On the court.
Even though the game was already over, the cheers showed no sign of dying down.
At the commentary desk, Van Gundy and Mike Breen remained caught up in the excitement for quite a while before finally settling down.
"Ahem..."
Van Gundy cleared his throat a few times, regained his composure, and said, "Tonight, the 'Monster Rookie' Blake Su finished with 52 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.
"And he did it without overtime.
"Those 52 points set a new personal playoff scoring record.
"Scoring 50 points in a playoff game is difficult enough as it is. Even superstars like Kevin Durant and LeBron have never done it.
"Yet Blake has now done it twice in a single postseason as a rookie. That's incredible.
"On top of that, Blake led the team in every major statistical category tonight, then capped it all off with an ultra-deep three-pointer to win the game.
"You could say that even with one Mavericks 'X-factor' after another stepping up tonight, Blake still carried the Suns to victory almost single-handedly.
"That was unbelievable!"
"Absolutely."
Mike Breen nodded. "Lady Luck was practically living on the Mavericks' side tonight, yet even with everything going their way, they still couldn't win.
"I think this series has lost most of its suspense. The Suns now lead 3-1 and have secured match point. Next game, they'll be back on their home court.
"I expect them to close out the series."
"I think so too."
...
After the game.
Inside the Suns' locker room, the players celebrated their comeback victory and the game-winner, cheering wildly after securing match point and moving to the brink of the Finals.
George found Blake, lifting his head slightly with an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm sorry, boss. I was too reckless at the end.
"Even though we won, and even though you hit the game-winning three to seal it... I still made a huge mistake. I'm really sorry."
"Hey!"
Blake stared at George with a stern expression, looking as though he was about to give him a serious lecture. Curry, standing nearby, also sensed that something big was about to happen.
Instead, Blake pressed the champagne bottle in his hand against George's chest and laughed.
"George, what are you talking about? You didn't do anything wrong.
"If you hadn't gone off tonight, we would've lost a long time ago.
"We won, and you deserve a lot of the credit. So... stop overthinking it. Let's enjoy the win."
With that, Blake raised the other bottle of champagne in his hand toward George.
George froze for a moment, then took the bottle Blake had pressed against his chest.
"Clink!"
They toasted.
They cheered.
They celebrated the victory!
"Count me in!"
Seeing that everything was fine, Curry came over as well. The Suns' three rookies celebrated to their hearts' content, savoring a night capped by a game-winning shot.
...
The next day.
Fans were still buzzing about the previous night's game.
"Terry's three-pointers, Kidd's unpredictable passing, Chandler turning into a rebounding monster, Marion's defense, then Nowitzki exploding at the end.
"And... biased officiating?!
"With that many 'X-factors' showing up, the Mavericks still lost. In the end, the 'Monster Rookie' Blake hit the game-winner and buried them almost single-handedly.
"The Mavericks are finished."
"Exactly."
"Yeah. From the beginning, once Blake started suppressing Nowitzki, the Suns-Mavericks series was basically one-sided.
"It's just that over the last three games, the Mavericks have had ridiculous luck, with one 'X-factor' after another stepping up. That made the games look much closer than they really were, and even helped them steal one."
"Exactly."
"But this is the Western Conference Finals. It's a high-level playoff series. A team can't realistically keep winning on luck forever.
"In the end, a series still comes down to actual ability."
"Bottom line, the Suns are going to the Finals. And... they'll probably take the series 4-1, which means they'll finish it in the next game.
"Back at the US Airways Center.
"The Suns are going to close this series out."
"I agree."
"Same here."
"Alright, since things are already this clear, let's turn our attention to tonight's Heat-Bulls matchup.
"That game could produce another match point."
"Got it."
"I'm actually heading to American Airlines Arena to watch it."
"Rich guy!"
"..."
The discussion among fans, media outlets, and newspapers continued all day, right up until 9:00 p.m., when the Bulls and Heat tipped off.
Meanwhile.
At Blake's villa.
Now back in Phoenix, Blake was watching Game 4 between the Heat and Bulls from home. Mia Quinn was watching with him.
"Quinnie, who do you think will win?"
Blake asked.
"Um..."
Mia Quinn thought for a moment. "I think the Bulls will win."
"Why?"
Blake looked a little surprised.
"Because the Heat are really strong. If the Bulls win the series and make it to the Finals, they'll face the Suns. Wouldn't that give the Suns a better chance of winning?"
Blake froze for a second, then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Quinnie, I have to admit, there's nothing wrong with that logic. You really know what you're doing!"
"Hehe~"
Mia Quinn raised her brows, looking rather pleased with herself.
Unfortunately, the game did not unfold the way she hoped.
In the matchup between the Bulls and the Heat, the Bulls had come from behind in the second half to win Game 1.
But after that, Games 2 and 3 were both blowouts, with the Heat winning comfortably.
Tonight was no different.
The Heat dominated the Bulls again, and this time they were in control from the opening tip.
Was Rose, the "Windy City Assassin," playing well?
Yes.
Very well.
There was almost nothing to criticize about his performance.
But one man could only do so much. Against the combined strength of the villainous "Heat Big Three," Rose simply didn't have enough help.
Those three were vicious together.
After the first quarter, the Heat led by 8.
At halftime, they led by 10.
After three quarters, the lead had grown to 15.
The game was never completely blown open by one huge run, but the Heat's constant pressure slowly suffocated the Bulls and left them struggling to respond.
LeBron, Wade, and Bosh.
Those three men, those three dreaded villains, seemed to put invisible pressure on the Bulls simply by being on the floor.
The Bulls were already at a disadvantage before they could even fight back.
And with the rest of the team forced to rely almost entirely on Rose, how were they supposed to win?
In the end, the Heat delivered another dominant performance on their home court, winning Game 4 by 14 points and taking a 3-1 lead in the series.
The Heat had secured match point.
With the Heat defeating the Bulls and reaching match point, both Conference Finals now stood in the same position.
The Heat and the Suns.
Each needed just one more win to advance to the Finals.
...
The next day.
10:00 a.m.
"T-Mac" Tracy McGrady appeared on a YouTube livestream for an interview with renowned ESPN reporter Woj.
Woj asked, "T-Mac, both Conference Finals have now gone through four games. How do you see the situation in the East and West right now?"
"Um..."
McGrady thought for a moment before answering.
"Both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals have played four games, and both now have teams at match point. The situations may be different, but the strength is the same."
...
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