Chapter 220: A Triple-Double is Easier

After Wade Dong checked back in, Thompson missed a shot.

Wade Dong grabbed the offensive rebound, defended by Cousins and Evans. He spun and dribbled past Cousins.

At that moment, Tucker cut to the basket.

Wade Dong handed the ball off to Tucker, who caught it and slammed home a dunk.

"Tonight is destined to be Dong Ge's record night," Gentry said. In just ten seconds of offense, Wade Dong had recorded a rebound and an assist.

The Kings inbounded the ball.

Brooks dribbled to the frontcourt and passed to Thornton, who faced Wade Dong's defense and spun. The ball was gone.

Wade Dong stole the ball and heaved it to the unmanned frontcourt.

Nash and Brooks chased after it! But Wade Dong knew that his pass wasn't fast, and with their chemistry from playing together for over a season, Nash would surely catch it.

When Wade Dong was defending Thornton, Nash had already prepared to run to the frontcourt.

As expected...

Nash caught the ball near the free-throw line and took a step for a layup.

"Swish!"

Nash gently laid the ball into the basket.

37:23!!!

The Suns led by 14 points.

Wade Dong had recorded another assist and steal.

After scoring, Nash jogged back on defense and smiled at Wade Dong, saying, "Nice pass, but don't do that again."

Although the Suns had players resting due to minor injuries throughout the season, thanks to their 'doctor' and Gentry's tactical player management, the team entered the playoffs fully healthy.

Facing a fully healthy Suns team, the Kings, ranked fourteenth in the West, were completely outmatched.

If the Suns hadn't held back, the game would have been a blowout.

Even so, the Kings struggled, and after Nash's layup, Evans hit a mid-range jumper.

37:25!!!

The lead was only briefly reduced, and the Kings couldn't afford to give up.

With seven minutes left in the second quarter, Gentry showed no intention of putting the starters back in.

On the Kings' side, Thomas tried to drive past Nash, but Wade Dong stole the ball from him again.

Gentry had thought Wade Dong was going for a quadruple-double, but he was wrong. Dong Ge wasn't a player who cared about stats; otherwise, why wouldn't he focus on blocks?

This steal was clean and efficient!

After the steal, Wade Dong still had the ball, and Thomas tried to grab it back, but Wade Dong dribbled behind his back, easily shaking off Thomas.

Then, Wade Dong dribbled to the frontcourt.

Thompson ran off the ball and used Tucker's screen to get to the three-point line.

Wade Dong passed to Thompson, who shot a three-pointer.

"Clang!"

The shot missed, but it didn't matter. As Thompson shot, Wade Dong was already heading to the basket, and when Thompson's shot rimmed out, Wade Dong grabbed the rebound and dunked it.

"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

The New Arena erupted with 'MVP' chants.

Gentry took another sip from his goji berry tea, "Dong Ge's rebounding instincts are top-notch in the league."

After scoring, Wade Dong ran back on defense, raising his index finger in acknowledgment of the Kings' fans.

With 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 5 blocks, Wade Dong was on the verge of another triple-double.

As he organized the offense, Wade Dong felt a bit disappointed.

The Suns had the league's best three-point shooting, but they lacked lob threats like the Clippers' high-flying duo. Among the Suns, Wade Dong was the most athletic, while McGrady had lost his peak explosiveness, and Green and Middleton were average athletes.

Relying on Nash, Curry, or Thompson for alley-oops was challenging.

"If we had two high-flying dunkers, the Suns would be even more unstoppable."

Wade Dong was also thinking about this. In the past, Nash and Stoudemire had executed many alley-oops, and while the current Suns were stronger than before, they lacked a second lob threat.

Whiteside, sitting on the bench, felt Dong Ge's gaze and immediately put his hands on his knees, sitting up straight and pretending to watch the game intently.

He didn't know that Wade Dong was thinking about developing him... If Whiteside improved, the Suns' interior offense would become even more lethal.

On the Kings' offense, Thornton's layup was blocked by Wade Dong again.

However, Cousins grabbed the offensive rebound and scored, keeping the lead at 12 points. Wade Dong now had 5 blocks.

Wade Dong's defensive performance in the first half had been a nightmare for the Kings.

"Beep!"

The second quarter ended.

53:41!!!

The Suns led the Kings by 12 points.

Wade Dong had an astonishing 21 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 steals, and 5 blocks.

Throughout NBA history, no player had ever recorded such stats in the first half, and very few had done so in an entire game.

'Ancient' era stats weren't as comprehensive, but since the introduction of steals and blocks as tracked stats, the closest to a quintuple-double was Hakeem Olajuwon, who once had 29 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists, 12 blocks, and 5 steals. Another player who came close was Andrei Kirilenko, with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 7 blocks, and 6 steals.

Wade Dong's first-half stats surpassed Kirilenko's.

...

In the Suns' locker room, Gentry held the stat sheet, smacking his lips, "How can there be a player as strong as Dong Ge?"

He had been repeating this sentence over and over again.

"Alright, alright, alright~"

McGrady couldn't take it anymore and interrupted Gentry, "Coach, if you want to praise Dong Ge, just do it. We won't say anything."

Gentry: (〃'皿`)q

Wade Dong didn't mind and smiled. Gentry walked over and patted his shoulder, saying, "Play well in the second half and go for a quintuple-double. Then you'll be the league's best player."

"Easy for you to say."

Wade Dong waved his hand, "A triple-double is easier. A quintuple-double is not that simple."

"A triple-double is easier???"

Wade Dong's words made the Suns players lower their heads.

When did a triple-double become easy? A triple-double was already hard enough!

To date, only Robertson had averaged a triple-double for a season, and in their eyes, that record was unbreakable.

...

Many players were paying attention to this game; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the entire league was watching.

Jordan closed his eyes after seeing the Suns lead by 12 points at halftime, knowing that his record was about to be broken.

Ibaka, upon seeing Wade Dong's five blocks in the first half, started praying that Wade Dong wouldn't get any more blocks in the second half. He already had enough accolades; let Ibaka have the blocks title.