"Last night's Heat-Knicks game was incredible!"
"Exactly. For the Heat, LeBron dropped 33 points, Wade had 27, and Bosh added 21. Their Big Three combined for 81 points.
For the Knicks, Anthony had 34 points, Stoudemire had 28, and Billups had 17. Their new Big Three also put up 79 points.
Big Three versus Big Three.
That was a wild, explosive offensive showdown."
"Right. The key was... the entire game was tight. The score kept going back and forth until the final possession, until Anthony missed that game-winning three.
That was when the Heat finally won.
Both the Heat and the Knicks are extremely strong. After All-Star Weekend, the Knicks traded for Anthony and Billups.
That really was the right decision."
"D'Antoni really knows how to run things!"
"I'm looking forward to seeing how the Knicks perform in the playoffs."
"Hey, forget the playoffs for now. First, look forward to tomorrow night's Knicks-Suns matchup. Their opponent is the Suns, the team that already had a 23-game winning streak earlier and has now won 19 straight again.
They're going after 20 straight wins for the second time.
This top team in the West is terrifyingly strong too."
"Exactly!"
"Even if the Knicks are strong, they still lost to the Heat. If they want to beat the Suns tomorrow night, they'll have to take it absolutely seriously. Otherwise, it won't be easy."
"Ahem... in my opinion, if the Knicks had won, tomorrow night's Knicks-Suns game would have been a Finals preview. Now they lost.
But the Knicks' new Big Three still showed their strength.
Besides, their loss had some road-game factors involved, and it was only a narrow 2-point defeat. Tomorrow night, the Knicks return home, where they'll have a clear home-court advantage.
So... even though the Knicks lost to the Heat, tomorrow night's matchup with the Suns is at least a faux Finals preview.
Hmph, I'm a Melo fan. I accept no arguments."
"Awesome!"
"The guy above is a real logic genius!"
"It sounds like nonsense, but... for some reason, I kind of think it makes sense!"
"You've convinced me with that crazy logic!"
"Haha, interesting!"
"But... no matter what, tomorrow night's Knicks-Suns game, a matchup we've been watching for a long time, is definitely going to be exciting."
"That's true."
"On one side, you have the newly formed, unstoppable Knicks. On the other, you have the Suns, riding a 19-game winning streak and chasing their second 20-game winning streak of the season.
And also.
Anthony and Billups now had Stoudemire as help as they prepared for their revenge game.
Put everything together, and this highly anticipated battle is going to be incredible."
"..."
That night, after the Knicks-Heat game ended, fans had already whipped the Knicks-Suns matchup into a frenzy.
The next day, the newspapers were extremely busy.
On one hand, they had to cover last night's thrilling Heat-Knicks battle. On the other, they had to build hype for tonight's Knicks-Suns showdown. Article after article was pushed out one after another.
They were swamped.
Of course, it was the kind of busy they enjoyed. The hotter the matchup, the more explosive the stories they could write, the more attention they could ride.
And from that, they could make money.
Besides the newspapers, the NBA's official channels, which might arrive late to a trending topic but would never miss one, also filled their homepage with posters.
In short, every side was focused on tonight's Knicks-Suns matchup. The astonishing level of hype was not the slightest bit lower than Heat versus Knicks.
...
9 p.m.
Madison Square Garden.
Half an hour before the game, the home fans had already packed the arena. As far as the eye could see, the stands were dense with people, and the atmosphere was deafening.
"Let's go Knicks!"
"Let's go Knicks!"
With the arena DJ stirring the crowd up, the home fans erupted into a wave of cheers before the game had even begun. This... was the popularity that belonged to New York, to a major market.
Whether it was Stoudemire, who had come to the Knicks this past summer, or Anthony, who had just arrived after All-Star Weekend, I believe... New York's massive market had to be one of the factors they considered when making their choices.
On the court, Blake Su was warming up. Feeling the cheers that belonged to New York, the applause of a major market, he smiled faintly and murmured, "A big market really is nice. It has natural advantages in popularity and resources.
But just because I'm with the Suns, just because I'm in a small market, that doesn't mean I can't make Phoenix match, or even surpass, the Knicks in basketball popularity."
At that thought, a firm conviction appeared in Blake Su's eyes.
A conviction to make himself better.
A fierce fighting spirit also surged out from within him.
If he wanted to become better, it started with winning.
It started with beating strong teams.
Before the game, Woj found Blake Su and asked with a smile, "Blake, did you know Madison Square Garden is a magical arena?
A lot of superstars have created brilliant moments here.
For example, Jordan scored 55 points in this arena during the 1994-95 season. Reggie Miller created 'Miller Time' here with 8 points in 8.9 seconds.
In the 2008-09 season, 'King James' LeBron put up an astonishing 52 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists here. 'Black Mamba' Kobe also scored 61 points here, including a perfect 20-for-20 from the free-throw line.
And so on.
In short, many stars have delivered extremely dazzling performances in this building.
Blake, do you think you can put on a brilliant highlight performance tonight like Jordan and Kobe?"
"Uh..."
Blake Su thought for a moment, then smiled lightly and said, "High scores, spectacular performances, things like that. I don't really care about them. If I have to answer, then I hope... we can win."
"Haha!"
Woj laughed too. "That really is a simple and practical answer. But your opponent is very strong. So... I'm looking forward to your performance tonight!"
...
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