The score was 40-0!!!
In Game 2 of the Finals, Wade Dong was highly aggressive.
The Heat didn't expect Kerr to adjust the starting lineup.
Curry had already begun to show his potential before joining the Suns this season and was now the undisputed second-best player on the team.
Nash and McDyess, in their current state, couldn't compare to Curry, but Kerr had Curry coming off the bench, and Curry was happy to do so.
The Heat's offense:
Kidd passed the ball to James, but Wade Dong was defending him.
James couldn't get a shot off and passed to Wade, who then passed to Bosh in the post.
Bosh received the ball and took his usual mid-range shot, which had given Gortat some trouble in the previous game. However, this time, Gortat anticipated it and disrupted the shot.
"G~~~"
The ball clanged off the rim, and Green grabbed the rebound.
Wade Dong and McDyess quickly ran to the frontcourt, and Green threw the ball to Wade Dong.
Only James was chasing them from the Heat.
A 2-on-1 fast break!
Wade Dong reached the free-throw line, turned, and passed the ball to McDyess.
Seeing McDyess receive the pass, James had to shift his defensive attention to him, and by then, Wade Dong was already in front of James.
McDyess threw the ball towards the basket...
"Bang!!!"
Wade Dong leaped high, grabbed the ball in the air, and slammed it into the hoop. 89shux.com
6-0!!!
Wade Dong's offensive intensity was evident... He scored the first 6 points of the game, all on dunks!
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
The US Airways Center erupted in cheers.
The louder the cheers, the more frustrated the fans had been after the previous loss.
James' three-point attempt missed!
Wade Dong received the pass from Nash beyond the three-point line and, facing Wade's defense, took a three-pointer.
"Swoosh!!!"
The ball swished through the net.
9-0!!!
Spoelstra called a timeout!
"Dong! Dong! Dong!"
The fans chanted Wade Dong's nickname, and his 9 points forced Spoelstra to call a timeout.
...
"Double-team Wade Dong and don't let him get any shot attempts!"
"Transition offense and defense must be fast!"
"Protect the rebounds! I don't want to see a small guy like Green grabbing rebounds again!"
"..."
Spoelstra was shouting as he made his tactical adjustments. 69shux.com
...
After the timeout:
The Heat substituted Chalmers for Kidd, hoping to increase their transition speed.
The Suns didn't make any substitutions.
Wade drove to the basket, and this time, Green not only failed to defend him but also grabbed him, though it didn't stop Wade.
"Swoosh!!!"
Wade scored on the layup and drew a foul, making the free throw.
Spoelstra breathed a sigh of relief, his expression easing a bit.
However, this didn't allow the Heat to start a comeback. From the time Wade scored, Ray Allen began to defend Wade Dong, and he and James surrounded Wade Dong, preventing him from receiving passes.
But McDyess and Nash stepped up.
McDyess hit two consecutive pull-up jumpers, and Nash drove past Chalmers for a running jumper.
...
With nine minutes left in the first quarter, Kerr made a substitution, bringing in Curry, Thompson, Middleton, and Tucker, leaving only Green on the court from the starting lineup.
The Suns replaced their starters with their bench players, and the Heat did the same.
Now, it was the bench players facing off.
Battier, Lewis, Chalmers, Anderson, and Haslem took the court.
Curry immediately crossed over Battier and hit a three-pointer.
Then, Lewis made a mid-range shot.
Thompson and Middleton followed with their own scores.
35-23!!!
The end of the first quarter.
In the last two minutes, the Suns' bench outscored the Heat's 11-3, extending their lead from 4 points to 12 points.
"Kerr really has something up his sleeve."
Spoelstra didn't realize that Wade Dong was the key factor in the Suns' lineup change.
He thought it was Kerr's tactical decision, so he had to admire Kerr, the championship coach, after all.
...
The start of the second quarter.
Spoelstra could only put James and Bosh on the court, leaving Wade as the only member of the Big Three on the bench.
On the Suns' side, Kerr also couldn't afford to be careless, so he had Wade Dong play.
"My three-point squad is online~"
Kerr watched the lineup on the court with a smile.
Green was inside, while Wade Dong, Thompson, Curry, and Frye stood beyond the three-point line.
This lineup forced the Heat's defense to spread out.
Wade Dong dribbled up the court and passed to Curry, who then passed to Thompson, who passed to Frye, who passed back to Curry.
Curry got an open three-point attempt.
"Swoosh!!!"
Curry's three-pointers were already muscle memory; he raised his hand, and the ball flew towards the basket as if guided by a homing device.
James drove to the basket, passed to Bosh, and Bosh hit a mid-range shot.
38-25!!!
The Suns' offense:
Wade Dong dribbled outside the three-second zone, faked a post-up, and Thompson immediately cut to the basket, then circled back and ran around Curry.
This was the Snake Eating tactic!
Thompson cut in front of Curry, blocking Battier, who was defending Curry. Curry immediately moved to the three-point line.
Man and ball were in perfect sync.
As soon as Curry's foot touched the ground, the ball was already in his hands, passed by Wade Dong.
"Swoosh!!!"
Curry hit another three-pointer.
41-25!!!
This three-point play caught the Heat off guard, and the Suns now led by 16 points.
Spoelstra immediately put Wade back in the game.
If the Heat trailed by more than 20 points at halftime, it would be challenging to mount a comeback in the second half.
Based on the past two years of experience against the Suns, Spoelstra knew that to beat them, the Heat had to maintain the lead. Otherwise, Wade Dong would bring despair in the clutch.
So far, Wade Dong's game-winning shot percentage remained at 100%.
With Wade back on the court, the Heat's perimeter defense also intensified, causing Curry and Thompson to miss three-point attempts.
The Suns' lead was about to drop back to within 10 points.
Kerr substituted Frye, Thompson, and Curry, bringing in Nash, McDyess, and Gortat.