During the timeout, Wade and LeBron exchanged a high-five on the Heat bench.
"Smack!"
Wade smiled. "Just like I thought. This kind of offensive rhythm suits you a lot better."
"Yeah."
LeBron nodded with a smile.
As for the sacrifice his close friend was making, nothing else needed to be said.
LeBron had poured in 9 points in barely half a quarter and looked completely locked in offensively.
But Blake was just as hot, with 8 points of his own.
Suns 17, Heat 17.
The score was tied.
Blake had started hot, then LeBron answered with a run of his own. And that last alley-oop, with LeBron soaring in like a king descending on the court, had created overwhelming momentum.
That was why Gentry had called timeout.
He needed to cool Miami down.
The game soon resumed.
Phoenix ball.
Blake brought it up and faced Bosh on the right side of the arc.
He snapped into a crossover, shook Bosh loose, and accelerated toward the right side of the lane.
LeBron rotated over.
Wade closed in from the wing.
A double-team.
Blake immediately gave up the ball, bouncing a pass to Curry cutting into the right side of the paint.
Curry caught it and floated up a short runner.
"Clang!"
Miss.
But Blake exploded off the floor under the basket and grabbed the offensive rebound.
Then, with his incredible second jump and 215-centimeter frame, he went straight back up.
"Swish!"
Putback good.
Miami came back the other way.
Wade brought the ball across half court, handed it to LeBron trailing the play, then cleared to the side.
LeBron attacked George.
No tricks.
No finesse.
Just overwhelming physical dominance.
LeBron bulldozed through George and drove toward the rim again.
But Blake slid over to help.
LeBron's eyes sharpened.
Without hesitation, he kicked the ball to Wade on the wing.
"Flash" caught it and immediately accelerated, looking ready to attack.
Curry rushed over to help.
Wade instantly moved the ball again.
This time, he found Bosh open on the opposite side.
Bosh caught it and rose for the uncontested mid-range jumper.
"Swish!"
Money.
"The pressure created by LeBron and Wade gives Bosh a wide-open look."
Phoenix brought it back.
At the top of the key, Curry faced Wade one-on-one and tried to drive.
But Wade's combination of athleticism and defensive ability made things extremely difficult.
Curry simply couldn't get by him.
George stepped up to screen, allowing Curry to switch onto Bosh.
A guard against a big man?
Normally, that would be the mismatch Curry wanted.
But "CB4" Bosh was athletic enough to stay with him.
Curry still couldn't shake free and eventually had to force up a difficult shot.
"Clang!"
Miss.
LeBron grabbed the rebound and immediately fired the ball ahead to Wade, who was already sprinting upcourt.
George took off after him.
But "Flash" simply outran him.
Wade pulled away, took off from just inside the paint, and rose with the ball held high.
"BOOM!"
A thunderous fast-break dunk.
On the next possession, George found himself matched up with Wade.
He tried to take advantage of his height and strength and bully Wade inside.
Bad idea.
Wade's own physical gifts were exceptional, and he absorbed the contact without giving up much ground.
George's finish was heavily disrupted.
"Clang!"
Miss.
Frye managed to grab the offensive rebound, but Wade and Haslem immediately swarmed him under the basket.
Frye fought to protect the ball and barely managed to throw it back out.
To Nash?
Yes.
But LeBron had been reading the entire play.
He slid across, leaped into the passing lane, and picked it off.
Then he took off in transition himself.
Only Nash stood between him and the basket.
With LeBron charging at him like a wild beast, Nash wisely got out of the way.
LeBron blew past him.
"BOOM!"
Another signature LeBron tomahawk slam.
"ROAR!"
After finishing the fast break, LeBron pounded his chest and roared toward the ceiling, his expression fierce.
The energy pouring off him was overwhelming.
Phoenix came right back.
Blake drove hard at Bosh, knocked him off his line through contact, and took off from a step inside the free-throw line.
Haslem jumped straight up under the basket, trying to meet him at the rim.
But Blake jumped higher.
His reach was longer.
His explosiveness was greater.
Even while drifting through the air, Blake hammered the ball through the rim over Haslem's outstretched arms.
"BOOM!"
Blake crushed Haslem with another poster dunk.
The arena erupted.
"Another answer!"
"LeBron has been incredibly aggressive tonight, but every time he looks ready to ride that momentum into a big run, Blake answers right back and cools Miami's momentum.
"That's exactly what a team leader is supposed to do.
"And Blake isn't just doing it well. He's doing it extremely well."
Before long, the first quarter came to an end.
Blake had answered time and again, coming up with one answer bucket after another.
He had played extremely well.
And yet Phoenix somehow trailed by 8.
...
During the break between quarters, the broadcast studio turned to the scoreboard.
"What happened?"
One commentator looked genuinely puzzled.
"Blake has been playing this well, so how did Phoenix fall behind by this much?"
The other commentator thought for a moment.
"I think it comes down to Miami's defense tonight.
"More specifically, their defense turning directly into offense."
"Oh?"
He continued.
"LeBron has looked unstoppable attacking the basket, but if we're talking purely about scoring efficiency, the 'Monster Rookie' Blake has actually been even better.
"But Miami has three stars.
"So offensively, they can still match Phoenix.
"The real difference has been on defense.
"LeBron, Wade, and Bosh are all excellent individual defenders.
"Wade can basically lock Curry down one-on-one.
"LeBron can do the same to George.
"And even Chalmers, just through effort and discipline, can make things difficult for Nash.
"In other words, aside from Blake, almost every other Phoenix player is being contained individually.
"Even when the Suns create a mismatch, Miami can often survive it.
"Their defensive pressure is comparable to what the Lakers brought. Both are elite defensive teams.
"But Miami has something extra.
"The Heat Big Three, especially LeBron and Wade, can turn that pressure into turnovers or force opponents into bad shots.
"And that's the key.
"Once they force the mistake, Miami immediately pushes the other way and turns defense into easy points.
"Defense into transition offense.
"That's what makes this Heat team truly dangerous.
"It isn't just their defense.
"And it isn't just their offense.
"It's how quickly one becomes the other."
"Exactly."
The other commentator nodded in understanding.
...
In the stands, Manu Ginobili watched the game carefully.
"LeBron was way off in Game 1, while Curry and George both played above expectations. That's why Miami got blown out.
"Tonight, both teams are playing closer to their normal level, and suddenly you can see the difference."
"Yeah."
Tony Parker nodded.
"Blake already has 15 points in the quarter, so he's been excellent.
"But the Heat Big Three can impact both ends of the floor.
"They're just extremely difficult to deal with."
"The Big Fundamental" Tim Duncan nodded quietly.
"Defense into transition offense.
"That's why Miami won the quarter by 8."