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"Is he smiling? Are you sure?"
Mike Breen didn't notice.
Van Gundy nodded affirmatively. He definitely didn't see it wrong. Mike Breen thought for a moment and said with a faint smile, "Or maybe it's just confidence. But trailing by 9 points... Carlos is definitely confident enough to make a comeback!"
On the court...
Coming back from the timeout...
"Bam, bam, bam!"
Carlos received the ball at the top of the arc, facing Ariza's defense. Ariza maintained a distance of half a body length from him.
"Give me the three-pointer, or defend against my drive?!"
Carlos squinted his eyes, guessing Ariza's thoughts within a second. He thought to himself,
"Although you've figured out that my three-pointers aren't accurate enough, besides three-pointers, I have many scoring methods. This way of defending against me isn't a good strategy."
Carlos's gaze focused, then he passed the ball.
Maintaining a one-step distance in defense, Ariza gave Carlos better passing space. The basketball flew to the left, and Curry, who ran out from the baseline, received the pass, turned around, and made a mid-range shot.
"Swoosh!"
It went in...
Later, Carlos once again faced Ariza's defense. Glancing up, he saw Carter lurking in the right corner of the baseline, ready to attack. Without hesitation, Carlos decisively passed the ball to Carter.
"Whoosh!"
Carter, who was prepared for the shot, raised his hand for a three-pointer.
"Clang!"
But this shot missed.
Rebound?!
Once again, Carlos charged into the restricted area, grabbing the rebound in front of Frye and Okafor. Suddenly, he tossed the basketball into the air.
"A pass?!"
Okafor was surprised.
"Be careful; it's an alley-oop!"
West on the side saw it clearly and hurriedly warned, but it was already too late. Just as Carter, who had missed the three-pointer earlier, cut into the paint along the baseline.
"Leap!"
Bending his knees and rising from the ground, he caught Carlos's pass in mid-air with a one-handed dunk, soaring like a hawk!
An unbelievable scene!
"After Carter's alley-oop, this 'UFO' move, as a showcase of violent aesthetics, a pleasing and memorable slam dunk, has become a rare sight since his injuries accumulated."
"Carter is top-notch!"
"The Suns have Carlos, Curry, Nash, but don't forget... Vince Carter, the 'Canadian Airman.'"
"The veteran's skills haven't aged!"
"Uproarious!"
Following Carlos's assist and Carter's rare alley-oop dunk, the fans were instantly ignited, recalling memories of Carter dominating the court. This play injected a surge of enthusiasm into the entire Suns team.
Sound the counterattack horn!
Trailing by 9 points...
When there were only 37 seconds left in the first quarter, Carlos assisted Carter once again, hitting a three-pointer to not only tie the score but also take a 1-point lead.
The Hornets had possession of the ball...
Paul dribbled the ball over, faced Nash one-on-one, faked a move with a quick change of direction, accelerated past Nash's defense, and then made a small jump shot within the three-second zone.
"Swoosh!"
It went in...
In the last play of the first quarter, the Suns gave the ball to Carlos. Holding the ball at the top of the arc, with just 5 seconds left, Carlos saw that Ariza was still maintaining a one-step distance.
"Whoosh!"
Carlos attempted another three-point shot.
This was Carlos's third three-point attempt of the quarter, with the previous two missing. The basketball flew over Ariza's head, headed for the rim, and with a "bang," it hit the backboard and went in.
A made basket...
The timer lit up simultaneously as Carlos hit this buzzer-beating bank shot.
"Nice shot!"
Curry happily waved his fist, coming over to give Carlos a high five. On the other side, Ariza couldn't help but smirk, thinking, "Ah, it seems that three-pointers are your weakness."
The first quarter ended.
The Suns staged a maximum comeback of 9 points, taking a 2-point lead into the halftime break.
"With 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, having only a 2-point lead, the data and situation are good, completely within my control. Tonight, I absolutely cannot make any mistakes," Carlos thought to himself, looking at the stats board during the break, nodding in satisfaction.
Soon after, the second quarter began, starting with the matchup between the reserves. After 4 minutes and 13 seconds of rotation, the Hornets had a slight advantage, leveling the 2-point difference. On the Suns' side, George astonished the crowd with a powerful dunk, leaving Gentry very satisfied with the physical talent of the player he valued.
"Bleep, bleep!"
Timeout...
Both starting lineups returned, standing on the same starting line again.
"Bam, bam, bam!"
Carlos dribbled the ball, with Carter stepping forward to screen. Carlos directly faced off against Chris Paul, ignoring Paul's defense and shooting over him.
"Swoosh!"
Hollow net...
Following that, Carlos found Paul again and hit another mid-range shot directly in his face. Paul was furious, but facing the precise mid-range shooting of the center, he had no answer.
"Switch!"
Having experienced being ignored in the previous game, Paul decisively requested a switch, and West took over defending Carlos.
Facing the 206cm West's defense, Carlos smiled, accelerating suddenly without any fancy moves—relying solely on speed.
"Swoosh!"
A mid-range shot after evading, followed by a drive to the basket. Carlos scored consecutively against David West.
Just at the beginning of the second quarter, Carlos single-handedly launched an 8-0 scoring spree.
"Tsk, tsk..."
LeBron clicked his tongue and said, "It has started. Carlos, who focused on connecting the team in the first quarter, has started to exert his force. He's a nightmare for everyone with his positional play—very hard to deal with!"
"Yeah..."
Wade agreed, "His physical talents are outstanding. Just as someone said before, he's like 'Bigger' Durant, practically unstoppable in offense."
Bosh scratched his head, "Carlos, this rookie center seems stronger than I imagined!"
The Heat's "Big Three," who came to watch the game, all gave high praise to Carlos. Meanwhile, the Suns' fans in the arena were getting excited.
"Go, Carlos!"
"That's right, let's overwhelm them with this unstoppable flow!"
On the court, Carlos, tasked with a 40-point mission, activated his offensive mode. His continuous positional attacks left the Hornets in a helpless situation.
For a moment, nobody knew how to defend Carlos.
"I got this!"
Ariza snorted, signaled to Paul, and appeared in front of Carlos. Moreover, he allowed Carlos one step outside the three-point line.
"Allowing Carlos a step, can he still be defended?"
In the commentary booth, Van Gundy noticed the situation and expressed some doubt. Mike Breen pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "I get it. Ariza knows that Carlos isn't strong in three-point shooting. So intentionally allowing a step for a three-pointer, not defending closely, shifts the defensive focus to preventing Carlos's drive, reducing the chances of getting fooled and giving the opponent the strongest defensive pressure."
"Swoosh!"
As soon as he finished speaking...
Carlos's three-point attempt missed.
"As expected!"
Mike Breen affirmed his thoughts, while Ariza, watching Carlos miss the long shot, felt more confident that his defensive strategy was effective and became more determined to lock down Carlos.
In the next possession, Ariza continued with the same defense.
Carlos's gaze turned cold, thinking, "So they think Carlos can't make three-pointers?!"