Throughout the entire third quarter.
Blake Su vs. Kobe.
The two went one-on-one.
Kobe was locked down by Blake Su and scored only 3 points in the quarter. As for Blake Su, although attacking Kobe was more difficult than attacking Artest, he was still Blake Su, the "human mismatch essence."
Even Kobe could not stop him.
11 points in the quarter.
That was the answer Blake Su gave while facing Kobe, the "current No. 1 shooting guard" and the "current No. 1 player in the league."
Blake Su completely suppressed Kobe in the quarter.
And even though role players like Pau Gasol and Bynum performed better than Suns players like Curry and George, the Suns still cut the gap by nearly 7 points in the quarter, narrowing the deficit to just 2.
Only one possession.
"Boom!"
Blake Su's brilliant quarter earned thunderous applause and cheers from the entire arena. That roaring wave of noise was pointed straight toward victory.
By suppressing Kobe one-on-one, Blake Su also gave his teammates tremendous confidence.
So much so that during the 4-minute, 11-second rotation stretch in the final quarter, the Suns' bench played the Lakers' bench evenly. They did not close the gap, but they also did not lose ground, giving Blake Su and the others enough rest.
That was already good enough.
"Beep, beep!"
With Alvin Gentry's timeout, the fierce battle of the final quarter was about to begin.
Kobe, feeling Blake Su's tremendous defensive pressure under [Gary Payton Defense] for the first time, continued to struggle offensively.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
His forced attacks kept missing.
He could not get them to fall.
Facing Blake Su's extremely tough defense, even Kobe could not find a good offensive rhythm tonight. He remained contained.
As the team's leader, Kobe's misses also affected the confidence of the Lakers' role players. On the Suns' side, Blake Su kept scoring as usual, and his teammates' confidence soared.
The Suns began to push back against the Lakers in both momentum and offense.
The Suns started their comeback.
With 3 minutes and 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Curry curled out along the baseline and knocked down a long two, successfully putting the Suns ahead.
However, they did not let up after taking the advantage.
That was the Suns' favorite way to kill a game. Or rather, Blake Su's favorite way.
On defense, he shut down Kobe again and forced him into a reluctant pass. Even when Kobe's teammate caught it, it was not a clean look, and the shot missed.
On offense, Blake Su called for a screen, slipped around Kobe, then faced Odom and Pau Gasol as they stepped up. He attacked two defenders at once and shook off Odom.
Protecting the ball, he carried Pau Gasol into the lane like he was charging in with a pack of explosives.
"Swish!"
Off the glass and in.
Then, on the very next possession, Blake Su brought the ball up to the top of the arc, a full meter beyond the three-point line, and stopped sharply for a deep three.
"Whoosh!"
He fired it over Odom's defense.
Clean and decisive.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
One stop and two scores. Blake Su scored 5 straight points and pushed the lead to 6, while the Lakers had only 2 minutes and 13 seconds left.
"This is bad!"
Lakers fans felt their hearts sink.
"Kobe has to step up."
"Stop trying to challenge Blake Su. Attack the mismatches against other players. The Lakers have to win tonight. They absolutely cannot lose."
The Lakers fans were praying.
On the court, Kobe, his eyes cold and sharp, also realized that he could not keep forcing his offense against Blake Su like this. He could not keep treating him like a rookie and stubbornly trying to get revenge on him.
But Kobe realized it too late.
"Clang!"
With 33.4 seconds left, Kobe forced up a three over George and missed. The 6-point deficit remained, and the game lost all suspense.
In the end, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers once again by 7 points, beating the defending champions and defending their home court yet again.
They also changed the series score to 2-0.
So far in the series, the Suns had won two straight and now held a massive advantage.
"We won!"
"Another win! 2-0! The Suns are unstoppable now. Nobody can stop them!"
"The Suns are awesome!"
"Blake Su is mighty!"
"..."
The earth-shaking cheers from the home crowd rolled like a thousand waves crashing over the sea, as if they were about to lift the roof off US Airways Center.
"Nice!"
"Smack!"
The instant the final buzzer sounded, the Suns players breathed a sigh of relief.
Another victory.
Blake Su, Curry, and George, the three Suns rookies and the future pieces for a championship, even for dominating the league, slapped hands with each other.
They encouraged each other.
They enjoyed yet another win together.
Compared to starting the first round with two straight losses, winning two straight games against the defending champions in the semifinals gave these first-time playoff players far more confidence.
And that constantly growing confidence was also playoff experience.
It was also their growth.
At the commentary desk, Jon Barry looked at the stat sheet and said loudly, "18 points in the first quarter, 10 in the second, 11 in the third, and 10 in the fourth. Tonight, Blake Su exploded for 49 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
On top of that, he used his extraordinary talent on the defensive end to limit Kobe's performance.
Blake Su dominated both offense and defense, stunned the entire arena, and once again led the Suns to another win almost by himself.
Absolutely incredible!"
"Yes."
Mark Jackson nodded and picked it up. "Kobe also had 35 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal tonight.
But he scored 26 points in the first half. He was in excellent form, yet in the second half, against Blake Su's defense, he scored only 9 points total.
Tonight, Kobe was locked down by Blake Su.
By a rookie."
"Tsk, tsk..."
Jon Barry clicked his tongue, growing even more amazed by Blake Su's strength. But then he frowned and asked in confusion, "Mark.
What caused the Lakers to lose tonight?"
"Hmm..."
Mark Jackson thought for a moment and said, "First, playing on the road was definitely one reason. Second, Blake Su's defense was crucial.
In the first half tonight, the Lakers were leading the whole time. It wasn't until Blake Su matched up with Kobe in the second half and limited him that the situation began to turn.
Third, I think this is something people overlook, but it is absolutely the most important point.
Blake Su kept producing highlight-level basketball. While dropping 49 points, he also contributed on defense, on the boards, with his passing, and in every other area.
He helped his teammates in every way.
Blake Su was the biggest reason the Suns were able to win."
"That's right."
Jon Barry nodded heavily, fully agreeing with Mark Jackson, especially on the final point.
He echoed, "Blake Su's individual performance was truly outstanding, but I think... the defense that limited Kobe's offense in the second half was also vital.
You could even say it was because of that defense that they ultimately won.
It seems to reflect the saying that offense can win games, but defense wins championships!"
...
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