Halftime soon came to an end, and the second half began.
Blake remained steady in the third quarter, while Curry started to find his rhythm thanks to the defensive attention Blake drew and Nash's playmaking.
That helped take some of the pressure off Blake.
But the problems on defense remained.
Phoenix simply couldn't shut down LeBron, Wade, and Bosh all at once. Someone was always able to score.
So even though the two teams traded baskets, the Suns couldn't quickly close the gap.
Blake spent almost the entire third quarter facing double-teams, yet still scored another 11 points with some help from Curry.
And of course, George's all-out effort on defense also played a major role.
By the end of the third quarter, Phoenix had cut the deficit to 10.
There was still one quarter left.
The comeback would be difficult, but it was still possible.
The fourth quarter began with the reserves.
Miami left Bosh on the floor to lead its unit, while Phoenix went with Carter and George, one carrying the offense and the other focusing on defense.
But it still wasn't enough.
In less than two minutes, the deficit showed signs of widening again.
"Beep, beep!"
Gentry immediately called timeout and brought Blake back early once more, stabilizing the game before Miami could pull any farther ahead.
A few minutes later...
"Beep, beep!"
Spoelstra called timeout as well.
Both teams brought their starters back.
The final battle of the fourth quarter was on.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Blake struck first, drilling two straight three-pointers and cutting 6 points off the deficit.
For a moment, it looked as though Phoenix might be about to erase the gap in one big run.
But then...
"Swish!"
Wade attacked with his Eurostep and banked in the layup.
"BOOM!"
On the next possession, "King James" powered straight to the rim.
There wasn't much finesse to it.
It was simply overwhelming physical dominance.
LeBron exploded over Frye and threw down a vicious dunk.
Then, on the following possession, LeBron pressured Nash after a switch and forced him into a bad pass.
Wade took the ball and raced the other way on the fast break.
"Swish!"
Another basket.
Blake had hit two threes, but Miami answered with its [Defense into Transition Offense], keeping control of both the score and the momentum.
Once again, the game became a fierce back-and-forth battle.
The fight continued until there were 4 minutes and 11 seconds remaining.
Then George and Blake combined defensively to stop the Heat Big Three on several consecutive possessions.
But on the other end, Blake was the only Suns player able to convert.
Curry and Nash were both tiring, and several of their shots came up just short.
Phoenix was getting stops.
But all they could do was close the gap.
They couldn't take the lead.
That was bad news for the Suns.
With two minutes left, Miami gave them another opening.
LeBron and Wade each took a three from outside.
Both missed.
"Swish!"
Curry answered with a three.
"Swish!"
Then Frye, who had stepped out to the perimeter, knocked down a huge three of his own.
Just like that, the deficit was down to 3.
Was there still hope?
No.
There simply wasn't enough time.
Only about two possessions remained.
"Flash" Wade attacked hard on Miami's next possession, drew contact, and earned two free throws.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Both good.
The lead was back to 5.
Phoenix had to hurry.
Blake caught the ball about a meter behind the three-point line, without being fully set and without completely shaking LeBron.
He forced up the three.
"Clang!"
Miss.
Fortunately, George fought for the rebound and managed to secure it.
He kicked the ball out to Nash, who immediately bounced a pass to Blake cutting through the free-throw line.
Blake caught it, hop-stepped into the paint, and flipped the ball into the basket.
"Swish!"
A clutch finish.
The deficit was back down to 3.
One possession.
But there was no time left.
"Beep, beep!"
Almost the instant Miami received the inbound pass, the red light came on and the final buzzer sounded.
The game was over.
Phoenix had lost by 3.
...
After the game, Parker shrugged from the stands.
"Forget the extreme situation we saw in Game 1. When both teams play more or less normally, Phoenix just isn't as good as Miami."
"Right."
Ginobili nodded. "One man can only do so much.
"Blake is obviously incredible. He's so good that you can practically forget he's even a rookie.
"But he's facing the villains here. The Heat Big Three.
"Even we might struggle against them, let alone Blake by himself."
Duncan sighed softly.
"Forget Phoenix for a second. We were terrible in the playoffs this year too.
"We have to be better next season.
"Next year, we have to win the championship."
"Of course."
Parker sounded completely confident.
"Absolutely."
Ginobili nodded seriously. "The West may be packed with strong teams, but there's definitely a place for us among them."
On the other side, Harden looked at the scoreboard.
"There's nothing else Blake could've done.
"He gave it everything he had, but the individual talent of those three Miami stars is just too much.
"They're incredibly hard to beat."
"Yeah."
Westbrook agreed, then added, "If anyone can beat the Heat Big Three, it's us, the Thunder trio.
"Right, Kevin?"
Westbrook looked over at Durant again.
Then he followed Durant's gaze.
Straight to Scarlett.
Westbrook sighed.
"Nice view, sure. Whether it's ever going to be yours is another question."
"Heh."
Harden noticed too and shrugged.
"To be fair, it's not even that impressive.
"And personally, I tend to pay attention to... other things."
...
At the same time, inside the broadcast studio, Hubie Brown adjusted his glasses in disbelief.
"My goodness.
"Blake scored 51 points tonight, along with 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks.
"That stat line is incredible.
"And even with all that, Phoenix still lost.
"Trying to carry a team as the lone superstar is just incredibly difficult."
"There's no way around it."
Dave Pasch tapped his fingers against the desk.
"This is the NBA Finals.
"If we set aside the unusual extremes of Game 1, Curry and George simply don't have enough experience yet.
"On the biggest stage, they still can't always stay completely composed and play to their full level.
"Nash is getting older too. Against defense as strong as the Heat Big Three's, he can still control the game and organize the offense, but his own scoring efficiency isn't what it once was.
"So Phoenix has only one truly dependable scoring threat and reliable finisher.
"Blake.
"Miami has three.
"One man can only carry so much.
"Winning under those circumstances is extremely difficult."
"Exactly."
Hubie Brown nodded.
"Miami actually gave Phoenix chances in the fourth quarter.
"Blake took advantage of them and pulled the Suns back into the game.
"But like you said, Curry and George just didn't give him enough tonight.
"On a stage as big as the Finals, they weren't able to play completely up to their usual level.
"That's why Phoenix ultimately fell just short.
"Still, it was only a 3-point loss.
"And with the 'Monster Rookie' Blake putting up another 51-point performance, this series is still very much up for grabs."