Blake Su had won Player of the Week for seven straight weeks, breaking the consecutive weekly award record he had created himself.
It was stunning.
Of course, since he had already won six straight before this, plenty of fans had begun to take it for granted. More importantly, "March Madness" had already begun.
Every team was fighting for the playoffs.
Right now, in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies held eighth place with a 34 and 29 record. The ninth-place Hornets were 33 and 29, while the tenth-place Rockets were 32 and 30.
At the same time, the seventh-place Trail Blazers were 35 and 29.
From seventh to tenth in the West, the standings were extremely tight. One mistake, and the Trail Blazers or Grizzlies could be pushed outside the playoff line at any moment.
But if they worked hard enough, fought hard enough, and treated every game with enough desperation, then the Hornets and Rockets could also break into the playoffs at any time.
In the East, the Pacers temporarily held eighth place with a 29 and 34 record. The 76ers were seventh at 32 and 31, while the Bucks were ninth at 27 and 36.
The tenth-place Bobcats were 26 and 36.
The Bucks and Bobcats were still a little behind the Pacers, but with nearly 20 games left in the season, if they won enough down the stretch, they could still make the playoffs.
So whether it was the 76ers, Pacers, Bucks, or Bobcats, these teams hovering around the playoff line were just like the teams in the West.
Every second mattered.
Every game had to be won.
"March Madness" made the regular season tense, more exciting, and gradually gave it a hint of playoff intensity.
...
That night, both the Suns and the Heat had games.
The Suns were facing the Warriors, while the Heat were facing the Bucks.
First came the Suns versus Warriors matchup.
Before the game, ESPN's analysts predicted that the Suns would blow the Warriors out in three quarters. That made a lot of Warriors fans uncomfortable, even angry.
Predicting a loss was one thing.
But a three-quarter blowout?
Any Warriors fan would be upset hearing that.
But frustration was one thing. Reality seemed to slap them hard in the face and force them to swallow it quietly.
The game began.
In the first quarter, the two teams traded light blows, and the Suns led by 5.
In the second quarter, Monta Ellis entered scoring mode. For the Suns, led by Blake Su and Nash, the entire team kept creating opportunities for Curry, letting him trade shots with Ellis.
They wanted the league to know that this former second option on the Warriors had the talent and ability of a true franchise player.
By halftime, Curry had slightly outplayed Ellis, and the Suns entered the break with an 8 point lead.
An 8 point deficit at halftime did not mean the Warriors had collapsed.
"Huh? That's it?"
"It's only 8 points. How is that a collapse? Those ESPN experts really know how to suck up to the Suns. They're just chasing attention and trying to stir things up. Disgusting."
"Go Warriors!"
"Beat the Suns tonight and slap those so-called ESPN experts in the face."
"Let's go!"
Warriors fans mocked the prediction and cheered wildly for their team, hoping the Warriors would win tonight and humiliate ESPN's experts.
The result?
When the second half began, Blake Su, Curry, and Nash led the Suns into a wild, beautiful run-and-gun attack. They opened with an 18 to 2 scoring storm against the Warriors.
And that run took only 4 minutes and 44 seconds.
While the Warriors fans sat there stunned, the gap had already ballooned to 24.
"Beep, beep!"
The Warriors head coach quickly called a timeout, but it was already useless.
By the end of the third quarter, the Suns carried a massive 26 point lead into the break.
A 26 point gap.
The game had completely fallen apart.
"How did this happen?"
"The Suns' run-and-gun offense is terrifying!"
"No, it's Blake Su. That 'Monster Rookie' is just too strong as a scorer. They can't stop him at all!"
After being slapped by that huge deficit, the Warriors fans finally realized that the league-leading Suns, with Blake Su on the floor, were simply too strong.
There was no solution.
The Suns clocked out after three quarters against the Warriors and took the win.
Almost as soon as the Suns versus Warriors game ended, fans immediately shifted their attention to American Airlines Arena, where the Heat were facing the Bucks.
If the first quarter between the Suns and Warriors had been a light exchange, then the first quarter between the Heat and Bucks was a one-sided slaughter by Miami.
The Heat won the quarter by 15 points.
At home, with the Big Three in command, they built a 15 point lead in one quarter. The Heat's arrogant, surging offense looked like it might blow the game open right there.
The Bucks were thrown into panic.
In the second quarter, the Heat's offense remained fierce. By halftime, they were already leading by 22.
With all three members of the Big Three firing, they looked like the villains from a movie, doing whatever they wanted on the court.
By halftime, the Bucks had been crushed.
When the second half began, the Bucks struggled for half a quarter before losing their will to fight.
Although they did not officially surrender, the quality of the game gradually dropped.
The Heat kept their 20 plus point lead all the way to the end and defeated the Bucks.
That night, both the Suns and Heat won in one-sided blowouts. Aside from enjoying the stars' highlight plays, neither game was especially competitive.
But that was only the fans' reaction immediately after watching the games.
The next morning, when the NBA officially released a photo with the caption [LeBron-Wade Connection], it instantly caused a sensation.
First, the photo itself.
During last night's Heat versus Bucks game, there was a possession in the second quarter where Jennings drove for a layup and missed. Wade grabbed the rebound.
He immediately pushed the fast break.
LeBron, Bosh, and the others followed closely behind.
"Flash" Wade raced down the court like lightning. When he reached the free throw line, he fired a bounce pass to the right while continuing his own run toward the corner.
"Smack!"
LeBron, trailing behind, caught the pass and went straight into his gather, taking off for a windmill dunk.
It was the kind of fast break connection between Wade and LeBron that the Heat often produced.
But the photo that caused the huge stir captured the moment after Wade made the pass. He had already rushed to the baseline and was running along the corner, not even looking at the rim, with both arms spread wide in celebration.
At the same time, LeBron was soaring through the air behind him, ball in hand, finishing the windmill dunk.
A classic "LeBron-Wade Connection."
"Celebrating before the finish. The chemistry between Wade and LeBron is unreal!"
"I think after the 'OK' duo, the strongest duo has to be LeBron and Wade."
"My god! Who took this photo? It's absolutely beautiful."
"Incredible. Before long, this LeBron-Wade connection is going to become one of those classic NBA images, a true picture for the ages!"