"So even if Blake keeps playing like that, throwing everything he has into the game and dominating both ends of the floor, we're still going to win.
"Guys, stay calm. Stay confident.
"No matter what Phoenix throws at us, Game 6 is back on our home floor, back in our building.
"Let's win one more game...
"And lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy!"
"Yeah!!!"
LeBron's words immediately restored the Heat's confidence.
Beat Phoenix.
Win the championship.
That was still the goal.
...
The next afternoon, the Suns returned to their practice facility for their usual training session.
Blake, Curry, George, and the rest of the team were all there.
After winning Game 5, Phoenix had cut the series deficit to 3-2.
Miami still had two chances to close them out, but suddenly, the situation didn't feel quite as hopeless anymore.
"Come on! We're going to win this!"
Curry shouted at the top of his lungs. "We're going to complete the comeback and win that championship, for the Suns and for ourselves!"
"Yeah!"
George joined in. "With Blake here and all of us fighting together, that championship is going to belong to Phoenix!"
"That's right!"
Dragić pumped his fist.
The energy from the young players quickly spread through the team.
Everyone looked fired up and ready to fight.
"Exactly."
Even Nash got caught up in it.
"Last game, Blake's defense was one of the biggest reasons we won.
"So over these next two games, we need to keep our offense going while maintaining that same defensive intensity.
"We give everything we have and go right at the Heat Big Three."
"Yeah!"
The players responded with raised fists.
The gym filled with renewed confidence.
But Blake himself had fallen into deep thought.
"The situation still isn't as good as I want to believe.
"Stamina...
"Taking my defense to that level definitely works, but there's a price.
"It burns through too much energy.
"My stamina is good, but playing that kind of high-intensity defense while constantly attacking the rim through multiple defenders is still too much.
"By the end of the game, I start running out of gas.
"And on a team that depends on me this much, if my stamina drops late and my level falls with it...
"That can be fatal.
"We won Game 5, but if the same thing happens on the road in Game 6, can I still hold up at the end?
"Or maybe...
"I can't.
"And there's another problem.
"I already pushed my defense as far as I could.
"I attacked as hard as I could too.
"But even then, we only barely won.
"We didn't blow them out.
"So what about the next game?
"Or the game after that?
"Can I really keep hitting logo threes to save us every time?"
One question after another ran through Blake's mind.
His brows tightened.
Even after winning Game 5, he still felt uneasy about what came next.
"There's still something wrong.
"But what is it?
"Defense?
"Scoring?
"Stamina?
"How do I balance all three?
"Defense wins championships. That's true.
"But can defense alone guarantee a championship?
"If we can't score, if we can't turn stops into offense, if we can't put the ball through the hoop...
"Then none of it matters.
"Scoring is still crucial.
"And if I want to actually create separation, maybe attacking the rim over and over isn't enough."
Blake's eyes suddenly sharpened.
His thoughts cleared.
"Stamina. Defense. Attacking the rim. Balance...
"Right.
"I get it now.
"The reason we won Game 5 was because of two things.
"Defense and attacking the basket.
"Both mattered.
"But both also drained an enormous amount of energy.
"We only won by a small margin, but if stamina hadn't become a problem, maybe the game would've been over much earlier.
"We were up by double digits at one point.
"The Mavericks can beat Miami because Dirk Nowitzki matters, but so do the role players.
"The whole team contributes.
"Phoenix is different.
"It's basically me carrying the biggest load by myself.
"There's no way I can play at maximum intensity on both ends for forty-eight minutes and still have everything left at the end.
"But I still need to keep the defensive pressure high.
"So if I want to conserve energy and stay effective offensively for the whole game...
"I need to attack the rim less.
"Not shoot less.
"Just replace some of those exhausting, high-contact drives with perimeter shots.
"Preferably threes.
"That way, I save energy and can score more efficiently at the same time.
"I scored fifty in Game 5, but I only made three threes.
"If I make seven or more, the score opens up much faster.
"And in the end, the shot that really put the game away was that logo three.
"Attacking the rim is easier against Miami's weaker interior defense.
"But threes are what can really create separation.
"This is the Finals.
"This might be the hardest season I'll ever have carrying a team like this.
"I can't let the Heat Big Three force me into abandoning my best weapon just because they're defending me aggressively on the perimeter.
"My three-point shot is still my strongest offensive weapon.
"And right now, it may also be the best way for us to win.
"Keep the defense.
"Manage my stamina.
"Use threes to sustain the offense and stretch the lead.
"Defense can win championships.
"But you can't forget one thing.
"Basketball is still a game about scoring.
"Yeah.
"That's the right way to play this now."
Blake's eyes gleamed.
Everything finally made sense.
While everyone else was focused on defense and repeating that defense wins championships...
Blake's attention had shifted back to offense.
...
Five games had been played in the Finals.
Miami led the series 3-2.
At most, two games remained.
Both teams still believed they could win the championship.
And both were preparing with everything they had for Game 6, three days away.
Outside the teams, anticipation was just as intense.
The debate over who would ultimately win the title had started all over again.
Before Phoenix won Game 5, nearly everyone had leaned toward Miami.
But then Blake had produced a monstrous 50-point, 12-rebound, 4-assist, 8-steal, 8-block performance in an elimination game.
He had capped it with a dagger from the logo.
That win reminded everyone just how dangerous the "Monster Rookie" could be.
It also showed how resilient Phoenix really was.
The Heat were still favored.
But now, more and more fans were starting to believe that Phoenix might actually come back from 3-1 down and complete the upset.
If they did...
It would be history.
Of course, making that kind of history would be anything but easy.
In fact, it would be brutally difficult.
That afternoon, TNT even held a special roundtable discussion.
The topic:
"Finals Game 6: Just How Difficult Will It Be for Phoenix?"
...
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