"Tonight, every player on both the Suns and the Heat is completely locked in. They're fighting for every possession and giving everything they have.
"Everyone is taking this game incredibly seriously."
In the stands, John Wall couldn't help but marvel at what he was seeing.
Kobe smiled faintly.
"If you ever make it to this stage someday, you'll play just as hard. Maybe even harder.
"Because this is Game 7 of the Finals.
"There is no next game. There's nowhere to retreat.
"Win this game, and you're the champion.
"You get to lift the championship trophy every player dreams about.
"So what reason could there possibly be not to give everything you have?"
"Yeah."
Wall nodded firmly.
At the mention of the championship trophy, a spark of longing appeared in his eyes.
On the court, the game was unfolding exactly as Kobe and Wall had described.
Every player on both teams was fighting with everything they had, completely focused on the game.
More importantly, everyone was playing well.
For Phoenix...
Stephen Curry curled up from the corner and caught the ball at the top of the arc.
He turned and immediately fired a three.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
"Whoosh!"
Blake accelerated down the right wing, drawing both LeBron and Wade before kicking the ball out to Nash at the free-throw line.
Nash rose for the mid-range jumper.
"Swish!"
Good.
On the next possession, Nash drove past Chalmers and hop-stepped into the paint.
It looked as though he was going all the way to the rim, but instead he slipped a clever behind-the-back pass to Blake on the weak side.
"BOOM!"
Blake caught it, took one step, exploded off the floor, and hammered home a one-handed dunk.
At the other end, Paul George stayed with Wade one-on-one.
When "Flash" Wade attacked the rim for a layup, George managed to contest him heavily.
"Clang!"
Wade missed.
On Phoenix's next possession, Blake launched a deep three from outside.
It missed.
But Frye grabbed the offensive rebound underneath.
He immediately kicked it back out to George on the perimeter.
George fired another three.
"Clang!"
No good again.
But Frye grabbed yet another offensive rebound.
He kicked it out once more.
Blake caught the pass and immediately let another three fly.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
Frye had just grabbed two straight offensive rebounds, and on the following possession, Blake's presence once again distorted Miami's defense.
Nash found Frye open in the left corner.
Frye let it fly from three.
Was it good?
"Swish!"
Yes!
Don't forget, Channing Frye was a power forward capable of playing center, and he could absolutely knock down the three.
Blake, Curry, Nash, George, and Frye.
Every player on the floor for Phoenix could shoot.
And with all five of them spacing the court, the Suns finally unleashed their [Evolved Run-and-Gun].
"Wow... Phoenix is playing really well!"
"Yeah, the entire team looks great."
At the broadcast studio, the commentators couldn't help but applaud the Suns' outstanding play over the past five minutes.
But during that same stretch, Miami had been just as impressive.
"Whoosh!"
"Flash" Wade attacked from the left wing, blew past Curry, then used a Eurostep to evade Frye before finishing smoothly at the rim.
"BOOM!"
On another possession, Wade took off in transition, outran the defense from end to end, and threw down a powerful one-handed dunk.
"Thud!"
"King James" bulldozed his way toward the basket, overpowering George's defense and finishing through sheer strength.
"BOOM!"
Then, in transition, the LeBron-Wade connection struck again.
Wade tossed it up, and LeBron hammered home a tomahawk alley-oop that sent the rim shaking.
"Whoosh!"
"CB4" Bosh caught the ball in the left low post with Curry switched onto him.
He attacked the mismatch, drove across the lane, and scored easily over the smaller defender.
On another possession...
"Thud!"
Bosh caught the ball at the right high post with George guarding him.
He backed George down, used his strength to create space, then half-turned toward the basket.
Suddenly...
"Skrrt!"
Bosh stopped short and pulled up for a mid-range jumper.
"Swish!"
Good.
George had contested the shot, but Bosh had too much of a height advantage for him to seriously bother the release.
The Heat Big Three were each doing what they did best.
That much was expected.
But it wasn't only the Big Three.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Chalmers was doing his job as a perimeter shooter too.
Whenever the Big Three attacked and kicked the ball out, he was ready.
He buried three straight three-pointers.
On defense, he also did everything he could to bother Nash, making both his scoring and playmaking much more difficult.
Then there was Haslem.
He wasn't as tall as Frye, but tonight he was using every ounce of strength he had to fight for position inside.
He battled for space in the paint, protected the rim, and worked to create more opportunities for the Heat Big Three to attack.
In short, while the Suns had been excellent over those five minutes, Miami had been every bit as sharp.
"Wow! Every player on both teams is contributing tonight," Van Gundy exclaimed from the commentary table. "Is this what Game 7 of the Finals looks like?
"This game has been incredible!"
Mike Breen was just as excited.
"The Heat and the Suns aren't relying only on their stars.
"Every other player on the floor is doing exactly what he's supposed to do.
"Everyone is maximizing his role.
"All ten players have come out firing in this first quarter.
"Phoenix has its [Evolved Run-and-Gun].
"Miami has its [Defense leading to fast break].
"Efficiency against efficiency.
"That has made this game incredibly entertaining.
"This is basketball at its best!"
"Hahaha!"
Van Gundy laughed.
"This is Game 7 of the Finals.
"This is what it looks like when both teams leave absolutely everything on the floor.
"What a game!
"I have no idea who's going to win in the end, but until we find out, let's enjoy every second of this incredible matchup.
"This is the kind of game people will remember for a long time."
"Boom!"
The commentators' passionate words only pushed the already electric atmosphere inside the arena even higher.
And on the court, all ten players continued doing their jobs and playing at an exceptional level.
The entertainment value had been off the charts from the opening minutes.
And it stayed that way all the way through the end of the first quarter.
Suns 40, Heat 40.
During the break between quarters, Yi Jianlian stared at the score in amazement.
"My God. Both teams scored 40 points in a single quarter.
"Forget the Finals.
"Even in the regular season, how often do you see both teams score 40 in the same quarter?
"That's 80 combined points in twelve minutes. That has to be incredibly rare."
"It is."
Yao Ming nodded.
"This might even be some kind of record, but that doesn't really matter to either team right now.
"What matters is that everyone is playing well.
"And that's especially good news for Blake.
"He's been carrying this team as its lone superstar, so having everyone else step up like this lets him conserve a lot of energy.
"And Phoenix still isn't trailing.
"If the game stays this close all the way into the final minutes...
"Then once Blake really turns it on and takes over at both ends of the floor, I think the Suns will win."
...
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