Chapter 153: Chapter 153: 70 Points in the Third Quarter
The combination of Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard in the Lakers' frontcourt made it difficult for the Suns to score in the paint.
Similarly, Kobe Bryant and Metta World Peace's perimeter defense made it challenging for the Suns to score from the outside. In fact, the Lakers' chemistry had not been great this season. Additionally, Kobe had missed about a dozen games at the start of the season due to injury, which is why the Lakers were currently ranked seventh in the Western Conference.
This time, facing the league-leading Suns, the Lakers were unusually united and determined to win this game.
As Nash and Bynum missed a few shots, Wade Dong decided to take matters into his own hands. He had to rely on himself for this game.
Step-back three-pointer!
Pull-up three-pointer!
Pull-up jumper!
Wade Dong always found ways to score, even against the relentless trash talk from Metta World Peace. Wade Dong casually responded, "If your hands were as good as your mouth, you wouldn't be playing like this."
The defensive specialist Metta World Peace was being toyed with by Wade Dong.
Kobe finally couldn't take it anymore and signaled to the head coach that he wanted to guard Wade Dong personally.
However, the Lakers' head coach firmly shook his head. Although the Lakers were keeping the score close with the Suns, it was because Kobe was also scoring heavily. Having Kobe defend Wade Dong would consume too much of Kobe's energy, and the fourth quarter hadn't even started yet. He didn't want to take that risk.
Moreover, he believed that no one in the league could truly stop Wade Dong; the best they could do was limit him. But Wade Dong's shooting touch tonight was just too hot.
There was one minute left in the third quarter.
94:98! The Lakers were still trailing the Suns by four points.
Wade Dong scored 30 points in the third quarter, shooting 13-of-15, including 7-of-7 from three-point range, and a three-pointer plus a foul.
The Lakers called a timeout.
Wade Dong walked to the sideline, and Coach Gold asked, "Do you want to rest for a bit?"
The Suns still had the lead, so Wade Dong could afford to rest.
However, Wade Dong shook his head, "I want to keep playing. I don't need to rest."
In this game, his teammates hadn't been very helpful. So far in the third quarter, the Suns had scored a total of 35 points, with 30 of those points coming from Wade Dong. His teammates had only scored 5 points, so even with just one minute left, Wade Dong couldn't afford to rest.
"Phew~~~"
After the timeout, Wade Dong took a deep breath and used a "stamina pill" to maintain his energy for the rest of the game.
Although Wade Dong was back on the court, Kobe went to the bench to rest.
The Lakers were on offense. Blake penetrated Dragic's defense and passed the ball to Sacre. Sacre received the ball, took a step, and went up for a layup.
"Slam!"
But Wade Dong was ready, leaping high and blocking Sacre's shot with a thunderous block.
"This...!"
Kobe, with a towel draped over his head, watched this block from the bench.
He was momentarily stunned, wondering why Wade Dong still had so much energy. During the block, Wade Dong's head was level with the rim, which was incredible for someone who had already played three quarters.
Wade Dong had only rested for four minutes in the second quarter; otherwise, he had been constantly on the offensive without any breaks. Normally, his energy should have been severely depleted by now.
After the block, Wade Dong grabbed the ball and, instead of passing it to Dragic, quickly dribbled to the other end of the court.
With 42 seconds left in the third quarter, Wade Dong needed to complete an offensive play within 10 seconds to give the Suns another possession before the quarter ended.
The Lakers' players chased after him.
But Wade Dong, upon reaching the three-point line, wasted no time and executed a Eurostep for a layup.
94:100! The Suns led the Lakers by six points.
Blake organized another offensive play, holding the ball until there were 6 seconds left on the shot clock. He then passed the ball to Gasol, who scored in the paint.
With 9 seconds left in the third quarter, the Suns had the ball.
Dragic inbounded the ball from the baseline, and the Lakers applied full-court pressure. Wade Dong shook off Metta World Peace's defense and received the ball.
At this moment, Metta World Peace and Blake double-teamed Wade Dong.
Metta World Peace and Blake weren't too worried. Wade Dong only had less than 9 seconds to make a play, so they just needed to prevent him from shooting, and their defense would be successful.
The other Suns and Lakers players prepared to get into position.
Wade Dong had many offensive moves, and Metta World Peace thought he had figured them all out. He didn't believe that, with this kind of defense, Wade Dong couldn't even bring the ball past half-court to score.
"You two think you can stop me?"
Wade Dong wasn't underestimating Metta World Peace and Blake, but he had faced the double-team defense of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James before.
With 5 seconds left on the clock, Wade Dong faced the double-team defense of Metta World Peace and Blake. He executed a half-turn, tapped the ball, and it went between Metta World Peace's legs. Then, Wade Dong spun around and went through the defense of Metta World Peace and Blake.
...
"Nutmeg!"
"Ball through the legs!"
"Amazing!"
The fans watching the live stream were instantly excited. This was a classic streetball move that Wade Dong had executed on the NBA court.
It was an absolutely stunning play.
After getting past Metta World Peace and Blake's defense, there were 3 seconds left in the third quarter.
Wade Dong took two steps to the three-point line.
Pull-up jumper!
"Swish!!!"
The ball drew a beautiful arc in the air and went through the net.
96:103! The Suns led the Lakers by six points entering the fourth quarter.
Wade Dong scored 35 points in the third quarter, shooting 15-of-18. This was the second-highest single-quarter scoring performance in NBA history. The highest was last season, also against the Lakers, when Wade Dong scored 37 points in a single quarter, leading the Suns to a comeback victory over the Lakers.
Wade Dong had already scored 70 points in three quarters, which was his highest scoring performance in the NBA.
But the game was still ongoing, with a whole fourth quarter to go. Everyone knew that Wade Dong's scoring show was far from over.
...
Yu Jia, "Wade Dong always goes off against the Lakers."
Coach Zhang, "Scoring 35 points in a single quarter, Wade Dong almost broke his own record of 37 points in a quarter."
Yu Jia, "Wade Dong has a chance to score 80 points tonight."
Coach Zhang, "The last time we saw such a crazy scoring performance was from Kobe."
Yu Jia, "Is this Wade Dong's tribute to Kobe?"
Coach Zhang, "I think it's normal for Wade Dong to have such a performance. There's an unwritten rule in the league that big things happen before the All-Star Game, especially for players who are about to make their All-Star debut. They usually have a few good games leading up to it."
Yu Jia, "Wade Dong broke the league's single-game block record with a quadruple-double in the last game, and now he's breaking his personal NBA scoring record in this game."
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