rose, who had extreme speed and outstanding physical talent.
The second type was players like Dwight Howard, who could overpower Blake Su with strength and also had astonishing talent.
The third type was players like Anthony, Durant, and Kobe, who had a vast offensive arsenal and elite physical gifts.
Those three types of players were extremely difficult to handle to begin with. With Blake Su's current defensive ability, completely limiting them was still challenging.
Or rather, expecting to lock down those freakishly talented players one-on-one was never realistic in the first place.
But right now... "Iso Joe," who was trying to take Blake Su one-on-one, did not belong to any of those categories. If he dared to shoot over Blake Su's defense, then he had to be ready to get blocked.
"Whoosh!"
After blocking Joe Johnson, Blake Su burst forward, grabbed the ball, and launched a coast-to-coast fast break. Deron sprinted after him almost at the same time, running along Blake Su's wing.
But Blake Su didn't even look at him. He drove straight into the paint, took his three steps, raised the ball high, and soared up for a dunk over Deron. Deron had no choice but to give up resisting.
He rushed straight out past the baseline.
"Boom!"
Blake Su finished the fast-break dunk.
However, even after getting blocked head-on, "Iso Joe" didn't seem afraid. On the next possession, he once again took the initiative to find Blake Su and went into another series of crossovers.
"Whoosh!"
A step-back, high-arcing fadeaway.
This time... Blake Su didn't block it, but the shot was nowhere close. The ball hit the backboard and bounced away, and Frye secured the rebound.
"Whoa!"
He passed it to Nash, who pushed the fast break and fired a long pass once again into Blake Su's hands.
"Thud!"
"Iso Joe" appeared in front of Blake Su. After missing on consecutive offensive possessions, Joe Johnson wanted to make up for it on defense. He planned to stop Blake Su and redeem himself.
...
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