"BOOM!"
Blake's alley-oop poster sent the arena into another frenzy. This time, of course, the cheers belonged to the Suns.
In the stands, Wall was full of praise.
"Insane!"
"Blake's athleticism... I have to give it to him."
The No. 1 overall pick had practically become a Blake fan by now. If anyone dared trash Blake in front of him, there was a good chance Wall would take it personally.
Kobe was sitting nearby. Hearing him, he smiled faintly.
"Blake is Phoenix's one true ace, their best player.
"This is the level he should be playing at.
"And he has to play at this level if the Suns want any chance of going toe-to-toe with the Heat Big Three."
After saying that, Kobe narrowed his eyes and looked toward Blake.
Blake, keep it up. I believe in you. I hope you win the championship.
Yes.
Kobe was rooting for Blake.
Everyone knew that superstars like "The Answer" Allen Iverson and "His Airness" Michael Jordan had become synonymous with the franchises they carried.
"Black Mamba" Kobe was the same.
So compared to LeBron, Wade, and Bosh openly joining forces and reaching the Finals together, Kobe had more respect for Blake leading his team as the lone superstar.
On the opposite side of the stands, Paul gave his assessment.
"Look at those last two alley-oops. LeBron's came with Wade drawing the defense and setting everything up for him.
"But Blake?
"He blew past Bosh with pure athleticism, then went up and caught that lob right over Haslem.
"This rookie is seriously good."
During the regular season, Blake had blocked Paul so many times that he had nearly made him question himself, and had crossed him up badly enough to leave him completely lost.
Still, credit where it was due. Paul had no problem acknowledging Blake's ability.
"Yeah."
Anthony nodded as well.
"One-on-one, I can't beat him. Honestly, I'm not sure even LeBron would have the upper hand.
"But don't forget, Miami still has Dwyane and Bosh.
"Blake might be able to put on an incredible individual performance, but the championship is going to the Heat."
"Exactly."
On the court, the score was tied.
Suns 2, Heat 2.
Each side had opened the game with an alley-oop connection, immediately setting the tone.
The game continued.
Miami ball.
Wade brought it up and found Curry in front of him again.
He lowered his stance, shifted the ball to his left, and exploded forward.
"Thump!"
One step through contact, then another burst of acceleration.
Curry was knocked off balance, and Wade blew right past him.
"Flash" had more than speed. He had strength to go with it.
Wade accelerated down the left side and attacked the rim.
Frye rotated over, but Wade met him in midair, absorbed the contact, twisted around, and banked in the layup.
"Swish!"
"That was an extremely difficult finish."
"Frye defended it about as well as he could. There's just nothing you can do sometimes. That's the talent of 'Flash' Wade!"
On the next possession, Wade once again faced Curry on the left side of the arc.
He gave him a quick shot fake, then exploded past him with a single step.
George slid over from the wing and cut off Wade's driving lane perfectly.
Was that enough to stop him?
No.
Wade attacked him head-on, gathered the ball, took one step right and another left, and completely wrong-footed George before finishing with an underhand scoop from the left side.
"Swish!"
Easy bucket.
"There it is! Wade's Eurostep!"
"George is already a good defender, but he's still young. 'Flash' Wade completely threw him off with that Eurostep."
Two drives.
Four straight points for Wade.
But "Flash" was nowhere near finished.
On another possession, Wade used a screen from LeBron to get to the right side of the lane.
He rose into a mid-range fadeaway.
"Swish!"
Another make.
With his touch heating up, Wade soon found another opportunity at the top of the arc and pulled up for three.
Another one?
"Clang!"
No.
But LeBron grabbed the rebound.
He glanced toward Chalmers in the left corner, then kicked the ball back out to Wade on the perimeter.
Wade got another chance from three.
He let it fly without hesitation.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
"Wow!"
At the commentary table, Van Gundy exclaimed, "Wade is on fire! We're not even halfway through the quarter and he already has 9 points!"
"Huh?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at the scoreboard and frowned in surprise.
"Wait a minute. Wade has been this efficient, so how are the Heat still down by 3?"
Mike Breen chuckled.
"'Flash' has definitely come out hot tonight, but don't forget what's happening on the other end.
"Blake hasn't slowed down either.
"He's 4-for-6 with two threes, a mid-range jumper, two free throws, and that alley-oop.
"That's 12 points already, and he's been even more efficient!"
Van Gundy drew in a sharp breath before laughing.
"'Flash' Wade has been spectacular. He's attacking from everywhere and lighting up the floor.
"Meanwhile, the 'Monster Rookie' Blake just keeps taking his shots. Nothing flashy, nothing forced, yet the points keep piling up almost effortlessly.
"Wade and Blake have both come out firing, taking a game that was already intense and raising it another level.
"This has been a fantastic game."
"Absolutely."
Breen nodded, then added, "But remember, Miami has more than just 'Flash' Wade."
After Wade and Blake each unleashed an early scoring barrage, both teams tightened their defense around them.
On Miami's next possession, Wade drove again, only to run into George and Blake closing in from both sides, with Curry still pressuring him from behind.
This time, there was no way to force the shot.
But Wade was never a selfish player.
He immediately kicked the ball out to LeBron on the perimeter.
LeBron caught it at the top of the arc and rose for a nearly wide-open three.
Was it good?
"Clang!"
Miss.
On the next possession, Wade was doubled again.
He passed to LeBron cutting toward the free-throw line, giving him a clear path to attack the basket.
But...
"Clang!"
LeBron's forceful layup missed again.
With 22.4 seconds left in the first quarter, Miami had the final possession.
LeBron once again took a pass from Chalmers and drove hard from the right wing, attacking the basket and trying to draw contact.
His layup missed again.
Fortunately for Miami, Haslem secured the offensive rebound and threw it back out to Wade.
The instant Wade caught the ball, he exploded toward the basket like a bolt of lightning.
Second chance.
He attacked.
George stepped up and joined Curry in trapping him.
Wade never slowed down, driving hard from the left wing and forcing his way into the paint.
George, Curry, and Frye converged, completely taking away his path to the rim.
So Wade gathered the ball and jumped.
Surrounded by three defenders, he fired a lightning-fast pass back through the crowd.
The ball threaded between all three Suns and reached LeBron at the top of the arc.
"Great pass!"
Van Gundy couldn't help shouting.
LeBron caught it and immediately rose for another wide-open three.
This one?
"Clang!"
Still no good.
The first-quarter buzzer sounded.
Mike Breen clicked his tongue.
"LeBron is really struggling tonight. He's let far too many good scoring opportunities go to waste."
...
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