Chapter 406: Old Carter Can Still Fly

The US Airways Center was packed. 

Even outside the arena, there were many fans who couldn't get tickets. Not to mention the playoffs, even during the regular season, tickets for the Suns' games were hard to come by.

The Phoenix fans cherished the Suns' playoff games even more. They knew that in a round of the playoffs, there were only two chances to watch the games at home.

Sweeping their opponents was a regular operation for the Suns.

The starting line-up for this game was:

Suns: Wade Dong, Curry, Durant, Thompson, Green.

Trail Blazers: Aldridge, Lillard, Batum, Matthews, Gortat.

...

In the Huaxia live broadcast room. ✵

Before the game, Yu Jia and Coach Zhang were discussing the match.

Yu Jia, "The Trail Blazers are a young and talented team. Coach Zhang, how do you think the Suns should approach this game?"

Coach Zhang, "Speaking of talent, is there any team more talented than the Suns? Wade Dong possesses top-tier talent in the league. I think they just need to play their normal game... There's still a gap between the Trail Blazers and the Suns, and the Suns' goal is the championship."

Yu Jia, "The Suns used Gortat and Frye to trade for McCollum and Barton from the Trail Blazers, which indirectly boosted the Trail Blazers' strength."

Coach Zhang, "We can't just focus on the short term. McCollum is a young player, and I'm quite optimistic about him. He's got the drive!"

Yu Jia, "The game is about to start, let's shift our attention to the court..."

...

The players finished their warm-ups, and Gortat and Durant stood in the centre circle, ready to jump ball. 

"Beep!!!"

With the referee's whistle, the game began.

Gortat passed the ball to Lillard, who dribbled into the frontcourt. Facing Curry's defence, he held the ball with his right hand, then quickly pulled it back to the left side of his body, easily dribbling past Curry.

Sam Gold!

This is a common dribbling technique used by NBA masters, both practical and flashy.

After dribbling past Curry, Lillard headed straight to the basket, facing Green's defence, and dunked it!

"Bang!!!"

Lillard's dunk scored the first points for the Trail Blazers!

This was one of the Trail Blazers' tactics. With Aldridge and Gortat, they had a certain advantage in the paint against the Suns' starting lineup. Moreover, Lillard and Matthews were full of energy, and Stotts encouraged them to continuously attack the basket.

They couldn't compete with the Suns in shooting!

If they tried to match the Suns in shooting, the Suns' starting lineup of Wade Dong, Curry, Durant, and Thompson could easily outscore them.

The Suns attacked.

Wade Dong dribbled into the frontcourt and found Thompson in the corner.

"Swoosh!!!"

Thompson raised his hand and made a three-pointer, the ball swishing through the net.

3:2!!!

After scoring, Thompson didn't celebrate but immediately ran back to defend!

Unless they had a big lead or made a spectacular play, like a poster dunk, a deep three, or a chase-down block, the Suns players remained calm on the court. 

After Thompson's score, Gortat inbounded the ball.

The Trail Blazers attacked again, passing the ball around, and it ended up in Aldridge's hands. Facing Durant's long arms, Aldridge took a fadeaway jump shot!

"Swoosh!!!"

The ball swished through the net.

The Trail Blazers were clearly stronger than the Mavericks. In the first quarter, with 8 minutes played, the Suns couldn't pull away on the scoreboard.

Time-out.

Gentry made a substitution.

Carter, McGrady, Whiteside, Yi Nan, and McCollum came in!

"Five in, five out?"

Trail Blazers head coach Stotts saw Gentry's substitution strategy and frowned, "Too damn arrogant!"

Stotts also learned from the regular season experience, replacing Aldridge with Frye, Robinson with Matthews, and Lopez with Gortat, leaving only Lillard and Batum in the starting lineup.

Remember the game against the Suns after the All-Star Game.

Gentry rested the starting lineup for 10 minutes, and in the last 2 minutes of the crucial game, the well-rested Suns chased down 12 points to take the lead, effectively blowing out the Trail Blazers.

After the game, Stotts even praised Gentry's strategy of resting the starters first as brilliant.

...

The game continued, and the Suns attacked.

McGrady stood near the free-throw line to set a screen, passing the ball to Yi Nan, who cut to the basket.

"Bang!!!"

Receiving McGrady's pass, Yi Nan dunked it!

23:20!!!

The Suns led by 3 points.

"Oh yeah~~~"

The US Airways Center erupted in cheers!

"Well done, buddy~"

After Yi Nan's dunk, McGrady even high-fived him on the way back to defence.

...

"Good shot!"

"Yi Nan is awesome!"

The Huaxia fans were even more excited, as Yi Nan had been playing better and better since returning to the NBA!

...

Facing the Suns' bench lineup,

The Trail Blazers' advantage in the paint disappeared. Yi Nan and Whiteside, both over 2.1 metres tall, had good athletic abilities. Their twin towers in the paint made it difficult for the Trail Blazers to attack the basket easily.

Batum received a pass from Lillard but missed the shot.

Whiteside grabbed the rebound and passed it to McGrady, who dribbled to the three-point line, signalling for McCollum to come and set a screen.

Using McCollum's screen, McGrady easily dribbled past Robinson.

Stotts stood on the sidelines and shouted, "Watch out for McCollum in the corner!"

As soon as Stotts finished speaking, the ball was already in McCollum's hands.

McCollum received McGrady's pass and immediately jumped, showcasing his signature move. He could adjust his shooting posture in mid-air before releasing the ball.

To master this skill, Wade Dong had even demonstrated it to McCollum.

During that time, McCollum didn't participate in team training but practised corner threes repeatedly with his trainer. In Wade Dong's words, after receiving the pass, he needed to adjust his shooting posture in the air while ensuring the stability of his shot.

McCollum had to become the second-best in the league at this skill before he could consider himself a master.

In fact, McCollum often used this skill in college, and Wade Dong didn't tell him that he was so good at it because, in addition to having top-tier talent, he also spent 5 talent points to exchange for McCollum's shooting skill package.

"Swoosh!!!"

As Batum rushed over, the ball slipped through McCollum's fingertips, drawing a beautiful arc in the air before swishing through the net.

"Yes, it's in~"

McCollum was still young, and after making a three-pointer, he looked towards Wade Dong, who was sitting on the sidelines, as if seeking approval.

"Bang bang da~"

Gentry held up a thermos and gave McCollum a thumbs-up.

However, Wade Dong was looking down and chatting with Durant, not paying attention to McCollum.

Before the end of the first quarter, a pass from Lillard to Frye was intercepted by Carter, who then dribbled to the frontcourt and dunked it with a windmill!

31:22!!!

The Suns entered the second quarter with a 9-point lead.

"Damn..."

This play left Wade Dong and Durant lying flat on their backs in shock!

Can Old Carter still fly???