"What?"
"The Suns are clearly playing extremely well. They've barely made any mistakes, and every player is showing everything he can do.
"So how are they down by 13 points?
"What's going on here?!"
In the stands, Yi Jianlian looked completely baffled.
Yao Ming frowned slightly as well. "Yeah. There was really nothing wrong with how the Suns played in the first half. Blake already has 27 points, and his numbers look great.
"I don't understand it either.
"How can they be playing this well and still be down by double digits?"
"What the heck?!"
Up in the tenth level of the stands, Yoona stared at the scoreboard with a mixture of surprise and frustration. Seeing the Suns trailing by so much had her worried.
"Come on, Blake."
"Yeah."
Mia Quinn's delicate brows were also furrowed with concern. "They already lost the last game. They can't lose again tonight. They have to take this one and even things up.
"Come on, Blake!"
The two girls clenched their fists anxiously, cheering for Blake and the Suns.
Across the arena, Pippen stared at the game in disbelief. "Whoa... I've been completely caught up in this game. It's been nonstop action.
"I thought the two teams were going blow for blow, but somehow the Suns are down by 13. How did that happen?!"
With that, he looked at Michael Jordan.
"Hmm..."
Jordan thought for a moment. "I think... this might simply be the difference in overall strength."
"What do you mean?"
Pippen looked puzzled.
Jordan continued, "Blake, Curry, and George have all played very well tonight, especially Blake. He might be having the best individual performance of anyone on the floor.
"But LeBron, Wade, and Bosh have also been excellent.
"And when those three combine their explosiveness and scoring ability, they're better than Blake, Curry, and George. By quite a bit.
"So even when everyone is playing up to his normal level, there's still a clear difference between the two sides."
"Right."
Hearing that, Pippen nodded. "When you get down to it, Blake is really the Suns' only true centerpiece, while the Heat have three franchise-player-level stars.
"And all three are in their primes.
"How could the combined strength of those three be matched by young guys like Blake, Curry, and George?"
In the broadcast studio, Dave Pasch was still trying to make sense of it, but Hubie Brown had already figured out the answer.
"The Suns' blowout win in Game 1 blinded us to reality.
"And the reality is that every member of the Heat Big Three is a leader in his own right, a franchise player and an All-Star in his prime.
"LeBron and Wade, in particular, are both top-five players in the entire league.
"As for the Suns, Blake, Curry, and George all broke out in Game 1, but we can't forget what they really are. Aside from Blake, they're still a group of young players.
"Even Blake himself is only a rookie. He just happens to be an exceptionally talented 'Monster Rookie.'
"For these guys to reach the Finals in their first or second NBA season is already an incredible achievement.
"And their opponent is the Heat Big Three, the dominant powerhouse everyone loves to hate, with all three stars at the height of their powers.
"Trying to beat them with a group this young is simply too difficult.
"In Game 2, Blake exploded for 51 points and still couldn't save the Suns. Tonight, Phoenix is playing about as well as it can, and Miami hasn't even had some extraordinary explosion, yet the Suns still can't beat them.
"That's what a gap in overall strength looks like.
"Blake and the rest of these young players simply aren't on the same level as the Heat Big Three in their primes.
"Of course, if Nash and Carter were still in their primes too, things might look very different.
"But unfortunately... there are no ifs."
"Yeah."
After hearing that explanation, Dave Pasch finally understood.
He sighed. "If we set aside the exception that was Game 1, then the difference in strength between these two teams is already pretty obvious.
"But there are still two quarters left.
"And this is the Finals. There are still two quarters left, and anything can happen. Maybe one of Miami's stars goes cold, or maybe an unexpected player for Phoenix steps up.
"That could completely change the direction of the game."
"Exactly."
Hubie Brown nodded and tapped the desk firmly. "That would certainly make things interesting. Either way, there's still plenty of basketball left.
"We'll see whether Blake and the Suns can find a way to turn this around."
...
From the commentators to the fans, more and more people were beginning to recognize the clear difference in overall strength between the Suns and the villainous Heat.
And how could Suns head coach Gentry not know it himself?
Of course he knew.
But he hadn't given up, nor could he possibly give up.
They had already reached this stage. They were at the final hurdle.
No matter how difficult it was, they had to make one last push.
And for Gentry, the only real card he had left to play was Blake.
At this point, he could only place everything on Blake's shoulders.
Soon, the second half began.
Once again, both teams played almost flawless offense, with every player doing everything possible to bring out the full extent of his abilities.
But Blake became even more aggressive and assertive.
He understood the situation too.
If the Suns wanted to win this game, if they wanted to defeat the Heat Big Three on the road, he would have to carry them there himself.
So against the suffocating defense of LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, Blake attacked relentlessly from inside and outside while giving everything he had on defense as well.
[Jordan's Post-Up Ability], [Allen Iverson's Crossover], [Anthony's Unstoppable Jump Shot], [Curry's Unreasonable Three-Pointer], [Eagle Spear], [Gary Payton's Defense], and more.
His desire to win pushed Blake to use everything in his arsenal.
One by one, he unleashed the full range of his seemingly endless offensive repertoire.
Seventeen points in the third quarter.
Blake's offense was flawless.
His teammates also committed very few mistakes and played solid basketball.
And yet... they only managed to cut five points off the deficit.
After three quarters, the Suns were still down by eight.
In the fourth, after a brief stretch with the reserves, both teams brought their main lineups back early for the final battle.
Once again, Blake was nearly perfect.
Even against tighter double-teams, he scored 12 points in the quarter.
He finished the game with 56 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
An absolutely spectacular stat line.
Flawless.
And yet...
The Suns still lost to the Heat by five points.
After the game, Yi Jianlian shook his head regretfully.
"Only five points. If they'd made two more threes, they could've won."
"What a shame."
Yao Ming shook his head lightly as well. "Losing is disappointing, but Blake gave everything he had, and the Suns played extremely well tonight.
"Maybe it was because they were on the road.
"Or maybe there really is just a difference in overall strength between the two teams."
Across the arena, Pippen stared at Blake's numbers and clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Blake dropped 56 tonight and they still lost a close one. That's brutal."
Michael Jordan smiled faintly.
"The Suns lost tonight, but there's nothing to criticize about Blake's performance or the way the Suns played as a team!!!"
"Huh?"
Pippen stared at him in surprise.
"Michael, what do you mean by that?"
...
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