The second quarter.
It began with a battle between the benches.
Without George, the Suns were missing a strong defensive presence from their second unit. Fortunately, Curry stayed on the floor, while the Grizzlies sent Conley in.
A point guard duel.
As the No. 4 pick in 2007, Mike Conley had been grinding in the league for years, and both his skill and experience were already quite solid.
However, Curry had unlocked his talent early after coming to the Suns, and his offensive firepower was nothing to scoff at.
For a while, the two were evenly matched. Even without George as a strong defensive piece, Curry led the Suns and kept things steady. Combined with their first-quarter advantage, the Suns extended the lead to 6 points during the 4-minute-and-44-second rotation stretch.
"Beep, beep!"
Grizzlies head coach Hollins called a timeout.
Both teams brought their starters back.
"Boom!"
Marc Gasol muscled through Frye in the paint and threw down a two-handed dunk at the rim as soon as he returned, firing up the Grizzlies. Tonight... Frye was getting crushed by Marc Gasol.
"Frye, you take Arthur. I'll handle Marc Gasol."
Blake Su said to Frye.
Although Blake Su played center, he spent more time controlling the game from the perimeter, while the paint was usually left to Frye. But right now, they had no choice but to switch assignments. Otherwise, Marc Gasol was scoring far too easily.
"Got it!"
Frye nodded.
He could play center inside, but he could also settle in firmly at power forward.
The possession changed hands.
Blake Su brought the ball up. Facing Arthur's defense, he accelerated, broke free, then ran into Gay's help defense and Marc Gasol's support.
"Whoosh!"
He passed it back out to Nash on the perimeter. Nash moved the ball without holding it, finding George in the left corner. George had space and fired the three without hesitation.
"Clang!"
Unfortunately, it missed.
Marc Gasol secured the rebound and passed to Conley to start the break. Conley rushed to the top of the arc, pulled an abrupt between-the-legs stop, then accelerated again.
"Whoosh!"
With a change of rhythm, he shook off Nash and drove down the left wing toward the basket. But George slid out in time and cut off Conley's path. Seeing that, Conley passed again.
"Smack!"
Gay caught the ball at the free-throw line. Frye switched onto him, but Gay seemed to ignore Frye's height advantage and rose straight up for a pull-up jumper.
"What?"
Frye's heart jumped, and he hurried to contest. But... he couldn't reach it.
"Swish!"
Gay's pull-up dropped in.
Nash pushed the ball in transition. With Blake Su threatening off the ball on the wing, Nash faked a pass but actually attacked the rim himself. Everyone's attention was on Blake Su.
"Swish!"
Nash finished with an easy underhand layup.
Conley brought the ball up, scanned the floor, and threw a high lob to Marc Gasol, who was calling for it in the low post. He caught it against Blake Su's defense.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Marc Gasol went straight into body contact, backing him down with repeated bumps. Frye couldn't hold him, and neither could Blake Su.
"Bang!"
After another collision, Marc Gasol knocked Blake Su back, turned halfway, created more than a full body length of space, and immediately went into a hook shot.
"Thud!"
Blake Su planted and sprang up to contest.
Even though he had been forced back, his leaping ability and explosiveness were far superior to Marc Gasol's. That contest still bothered the shot quite a bit.
"Clang!"
Missed.
The rebound?!
Arthur grabbed it and handed it off to Gay on the right low block. Gay caught the ball, took one dribble forward, and once again met Frye's help defense. But...
"Thud!"
Against Frye's defense, Gay stopped on a dime and rose up again.
"Damn it, again?!"
This time, Frye had gotten into position early. His expression hardened, and he jumped with all his strength, determined to block Gay's shot. But... he still couldn't reach it.
"Swish!"
Gay hit another mid-range jumper.
"How?!"
Frye looked completely lost.
Then, on the very next possession, Gay called for a screen, took the mismatch against Frye, accelerated into him to create contact, then immediately stepped back.
"Whoosh!"
Another fadeaway.
Frye reacted quickly and went up at the first possible moment. The timing was perfect, but once again, he came up empty. He simply couldn't get to it.
"Swish!"
Gay's mid-range shot was good again.
"How is this happening?"
Frye could hardly believe it.
On another possession, George matched up with Gay. Gay's expression did not change. He slowly lowered his center of gravity, paused with his feet, then took one explosive step on the right wing.
"Screech!"
"Whoosh!"
A sudden stop, a pull-up right over George's defense. George had stayed with him completely. His eyes sharpened, and he leaped to contest.
"Block it!"
From the wing, Frye thought George could get this one.
But the basketball still flew over George's fingertips. Unfortunately for Gay, this shot did not go in.
Even so, Gay's individual offense in the second quarter was unstoppable.
He scored a full 14 points in the quarter.
Meanwhile, Marc Gasol, who was good at facilitating and very unselfish, was limited by Blake Su on offense. Still, he tied Blake Su down during possessions and actively passed to his teammates.
That was one of the reasons Gay was able to score so efficiently.
At the same time... Mike Conley seized his chances on the perimeter and scored repeatedly.
By halftime, thanks to Gay's efficient performance, the Grizzlies had erased the deficit and... taken a 2-point lead.
Halftime break.
At the commentary desk.
Jon Barry shook his head in amazement and said, "Gay really is incredible. His talent is outstanding. Aside from Blake Su, who hasn't matched up with him yet, the Suns don't have anyone who can limit his jump shot."
"That's right."
Mark Jackson nodded with a smile. "Gay is 203 centimeters tall, with the perfect small forward build, an astonishing 221-centimeter wingspan, and incredible leaping ability.
"He can dunk from the free-throw line with ease.
"It's exactly those physical gifts that make his jump shot so hard to block. At one point, people called it an 'Unblockable Shot.'"
"Exactly!"
Jon Barry nodded in agreement. "Defense isn't the Suns' strong suit. With Carter injured, they put rookie Paul George on him.
"The original idea was to strengthen the defense.
"But unfortunately, in his very first start, he's facing a player as talented as Gay. Even though George has had several impressive defensive moments this season, it still looks like he can't contain Gay.
"And on the Suns, the only player who seems capable of stopping Gay one-on-one is Blake Su. But Blake Su also has to defend Marc Gasol in the paint.
"Tonight, the Grizzlies are in good form. Even without Randolph, they've still managed to put the Suns on the back foot a little."
"Heh."
Mark Jackson smiled faintly and said, "Jon, you're exaggerating a bit. You have to remember, Gay has played this well, and they've only barely caught up.
"They're only leading by 2 points.
"With the Suns' terrifying offensive firepower, I think the Suns, playing at home, still have the initiative in this game."
"Haha!"
"That's true. I'm just amazed by Gay's talent and that unblockable shot. His scoring ability really is incredible. As for who will come out on top in the second half...
"Let's look forward to it!"
At the same time, murmurs began spreading through the stands.
Against a Grizzlies team missing its strongest interior player, Zach Randolph, the Suns were playing at home and still trailing at halftime. That was hard to believe.
Some fans felt that putting George in the starting lineup might not have been a good thing.
...
...
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