Chương 33: Chapter 33: The New Leader of the Suns
"Top 10 plays!!!!"
"Damn!!!!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Fans watching the live broadcast jumped up from their seats as the Suns started the game with a strong momentum.
Nash's pass, Wade Dong's powerful dunk—a clear message to "Lob City" about what a real alley-oop looks like.
"I don't like this kind of greeting," Chris Paul said with a dark expression, dribbling the ball up the court. However, the calm Paul did not blindly instruct Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to complete an alley-oop.
The ball was passed around, eventually reaching Griffin's hands.
Wade Dong was guarding Griffin. The entire Suns team was working hard on defense, but the opponent's main scorer was still guarded by Wade Dong.
"I've watched your game footage. You're strong, but you can't stop me," Griffin said, choosing to post up against Wade Dong. He pushed hard, "Ugh..."
It was so strange! This feeling was like facing a giant with immense strength. Griffin was already very strong, but he couldn't budge Wade Dong!
Wade Dong laughed, "Didn't you eat breakfast?"
"Hmph!"
Griffin snorted, stepped back, and chose to shoot.
However, just as the ball left his fingertips, Wade Dong swatted it away, "Your arms are too short, idol!"
"Damn!"
Griffin didn't expect Wade Dong to be so quick. Although his shot was a bit rushed, he had jumped quite high, yet Wade Dong still managed to block it.
Fortunately, Wade Dong had just called him an idol, which made him feel a bit better.
Hill grabbed the ball and passed it to Nash. Nash dribbled the ball up the court. On the other side, Griffin seemed to have a grudge against Wade Dong.
"Wade."
Nash passed the ball to Wade Dong.
After being teammates for a while and some internal scrimmages, Nash knew Wade Dong's individual abilities well. There weren't many players in the league who could defend Wade Dong one-on-one.
Wade Dong received the ball on the wing, with Griffin extending his arms to prevent an easy shot.
Wade Dong posted up against Griffin, faked a couple of times, and turned around for a fadeaway jumper.
With a shot reminiscent of Kobe Bryant's fadeaway, the ball went straight in.
"You can't stop me," Wade Dong said to Griffin with a smile, running back to the other end of the court.
Griffin was stunned. This line sounded familiar. He had just said the same thing to Wade Dong, but Wade Dong had stopped him. Now, Wade Dong was saying it back to him, and he couldn't stop Wade Dong.
I'm not worthy of being his idol!
This thought suddenly crossed Griffin's mind, making him feel a bit disappointed.
Wade Dong scored consecutively, giving the Suns a good start. However, the Clippers, led by Paul, also started scoring.
The two offensive-minded teams began a scoring spree.
The Suns weren't afraid of this kind of opponent because they had the master organizer Nash and the scoring machine Wade Dong.
With two minutes left in the first quarter...
39:31!!!
The Suns had an eight-point lead.
At this point, Nash went to the bench to rest, but Wade Dong remained on the court, organizing the offense. By the end of the first quarter, the score was:
47:36!!!
The Suns led the Clippers by 11 points in the first quarter. Wade Dong played the entire quarter, scoring 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.
It looked like another triple-double was in the making!
The second quarter began with the Suns' bench players on the court. Ever since the game against the Spurs, the entire Suns team had been energized. Although the bench players were on the court, the Clippers couldn't close the gap, and the lead continued to grow.
...
"Swish!!!!"
"Swish!!!!"
"Swish!!!!"
With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Wade Dong hit three consecutive three-pointers, putting the game out of reach.
The Clippers benched Paul and Griffin, and Wade Dong and Nash also went to the bench to rest.
"Beep!!!"
With the referee's whistle, the game ended.
139:117!!!
The Suns easily defeated the Clippers.
The game's statistics were:
Wade Dong: 41 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.
Nash: 22 points, 4 rebounds, 13 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.
Griffin: 27 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks.
Paul: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 16 assists, 3 steals, 0 blocks.
Four superstars on the court, and Wade Dong's stats were the best, making him the undisputed MVP of the game. This was also Wade Dong's second triple-double since entering the NBA, and it was a massive 40+10+10 triple-double.
...
After defeating the Clippers, the Suns went on to defeat the Nuggets the next day.
The current Suns, with Nash back, seemed unstoppable. Carrying the momentum of two consecutive big wins, the Suns hosted the Jazz at home.
This game was crucial. The Suns had to win!
If they defeated the Jazz, the Suns would move into the eighth spot in the West, theoretically qualifying for the playoffs.
However, it wasn't guaranteed. Even if the Jazz lost to the Suns, they still had a chance.
Because after this game, the Suns would face the Western Conference leaders, the Spurs, while the Jazz would play the Timberwolves. The Jazz had a high probability of winning against the Timberwolves, but the Spurs were a tough opponent.
If the Suns couldn't get past the Spurs, even if they won this game against the Jazz, they still wouldn't make the playoffs.
Before the game, Coach Gentry encouraged the players in the tunnel, "I won't say much about the importance of this game, but don't put too much pressure on yourselves. We just need to work hard to win this game."
"Let's go!"
The Suns players encouraged each other.
Nash suddenly said to Wade Dong, "Thank you!"
"Huh?"
Wade Dong blinked, "Old man, your damn kindness makes me uncomfortable."
Nash said, "From now on, you lead the team onto the court."
"That's not appropriate..."
Wade Dong hesitated. The last player to enter the court was usually the team's leader, an unwritten rule in the NBA.
Wade Dong had only played eight games and had been with the Suns for less than a month. Was he going to become the team's leader so soon? It felt a bit like usurping the position...
"It's decided then."
Nash said firmly, "From now on, you lead the team onto the court."
"Alright."
Wade Dong couldn't refuse such kindness.
Even Nash approved of this, making Wade Dong the team's leader out of nowhere.
After the players entered the court, the game began!
The Jazz's Gordon Hayward received a pass from his teammate and immediately went for a three-pointer.
"Now that I'm the leader, I should give the team a gift," Wade Dong muttered, spending 5 talent points to exchange for a bottle of "Bad Luck Potion" and throwing it at Hayward.
This bottle of "Bad Luck Potion" was a gift from the new leader of the Suns to his teammates.
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