Chapter 269: May Your Love for Basketball Remain Eternal

In the last three minutes, Wade Dong took four shots and made three of them, scoring 7 points. 89shux.com

27-36!!!

The Heat trailed by 9 points.

In this case...

Wade Dong scored 21 points in the first quarter, with 17 of them coming in the last five minutes.

...

Yu Jia: "We often discuss players who are considered to have no weaknesses in their offense, but only Wade Dong has truly achieved that."

Zhang Zhi: "In history, there has never been a player as versatile as Wade Dong."

Yu Jia: "The pride of Huaxia, Zhang Zhi, do you think the Suns can win this game?"

"Hmm..."

Zhang Zhi nodded.

They were broadcasting the game from the Heat's home court, so they couldn't be too boastful.

...

The start of the second quarter.

Kerr put Wade Dong, Curry, Thompson, Frye, and Green on the court.

Green and Tucker had similar roles, but Kerr usually only kept one of them on the court.

In the Western Conference Finals, Green had limited playing time, with most of the minutes going to Tucker, who defended Harden.

But in the Finals, Green was getting significant playing time.

This also showed Kerr's flexibility in adjusting the lineup, as he understood the strengths of all his players.

The Heat's offense:

James was resting on the bench, while Wade stayed on the court to lead the Heat's comeback.

Wade dribbled to the frontcourt, accelerated past Green, and then finished with a layup using the Eurostep, drawing a foul from Frye in the process.

"Swoosh!!!"

After making the free throw, the Heat narrowed the gap to 6 points, trailing the Suns by only 6.

James, sitting on the sidelines, shouted, "Great job, brother!"

The Suns' offense: Wade Dong passed to Frye, who passed to Thompson, who then passed to Curry.

The ball was passed around the three-point line, and Curry got an open shot.

"Swoosh!!!"

The ball swished through the net.

30-39!!!

"Go defend the paint!"

When the Heat had the ball again, Wade Dong signaled for Green to move aside, as he wanted to defend Wade Dong one-on-one.

"Spread out, everyone!"

Wade Dong took on the task of defending himself, while Wade signaled for his teammates to create space, as he wanted to go one-on-one with Wade Dong.

Wade started with a crossover, then stuck close to Wade Dong and quickly spun.

"So fast~"

Everyone exclaimed in awe.

Whether it was the crossover or the spin move, Wade's speed was incredible, making him seem like a blur. 89shux.com

"Aye..."

Only Green shook his head, thinking, Is that supposed to be fast?

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

All of this happened in less than a second.

As Wade spun off Wade Dong, Wade Dong reached for Wade's waist and stripped the ball away.

With Wade Dong defending Wade, Curry had already sprinted to the frontcourt.

After the steal, Wade Dong threw the ball to Curry, who drove to the basket and dunked it.

30-41!!!

The lead was extended to 11 points.

James had only rested for a minute and a half before getting up and heading to the technical table.

James checked in to defend Wade Dong.

The Suns' three-point tactic wouldn't work with Howard in the lineup, but they couldn't substitute him in.

...

So, this tactic could only be used briefly at the start of the second quarter when the Heat's starters were off the court.

As soon as James checked in, Kerr made adjustments to the lineup.

Gortat substituted for Frye, and Green moved out to defend Wade, a more conventional tactic.

The Heat and the Suns went back and forth.

In the last few minutes of the first half, the Heat made some personnel adjustments, but Kerr didn't call a timeout, and the Suns maintained their lineup until halftime.

47-56!!!

At halftime, the Suns still led the Heat by 9 points.

...

Halftime.

The players returned to the locker room, except for Wade Dong, who stayed on the court to be interviewed by Yu Jia and Zhang Zhi.

This had happened once before.

Since the game was being broadcast live in Huaxia, it was an opportunity for Wade Dong to interact with fans.

Yu Jia: "Welcome to the live broadcast, Wade Dong. Please greet the fans in Huaxia."

Wade Dong: "Hello, everyone. I'm Wade Dong."

Zhang Zhi: "Haha, everyone watching the live broadcast probably already knows who you are."

Yu Jia: "After leading the Huaxia Men's Basketball Team to the Olympic championship last year, you became a hero to the fans, and your name, Wade Dong, is known throughout Huaxia."

Wade Dong: "Thank you for your support."

Zhang Zhi: "Time is limited, so let's select a few questions from the fans for Wade Dong to answer."

Wade Dong: "Okay."

Yu Jia: "A fan with the ID 'Wade Dong is My Brother' asked, how many games will it take for the Suns to defeat the Heat?"

Wade Dong: "At least four wins, I think."

Yu Jia: "Haha..."

Wade Dong's answer was clever, as he said 'four wins,' given that the playoffs are a best-of-seven series, but he didn't directly answer how many games it would take.

Yu Jia: "Another fan with the ID 'Wade Dong is My Grandpa' asked if you could break Chamberlain's single-game scoring record of 100 points."

Wade Dong: "That fan's ID is a bit unfortunate, but I don't think scoring 100 points in a game is that difficult. The most important thing is winning the game."

Yu Jia: "This fan with the ID 'Wade Dong is My Ancestor' asked, what is the key to the Suns' victory in the Finals?"

"It's still too early to tell who will win or lose in this series, as it's only the third game."

Wade Dong smiled and then spoke seriously, "I think it's defense. There's an old saying, 'Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.'"

Zhang Zhi: "Time is almost up, Yu Jia. Please select one more question."

"Okay."

Yu Jia nodded, randomly selected a question, and after a moment of hesitation, asked, "This fan with the ID 'Wade Dong is My Husband' asked..."

"These fans are tough to deal with."

Wade Dong touched his nose and laughed, "They all want to be related to me."

"Haha..."

Yu Jia also felt a bit embarrassed, "These are all randomly selected questions. The previous fan asked if you have a girlfriend, and if you do, would you mind having another one?"

"I would mind!"

This time, Wade Dong answered straightforwardly, then said, "I need to prepare for the second half. May your love for basketball remain eternal."

His final statement had a double meaning.