Chapter 201: The Young Dončić

"Nice shot, idol!"

Wade Dong made a three-pointer, then ran over to hug Curry and lifted him high.

Then the Thunder inbounded the ball.

Wade Dong and Curry quickly returned to defense. This time, when Durant attacked, Wade Dong left Westbrook to help McGrady defend Durant.

Facing the double-team of McGrady and Wade Dong, Durant forced a shot and missed.

Gortat grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Curry, who rushed to the frontcourt!

Brooks, standing on the sidelines, angrily shouted, "Don't let Curry shoot threes, stop him!"

But who could stop Curry when he was on fire?

"Swish!!!"

Curry made another three-pointer from just inside the three-point line.

125:120!!!

The Suns had extended their lead to 5 points.

There were only 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the game.

Durant, facing the double-team defense of Wade Dong and McGrady, couldn't find a good shot and had to pass the ball to Harden.

Harden tried to shoot a step-back three but missed.

Gortat grabbed the rebound again and passed it to Curry.

"Swish!!!"

Curry made his 11th three-pointer of the game.

After the timeout, Curry scored 9 points in a row, forcing another timeout.

After making the three-pointer, Curry raised both hands, making a six with his left hand and a five with his right, indicating he had made 11 three-pointers that night.

"Timeout!!!"

The Thunder were forced to call another timeout.

...

After the timeout, the Thunder were down by 8 points with 1 minute and 3 seconds left, and the game was basically over.

"Beeep!!!"

The final whistle blew, and the game ended.

132:122!!!

The Suns won on the road against the Thunder.

Game stats:

Wade Dong: 25 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 8 blocks.

Curry: 40 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.

McGrady: 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks.

Durant: 39 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, 1 block.

Westbrook: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks.

Harden: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.

The Thunder's big three combined for 77 points, but they couldn't stop the Suns' big three. Curry scored a game-high 40 points, Wade Dong had a near quadruple-double, and McGrady scored a season-high.

Wade Dong also set a unique record by blocking every Thunder player who stepped on the court.

After the game, Wade Dong and Durant hugged and prepared to return to the locker room.

At that moment, a young boy approached Wade Dong and said, "Uncle Wade, thank you for earlier!"

Next to the boy stood a beautiful woman, presumably the boy's mother.

"Who are you?" Wade Dong looked at the boy, not recognizing him.

The boy said, "Earlier, when you saved the ball, if you hadn't avoided me, you wouldn't have collided with the chair."

"Oh, it's you." Wade Dong remembered and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The boy shook his head and added, "Uncle Wade, you're my idol. I want to become a great basketball player like you."

"Good ambition, kid!" Wade Dong ruffled the boy's hair and asked casually, "What's your name?"

The boy replied, "I'm Luka Dončić."

Wade Dong curiously asked, "Dončić? Are you from the U.S.?"

Dončić said, "I'm here to train in the U.S., but I'm not from the U.S."

"Not bad, not bad~" Wade Dong kept looking at the young Dončić, then asked Varlick to bring him a pen. He took off his jersey, signed it, and handed it to Dončić, encouraging him, "I have high hopes for you. I hope one day you can become my teammate."

"Thank you, Uncle Wade, for your encouragement." The young Dončić took Wade Dong's signed jersey excitedly and said, "I will work hard to practice!"

After Dončić left, Nash walked over curiously and asked Wade Dong, "You have high hopes for this boy?"

Wade Dong asked, "Why do you say that?"

Nash said, "This is the first time you've given a fan a signed jersey, especially one you wore during a game..."

"Haha." Wade Dong laughed and said, "Just giving a basketball-loving kid some hope. Who knows, maybe this kid named Dončić will really make it to the NBA."

...

After the game, the Suns' locker room was filled with laughter and joy. Everyone was happy to win the game.

Next door, the Thunder were being interviewed by reporters...

Durant: "The Suns are a very strong team. When they're behind, someone always steps up. Today, McGrady and Curry played exceptionally well."

Reporter: "In the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, did Wade Dong and McGrady's double-team cause you some trouble?"

Durant: "No one can score easily against Wade Dong and McGrady's double-team. No one can do it!"

Reporter: "What about Wade Dong? He often faces double-teams from superstars. Last year at the Olympics, Wade Dong scored over 90 points against the triple-team of Kobe, James, and you."

Durant: "Wade Dong and I are good friends."

Reporter: "???"

Durant's response left the reporter confused. He only said that he and Wade Dong were good friends, without explaining why Wade Dong could score against a superstar double-team.

After interviewing Durant, the reporter turned to Ibaka.

Reporter: "Before the game, you said you would show Wade Dong what a real block is, but you didn't do it."

Ibaka: "..."

Reporter: "Does this mean that even small players can block shots?"

Ibaka, with a dark expression, said: "An individual case cannot represent the whole. I can only say that Wade Dong's blocking ability is very strong."

Reporter: "Wade Dong set a record today by blocking every player who stepped on the court. What do you think about this?"

Ibaka: "..."

The reporter wanted to ask more, but Ibaka walked away with a dark expression. He had been embarrassed, and the reporter kept pressing the issue, as if his face wasn't already sore enough.

...

After the game, the Suns players were all smiles during the press conference.

First, Kidd praised the players' performance, then the reporters wanted to interview Wade Dong. However, Wade Dong pushed Curry forward, saying, "You should interview Curry first. He was the MVP of the game!"

"Hahaha..."

The reporters laughed and turned their microphones to Curry. "Congratulations on scoring 40 points today. This is also your highest score since joining the Suns."

"I scored that many points?" Curry looked at the stats sheet and smiled, "I just made the shots I was supposed to make."

Reporter: "Making 11 three-pointers in a game is also your personal record for three-pointers in a game, right?"

"Yes." Curry nodded, "The Suns have many three-point specialists: Nash, Frye, McGrady, and Wade Dong. They all helped me a lot."