"Blake is awesome!!!"
That was what the fired-up Mike Breen shouted inwardly.
Van Gundy was equally excited as he picked up where he left off. "Seven three-pointers and 27 points in a single quarter. After struggling through two quiet quarters, Blake has finally erupted.
"Never underestimate the heart of a shooter.
"That applies to any shooter, but especially to a super shooter like Blake, one of the very best in the league.
"Blake had only 8 points at halftime, but after three quarters, he's already up to 35.
"And the Suns put up an incredible 42 points in the quarter. The Mavericks scored 27 themselves, but thanks to Blake's explosive performance, Phoenix still erased 15 points from the deficit in a single quarter.
"Now, the Mavericks, who once led by 18, are ahead by just 3. There's still an entire quarter left, and this game is wide open again."
In the front row of the stands, Mia Quinn clapped excitedly.
"Awesome!"
After watching Blake's incredible performance and seeing the deficit cut to just 3 points, she was already imagining the Suns finishing the comeback and advancing to the Finals.
She was absolutely thrilled.
"Blake!!!"
"Blake is unstoppable!"
The rest of the Suns fans were just as excited, vigorously waving flags and banners as they cheered for Phoenix and Blake.
Meanwhile, the mood on the Mavericks' bench had completely changed.
Led by Nowitzki, everyone wore a grim expression.
An 18-point lead had looked like it might turn the game into a blowout. Yet after just one quarter, everything had changed, and the gap was suddenly down to only 3 points.
Worse still, "Monster Rookie" Blake was no longer struggling.
Their lead was almost gone, Blake was on a tear again, and the Mavericks were on the road, already trailing 1-3 in the series and standing on the brink of elimination.
The situation could hardly have been worse.
Were they going to lose?
They very well might.
But the Mavericks had no intention of losing. Not even a little.
From their roster to their form, from their overall strength to the breaks going their way, this might be the best year this Mavericks team would ever have.
It might be their best chance to win a championship.
They did not want to give that up.
And their one true cornerstone, "The German Wunderkind" Nowitzki, did not want to give up either. He couldn't, and he absolutely wouldn't.
"Hmph."
Nowitzki's eyes hardened as he said in a low voice, "We're not losing tonight. We're going to win."
It did not sound like encouragement.
It sounded more like a promise.
And that alone was enough to fire up his teammates, reigniting the entire Mavericks team's fighting spirit and filling them with an overwhelming desire to win.
The Suns were no different.
Even before Blake broke out, they had been full of confidence. Now that he had found his rhythm and erupted, the Suns players were even more fired up.
They had the same burning desire to win tonight.
They wanted to finish the Western Conference Finals here and punch their ticket to the Finals.
And so, with both teams driven by an almost frenzied hunger for victory, the fourth quarter began.
After only two minutes of bench rotations, both teams sent their starters back onto the floor.
The final battle had arrived early.
The Suns had possession.
Blake screened for Curry near the free-throw line. Curry accelerated from the right wing and attacked the basket, but Chandler disrupted him, and his twisting layup missed.
Frye was left open on the opposite side and secured the rebound.
He was about to go straight back up, but Nowitzki rotated over to help, taking away the opportunity.
Frye kicked the ball out to Nash at the free-throw line.
Nash immediately whipped a behind-the-back pass to Blake on the left side of the arc.
Blake caught it and rose for three without hesitation.
"Don't go in!"
A nervous Mavericks fan growled from the stands.
"Swish!"
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
Immediate impact.
Blake buried a three as soon as he came back in, tying the game and putting both teams back on even footing.
But the momentum inside the arena had clearly swung toward the Suns.
The Mavericks came back the other way.
Nowitzki stood at the top of the key with a cold expression, facing George's defense.
He dribbled once.
Then twice.
Suddenly, he rose into a fading three-pointer.
The motion looked slow, but with his overwhelming advantage in height and wingspan, George had no chance of blocking it even after closing out hard. At best, he could provide a little interference.
Was it enough?
"Swish!"
No.
Another clean make.
The Mavericks did not have any "X-factors" unexpectedly stepping up tonight, but Nowitzki had returned to the form he had shown in the first two rounds, unleashing his nearly unstoppable offense.
On the next possession, Blake personally picked up Nowitzki.
"If Blake's guarding him, he can definitely stop Nowitzki."
One Suns fan sounded completely confident.
But he had clearly underestimated "The German Wunderkind" with his back against the wall.
Or perhaps he had underestimated "King Nowitzki," who was supposed to cement his legend this year.
Nowitzki backed Blake down for one step, then turned into his "One-Legged Fadeaway."
Blake sprang up to contest.
"Swish!"
Nowitzki, his touch scorching hot and his desire to win bordering on madness, still buried the shot.
There was no stopping him.
Not even Blake could shut him down.
"He's really got it going."
Blake realized it too.
Nowitzki was in absurd form tonight. Completely locking him down would be extremely difficult.
So Blake chose to answer with offense.
At the top of the key, he faced Nowitzki, drove hard for one step, then stopped on a dime and rose up.
A three from the right side of the arc.
Smooth and decisive.
"Swish!"
Another make.
"Whoa... that's Blake's ninth three-pointer tonight! Now that he's found his touch, he's absolutely on fire. The Mavericks simply can't contain him!"
"Back come the Mavericks. Whoa! Nowitzki pulls up for another three right over Blake. Blake is right in his face!
"That is an incredibly difficult shot.
"Wow!
"It's good!
"Nowitzki hits the three anyway! He isn't bothered by Blake's defense at all. Nowitzki is absolutely scorching tonight!"
"The Suns come right back, and once again, they go to Blake.
"He backs down Marion, then uses a pass fake to pull Nowitzki, who had come over to help, away from the play.
"Is Blake going to keep backing him down?
"No!
"He turns and rises immediately, taking advantage of his height over the 201-centimeter Marion.
"Marion may be undersized here, but he's still a defensive 'spearhead.' He reacts instantly and gets up for the contest, putting plenty of pressure on the shot.
"But...
"It's good!
"Blake hits another impossible shot!"
"Wow! Here in the fourth quarter, at the decisive stage of the game, Blake and Nowitzki, the lone cornerstones of their respective teams, are refusing to give an inch.
"Neither one can stop the other.
"They're trading blows in a do-or-die showdown!
"With two unstoppable stars going head-to-head and both teams desperate for victory, this game has become an absolute deadlock. It doesn't get much more exciting than this.
"At this point, with the game this close and this intense, I don't think we're getting a winner until the final moments."
And Mike Breen was right.
The two teams remained locked together all the way down to the final 33.3 seconds, with the outcome still undecided.
The Mavericks trailed by 2, but they had possession and still had a chance to tie the game.
The suspense remained right to the end.