The fourth quarter had always been Jay Sun's most confident moment—borderline cocky at times.
Right off the bat, Jay isolated Deron Williams, drove with a Euro step, and finished at the rim.
The lead was stretched to 20 points, but Kenny Atkinson still hadn't subbed out his starters—he just didn't want to lose too badly.
Any points they could claw back would be something.
Chris Paul: "That's exactly what I thought back then!"
On the Nets' possession, Deron, already relaxed and seemingly enjoying the game (or tanking), called for a pick-and-roll with Brook Lopez.
After taking a few steps into the lane, Deron passed back to Lopez at the top of the arc.
Lopez found himself wide open.
Looking around and seeing no defender close, he confidently launched a three.
Swish!
The three-pointer was good.
Even Lopez was surprised—Did that really go in?
While Lopez had some three-point range, he wouldn't develop it as a consistent weapon until the 2016-17 season.
At this point in his career, Lopez had only attempted 14 threes for the entire season.
Still, the potential was clearly there.
Lopez's three trimmed the deficit to 19 points, though the Cavaliers weren't too concerned, brushing it off as a lucky shot.
Jay brought the ball up, facing Deron one-on-one again.
He drove into the paint, drawing Lopez on the help defense before dishing the ball to Tristan Thompson under the basket.
Thompson took the shot, but Lopez, quickly recovering, disrupted it just enough to force a miss.
Lopez grabbed the rebound and immediately threw an outlet pass to Deron.
Deron sprinted up the court, with Jay chasing him down from behind.
As Deron crossed the three-point line, Jay caught up and stopped the fast break.
Being a seasoned point guard, Deron, seeing the break opportunity gone, slowed the pace and waited for his teammates.
When Lopez arrived at the three-point line, he set a screen on Jay.
Using the screen, Deron stepped to his right and pulled up for three.
Swish!
Another three-pointer for Deron, cutting the lead to 16 points.
Deron couldn't help but smile—it was a shot he didn't expect to make.
He'd been in a mindset of tanking, taking the shot just to see what would happen, and it had gone in.
Deron and Lopez hitting back-to-back threes left Jay momentarily stunned.
Wait a minute! The fourth quarter is my time to shine. Why is everyone else putting on a show?
This time, Jay took a more measured approach. As he passed Tyronn Lue on the sideline, Lue signaled for him to focus on efficiency.
Calling for a pick-and-roll with Kevin Love, Jay used the screen to drive and finish with a quick layup, stabilizing the lead.
On the next Nets possession, Deron called for a pick-and-roll with Thaddeus Young.
Young's frame was no match for Lopez's, and Jay easily slipped around the screen.
Even so, Deron wasn't fazed, casually pulling up for another three.
Deron: "Whatever, I'm tanking. If it goes in, great. If not, oh well."
Although Jay successfully navigated the screen, his path left just enough space for Deron to get off the shot.
Swish!
Another three for Deron.
Jay refused to believe this was anything other than a streak of lucky shots.
Staring at his Defensive Anchor badge, Jay silently wondered, Hey, are you broken or something? Time to step up!
The lead was cut to 15 points.
No one saw this coming—not Deron, not Jay, not Lue, not even Atkinson.
Atkinson himself was baffled. I was ready to use Deron as a scapegoat—why's he suddenly playing like this?!
Neither coach called a timeout, allowing the game to continue.
Jay once again called for a pick-and-roll.
This time, the Nets' defense collapsed tightly around him, forcing him to kick the ball out to J.R. Smith on the perimeter.
Smith, briefly open, took the three.
Clank!
The shot missed.
Jay immediately realized something was off.
His passes, boosted by the Dime Dropper badge, naturally increased his teammates' shooting percentages.
The fact that Smith missed suggested his rhythm was completely off tonight.
It seemed J.R. wouldn't be much help in this game.
On the Nets' next possession, Deron went back to the pick-and-roll with Lopez.
Lopez set a hard screen, but Jay had learned his lesson.
This time, he fought over the screen, staying in front of Deron to contest the shot.
Seeing Jay close out, Deron didn't hesitate to drive instead.
For Deron, driving to the basket had always been more effective than relying on threes.
Using the screen, Deron created enough separation to get a step ahead of Jay.
Meanwhile, Tristan Thompson had been drawn out of the paint to guard against Lopez's shooting, leaving the lane wide open.
For a player like Deron, this was like walking through his backyard.
Bang... Swish!
Deron easily banked in the layup, cutting the lead to 13 points.
Tyronn Lue, now visibly nervous, had wandered up to the sideline.
Atkinson, sensing an opportunity, was shouting orders at his players, more for show than anything else.
Jay glanced at the scoreboard. He knew he had to step up and make something happen.
Calling for another pick-and-roll with Love, Jay took a quick step back and launched a three.
Swish!
The three-pointer stretched the lead back to 16 points, and Lue finally exhaled in relief.
As long as the Cavaliers' offense kept pace with the Nets' hot shooting, there was no need to fear a miracle comeback.
On the next Nets possession, Deron tried another three.
Clank!
This time, the shot missed.
Jay silently breathed a sigh of relief. Getting burned by "miracle shots" wasn't good for morale.
Back on offense, Jay countered with a quick pull-up mid-range jumper.
For the next few possessions, both teams traded baskets, with the lead staying steady.
With two minutes remaining, the Cavaliers still held a 15-point advantage.
Atkinson subbed out his starters, signaling surrender.
Lue followed suit, taking Jay and Love out of the game and putting in the bench unit.
The final buzzer sounded, and the Cavaliers secured a 115-98 victory.
With a 4-0 series sweep, the Cavaliers advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
After the game, Jay hugged Deron, who offered him a few words of encouragement.
Despite the frustration of facing such a tough opponent, Deron had a lot of respect for Jay.
In the post-game press conference, Lue, LeBron, and Kyrie fielded questions from the media.
Jay had another solid performance, though not as explosive as in Game 1.
He finished with 21 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds—just shy of another 20-point, 10-assist game.
On the team bus ride back, Jay stared out the window as the scenery blurred past.
Next up, they would face the Chicago Bulls.
The youngest MVP in NBA history.
Derrick Rose.
I'm coming for you. Hope you're ready.