Suns 7, Heat 4.
Two alley-oop dunks and one deep three. Blake Su had scored all 7 points by himself, putting his team up by 3 against the red-hot Heat.
Heat ball.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
LeBron attacked Carter from the right high post. Carter wanted to defend, but he simply did not have the strength. After just two bumps, LeBron had forced him back.
"Screech!"
LeBron stepped back into a mid-range jumper.
"Clang!"
Unfortunately, the shot was just a little short.
"Smack!"
Blake Su grabbed the rebound and gave it to Nash to push the break. Nash took off coast to coast again, then passed back to Blake Su trailing behind him. LeBron immediately closed out.
"Whoosh!"
Blake Su kept swinging it across. Carter caught it on the wing and launched another three.
Catch, rise, release.
"Swish!"
It drilled straight through the net.
Suns 10, Heat 4.
"Beep, beep!"
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra called timeout.
"Tsk, tsk..."
In the stands.
Yi Jianlian clicked his tongue in amazement. "The Suns are already up by 6 to start the game. Two threes, and they forced the Heat into a timeout. That's impressive."
Yao Ming was smiling too. "The Suns are first in the league. Blake Su scored 7 straight points and came out blazing. Even with the Heat's 'Big Three,' they're not afraid.
But..."
At this point.
Yao Ming paused, then continued, "But the Suns can't get careless. The game has only just started. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh.
They're... really strong."
Across the court in the stands.
Pippen looked at the Heat, who had been forced to call timeout, and asked, "Michael, based on this start, who do you think gets the last laugh tonight?"
"Hard to say."
Jordan shook his head slightly. "Both teams came out excited, and both are playing a little rushed. The Suns are up by 6, but it's still too early to say.
We'll need to get at least to halftime before we can really judge the situation."
Pippen nodded lightly, said nothing more, and turned his attention back to the court.
At the commentary desk.
Mike Breen glanced at Blake Su, who was resting on the bench, and smiled. "Blake Su came out scorching hot, scoring 7 straight points by himself.
Then he and Carter each hit a three, forcing the Heat to call timeout. That was impressive.
And early on, with fast break against fast break, [LeBron-Wade Connection] versus [Su-Curry Connection], both teams have been decisive, quick, and incredibly fun to watch. You can't help wanting to applaud.
Still.
The Suns, playing at home, have had the better touch so far."
"That's right."
Jeff Van Gundy nodded. "The Suns are shooting well. That's part of it, sure, but there's also something inevitable about this."
"Oh?"
Mike Breen hummed, waiting for him to explain.
"Heh."
Jeff Van Gundy smiled faintly and continued, "Before the timeout, both excited teams were trading alley-oop dunks and fast breaks.
It was beautiful basketball.
But when it comes to fast breaks, the Suns' run-and-gun offense can be called the strongest offensive system in the league. Even if the Heat are good in transition too,
they can't win by purely trying to outrun the Suns.
So in that opening stretch, the Heat were somewhat pulled into the Suns' rhythm. The Big Three played well, but falling behind was natural.
I think Coach Spoelstra realized that too, which is why he called timeout.
Now we'll see whether the Heat can break out of the Suns' tempo after this timeout and get their own offense going. That's the only way they can control the game."
"Exactly."
Mike Breen nodded in agreement.
As they were speaking.
On the court.
The timeout ended.
Heat ball.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
LeBron held the ball at the top of the arc. After that timeout, just as the announcers had said, the Heat had calmed down, and LeBron began directing the offense.
He started pulling the game into his rhythm.
Facing the 34-year-old Carter, LeBron did not hesitate at all. He drove hard with the ball, charging into the lane like he was carrying dynamite. After meeting Frye in the air,
"Swish!"
he banked it in.
Pure talent overpowering everything.
Suns ball.
Nash brought the ball across half court and passed to Blake Su at the top of the arc, then spaced out to the side. "CB4" Bosh stepped up immediately.
One of the league's top power forwards was the first line of defense against Blake Su.
But.
Blake Su did not even look at him. He lowered his center of gravity, accelerated in one step, let Bosh keep up, stopped on a dime, then accelerated again, changing rhythm and bursting forward.
"Whoosh!"
He shook Bosh cleanly. But... LeBron rotated over to help, while Bosh recovered from behind at once.
"Whoosh!"
Facing the help and the double-team, Blake Su passed out as usual.
Nash caught it at the top of the arc, with Chalmers closing in. Nash looked toward Blake Su on the right, but instead passed to Curry on the left side of the arc. Curry caught it and was just about to shoot the three.
"Swish!"
"Flash" Wade flew at him like a ghost. Curry went into repeated behind-the-back changes of direction, but Wade, with his experience and physicality, kept sticking to him and applying pressure.
His eyes sharpened. Wade struck fast, clean, and ruthless.
"Smack!"
He stole it from Curry.
"Whoosh!"
Wade turned the steal into a fast break. Nash chased from the wing, only to realize he could not catch up at all. "Flash" was just too fast.
"Boom!"
A reverse dunk delivered.
"Wow~ A steal and fast-break dunk off pressure defense from the second-best shooting guard in the league. 'Flash' Wade's defense is really fierce!"
"Curry is still a little green!"
On the court.
Using Blake Su's screen, Nash slipped around the defense and drove into the paint for an underhand scoop layup, but Chalmers still bothered him enough to force the miss.
The rebound?!
Frye and Ilgauskas fought for it together. The ball was tipped out to Carter in the left corner. Carter caught it, raised up, and fired another three.
However.
The instant he released it, LeBron exploded off the baseline and chased him down. His terrifying vertical let him rise to an extreme height.
"Smack!"
He blocked Carter.
"Wow~"
That astonishing burst and leaping ability left everyone speechless.
Out of bounds.
The ball still belonged to the Suns, with 16.8 seconds left on the shot clock.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
After getting blocked, Carter received the ball again at the right high post and attacked LeBron. But... he no longer had the explosive athleticism of his prime.
When he slammed into LeBron, it was like hitting a wall. He could not move him at all.
After a jump stop into the paint, with no passing lane available, Carter forced out the tiniest bit of space against LeBron, then leaned back and shot.
"Clang!"
The shot was too difficult and bounced off the rim.
"Smack!"
Bosh secured the rebound and passed to Wade to push the break. Wade raced coast to coast again, cutting in from the left. Facing Frye, he launched into a Eurostep.
He shook Frye off, but Blake Su rotated over.
"Whoosh!"
Wade smoothly kicked it left. Bosh, already in position, rose for a mid-range jumper.
"Swish!"
A steady make.
"My goodness. After the timeout, the Heat Big Three got serious. Each of them scored once, they chased down 6 straight points, and they tied the game just like that. That's really impressive!"
Mike Breen clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Hiss!"
Jeff Van Gundy could not help twitching his mouth. "The Heat Big Three really are incredible on offense, but on the defensive end, the Suns are getting completely crushed too!"
...
...
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