After defeating the Thunder, the Suns' next opponent was the Mavericks.
Dallas had Dirk Nowitzki, the "German Wunderkind," whose offensive style was somewhat similar to Blake Su's and whose scoring could be just as impossible to stop.
Nowitzki was an All-Star, but his popularity was not especially high.
As a 213-centimeter big man, he, like Blake Su, was skilled at attacking from the perimeter. But compared with Blake Su, his offensive style was much softer.
In this era, that made him slightly less exciting to watch.
That might have been one reason his popularity was relatively lower.
But popularity was one thing. His style of play still led to wins, especially in a Western Conference packed with strong teams.
The Mavericks had managed to reach the top three.
That alone said everything.
...
The next night, the Suns versus Mavericks matchup began.
At the start of the game, the fans did not get the Blake Su versus Nowitzki scoring duel they were waiting for. Instead, they got a back-and-forth battle between Terry, Stevenson, Curry, and Carter.
For the Mavericks, Terry hit consecutive threes from the outside, while Stevenson repeatedly attacked the paint and found success.
For the Suns, Curry's touch was hot from the very beginning. He hit threes off Nash's assists and also created his own sudden pull-up shots off the dribble.
He was in excellent form.
Carter also showed strong attacking desire tonight. He repeatedly drove inside to create contact, draw fouls, and even threw down a stunning rim-rattling dunk.
In the first quarter, even though Blake Su and Nowitzki did not attack much, the game was still very exciting.
By the end of the first quarter, the Suns led 28 to 25.
In the second quarter, after the bench rotations, the starters returned, and Blake Su and Nowitzki began to take over the offense.
If Blake Su could be called an "upgraded Durant," then Nowitzki was only one part of Blake Su.
What they had in common was simple: Blake Su was a level higher.
So when the two traded shots, Blake Su's advantage quickly became obvious. With two minutes left in the third quarter, it was clearly a head-to-head scoring battle between Blake Su and Nowitzki.
But the Suns were already leading by 8.
"Beep, beep!"
Head Coach Rick Carlisle called a timeout.
After the timeout, Dallas strengthened its defense on Blake Su, while Phoenix tightened its defense on Nowitzki. Only then did both players' offensive rhythm finally slow down.
By halftime, the Suns led by 5.
In the third quarter, the Suns would usually let Blake Su enter attack mode and use one big run to take the game away.
But tonight was different.
Blake Su reduced his offensive workload and focused on guarding Nowitzki.
Curry and Carter took over the scoring responsibility in the third quarter and maintained the same efficiency they had shown in the first.
The strategy worked very well.
Even though Blake Su was not attacking much, the Suns continued to widen the gap. By the end of the third quarter, they led by 11.
In the fourth quarter, the Mavericks saw that Nowitzki could not get his offense going under Blake Su's defense, so they kept setting screens for him, trying to create switches and give him chances against other defenders.
Once the matchup changed, Nowitzki's unstoppable offense immediately came alive again.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
But Blake Su's offense was even more explosive.
Whenever Nowitzki hit an unreasonable one-legged fadeaway, Blake Su answered right back.
Both teams could score.
But the 11 point gap never shrank. As time continued to tick away, the increasingly anxious Mavericks began gambling on threes to chase the score.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
After several straight misses, the game was effectively over.
The Suns defeated the Mavericks.
...
After the game, inside the ESPN studio.
Hubie Brown adjusted his glasses and said, "Both Blake Su and Nowitzki played very well tonight. Blake Su was a little better, but there was another reason the Suns were able to win relatively comfortably.
"The Mavericks' role players didn't perform well.
"Off the bench, 'The Jet' Terry only looked good in the first quarter. Over the final three quarters, his form was poor.
"Chandler and Marion also struggled defensively.
"Dirk Nowitzki is certainly powerful, but if the players around him can't do their jobs properly, then against a team on the Suns' level, it's still going to be difficult."
"That's right."
Dave Pasch nodded and added, "But the Mavericks are still a very strong team. I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform in the playoffs.
"And of course, I also hope everyone is looking forward to the upcoming showdown between the Suns and the Heat."
...
The next day.
Aside from last night's exciting Suns versus Mavericks game, the matchup between the Heat and the Celtics had also been thrilling.
The "Heat Big Three" versus the "Celtics' All-Star Five" produced another fierce battle.
In the first quarter, LeBron and Wade worked together to unleash a 15 to 3 scoring storm, catching the Celtics completely off guard and forcing them to call two timeouts during that stretch.
By the end of the first quarter, the Heat led by 9.
In the second quarter, the Celtics' offense still had not opened up. So they simply leaned into their defense, putting serious pressure on the Heat and keeping the gap under control.
In the second half, after making adjustments during halftime, the Celtics broke out.
Paul Pierce and Ray Allen began hitting threes from the perimeter, while Kevin Garnett drilled his tough mid-range jumpers in the post.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Shot after shot went in.
With Rajon Rondo controlling the floor, the Celtics found scoring from multiple spots and suddenly opened up the game. They cut 8 points off the deficit in one quarter.
Then, with 7 minutes and 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"Swish!"
Ray Allen buried a three, tying the score.
On the very next possession.
"Swish!"
"Beep, beep!"
Pierce powered past LeBron, finished the layup, and drew the foul. With the and-one, the Celtics immediately took a 3 point lead.
Boston had completely seized the momentum and rhythm of the game.
With two minutes left.
"Swish!"
Wade hit a clutch three to give the Heat a 1 point lead. That shot looked like it might be enough to kill the game.
But...
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Garnett, who was burning hot, hit two straight tough mid-range jumpers in the clutch. On one of them, he even drew the foul and made the free throw.
A 5 to 0 run put the Celtics up by 4 and truly sealed the game.
"Clang!"
As LeBron missed a deep three, the Heat suffered a narrow loss to the Celtics.
This game was every bit as exciting as the Suns versus Mavericks showdown. The next day, both games became major topics among fans and further fueled the buildup toward the upcoming Suns versus Heat clash.
That buzz only shifted at 1 p.m., when the NBA officially announced the previous week's Players of the Week.
"Who won Player of the Week in the East and West?"
"No idea about the East, but blind guess: Blake Su in the West!"
"The guy above me is pretty sharp!"
"Haha, but he's right. In the East, it went to the Celtics' Paul Pierce. In the West, it once again went to Blake Su, who led his team to a 3 and 1 record last week."
"It really was Blake Su?"
"Wow, that's seriously impressive. If I remember correctly, with this one, Blake Su has now won Western Conference Player of the Week for seven straight weeks.
"He broke his own record of six straight."
"Insane. Absolutely insane!"
"Damn, seven straight Player of the Week awards. That's crazy!"
"Haha, at this point, they might as well just give the Western Conference Player of the Week award to Blake Su permanently!"
...
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (40 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.