Chapter 281: The 50+ Club

James and Wade took the court.

Wade Dong entered the game.

The lineup on the court for the Heat and the Suns was as follows:

Heat: James, Wade, Lewis, Kidd, Bosh.

Suns: Wade Dong, Nash, Curry, McGrady, Tucker.

The tallest player on the Suns' lineup was McGrady, clearly indicating their intention to go all-out on offense.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

James hit three consecutive three-pointers after entering the game, putting the Heat up 9-2 over the Suns.

The score was now 63-59! The Heat was only trailing by 4 points.

...

In the Huaxia live broadcast room:

Yu Jia: "James' three-pointer had a bit of Wade Dong's touch to it."

Coach Zhang: "Wade Dong has changed the NBA's perception of three-pointers."

Yu Jia: "But three-pointers aren't Wade Dong's strongest skill!"

Coach Zhang: "Wade Dong's skills are so powerful that mastering just one of them can make you a superstar!"

...

"Great job, James!"

Spoelstra cheered loudly for James, and he couldn't help but glance at Gentry, wanting to show off a bit. 'So what if you have Wade Dong? I have James too!'

Unfortunately, Spoelstra's rich inner monologue didn't reach Gentry.

Spoelstra noticed that despite the intense game, Gentry's attention wasn't on the court. Instead, he was twisting open his thermos, blowing on the tea leaves, and taking a sip of tea.

"Damn it! I'm really starting to hate this guy Gentry!"

Spoelstra spat out in disgust.

He was such a show-off! This was the NBA Finals, and the Heat was about to catch up on the scoreboard, yet Gentry could still afford to leisurely drink tea!

Why don't you set up a tea set on the bench?!

...

The Suns had the ball.

Nash passed to Wade Dong, who was backing down James. With a flick of his wrist, the ball found its way to Curry.

Swish!

Curry released a three-pointer, and the ball swished through the net.

James missed his three-point attempt, and Wade Dong grabbed the rebound, passing it to Curry at the frontcourt. Curry, facing an empty basket, took a three-pointer from beyond the arc.

Swish!

The ball went through the net, and Curry struck a pose, a move he had learned from Wade Dong and executed perfectly.

"Curry! Curry! Curry!"

The home crowd cheered for Curry.

Bosh's pass was intercepted...

Wade Dong dribbled down the court, with James chasing him for defense. With another flick of his wrist, the ball was in Curry's hands.

Swish!

Curry hit another three-pointer.

72-59!

"Timeout!"

With the lead extending to 13 points, Spoelstra immediately called a timeout, finally understanding why Gentry was so relaxed.

After the timeout, Bosh scored with a hook shot in the paint.

Curry missed his next three-point attempt.

The Heat's Big Three were on fire tonight, with James frequently attacking the basket. The Heat gradually narrowed the gap.

"Give the ball to Dong!"

Gentry also stopped playing with his thermos and stood at the sidelines.

With only 5 minutes left in the first half, Wade Dong started his personal scoring show.

Curry and McGrady spread out, and Wade Dong kept making mid-range shots!

Beep!

The first half ended.

The Suns led the Heat 87-81!

In the first half, the Suns made 35 of their 61 field goal attempts, shooting 57%. The Heat made 34 of their 57 attempts, an impressive 59%. These statistics clearly showed that both teams were going all-out on offense, with fast transitions between offense and defense. Typically, a team would have around 90 field goal attempts in a game, but in this first half alone, both teams had already attempted 60 shots.

The scoring breakdown for the first half was as follows:

Wade Dong: 33 points.

James: 31 points.

Wade: 29 points.

Curry: 23 points.

Bosh: 21 points.

It was rare to have five players with over 20 points in just the first half, especially in the NBA Finals.

...

Fans were no longer fixated on who would win the game.

Instead, they were wondering how many players would score 50 or more points.

The second half began.

The Heat executed three consecutive fast break plays, all resulting in Bosh's mid-range jump shots. The Heat quickly narrowed the gap to just 2 points.

The first Suns player to score in the second half was McGrady.

After Bosh made three consecutive mid-range shots, McGrady responded with 7 points of his own, bringing his total score above 20 points.

This offensive battle continued into the fourth quarter.

With 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Wade Dong received a pass from Nash and dunked it.

50 points!

Wade Dong became the first player in the game to reach 50 points.

Less than a minute later, James broke through Wade Dong's defense, drove to the basket, and scored a layup against Frye, drawing a foul.

Swish!

James made the free throw, bringing his score to 50 points.

Having two players with 50+ points in a game was already rare, but the fans' expectations went even higher. The score was now 139-137, a high-scoring affair that remained tight.

In addition to Wade Dong and James, Wade had 41 points, Bosh had 43, Curry had 37, and McGrady, who had a big second half, had 39 points.

The third quarter was a showcase for Wade Dong, James, Wade, Bosh, Curry, and McGrady.

With the score so close...

Neither Spoelstra nor Gentry changed their tactics, clearly indicating that they wanted their players to keep attacking relentlessly. Whichever team scored more would be the winner.

"Bosh!"

James dribbled quickly down the court and signaled for Bosh to receive the pass.

Bosh then turned away from Gortat's defense, received an assist from James, and made a jump shot.

McGrady responded with a three-pointer!

Bosh had 45 points, and McGrady's score also surpassed 40. There were now five players on the court with over 40 points.

The game continued, and the fast-paced offense made defense almost irrelevant.

With 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Bosh received an assist from Wade and dunked it.

50 points!

Bosh became the third player in the game to score over 50 points.

The score was now 157-153!

Both teams had broken the NBA Finals record for the highest-scoring game.

Even Gentry was getting excited, holding up the stats sheet and shouting, "McGrady already has 49 points!"

What did that mean?

Everyone understood. Wade Dong then dribbled past James's defense and passed to McGrady. McGrady received the pass, faked a shot to shake off Bosh, drove to the basket, and scored a layup!

51 points!

McGrady became the fourth player in the game to score over 50 points!