Chapter 219: It's That Simple

"73 wins!!!"

Before the game, the Suns players shouted in unison, startling the Kings.

After losing to the Jazz the other day, the Suns were determined to secure their 73rd win against the Kings.

This game also received the highest level of attention.

Whether they could break the Bulls' record depended on this game. If they lost to the Kings, even though they would tie the Bulls' record, it would be embarrassing to lose to a weaker team in their final two games.

...

The game started with Cousins losing the jump ball to Gortat.

Curry received the ball and dribbled to the frontcourt. He saw Wade Dong posting up and passed it to him.

Wade Dong caught the ball, defended by Cousins.

Wade Dong executed his signature Dream Shake!

With just two quick steps, he shook off Cousins and then effortlessly scored a reverse layup.

"You're too green, idol."

After the layup, Wade Dong teased Cousins.

"Huh?!"

Cousins was taken aback by Wade Dong's words and shoved him.

Wade Dong had done it on purpose, knowing that Cousins had a fiery temper. He didn't expect Cousins to react so strongly, but he was still annoyed by the shove. He couldn't understand why Cousins was so upset with him. The real reason was that Cousins was envious of the cheers Wade Dong received from the Kings' home crowd, something he had never experienced in his three years with the team.

"Damn!"

Wade Dong was about to retaliate when Green rushed in and put his arm around Cousins' neck.

The two were quickly separated by the referees, and Cousins was assessed a technical foul.

The home crowd booed, making it feel like the Kings were the away team.

Wade Dong shot the technical free throw and made it.

The Kings also made their technical free throw.

3:1!!!

Right from the start, the game was intense due to Cousins' actions.

Gentry calmly sipped his goji berry tea and said to Nash, "This kid Cousins is in trouble."

As expected, during the Kings' offense, Wade Dong signaled for a tactical change.

The Suns adjusted their defense, with Green and Wade Dong switching positions. Wade Dong moved to the power forward position to directly defend Cousins.

Thomas had the ball and was being defended by Curry, who was a better defender than Nash. Thomas couldn't find a good shot against Curry, so he passed it to Cousins.

Cousins, defended by Wade Dong, tried to back him down... once... twice... thrice!

"How is he so strong?"

Cousins was surprised. He was taller and stronger than Wade Dong, yet Wade Dong seemed stronger?

It didn't make sense!

The Kings had played the Suns twice this season, but Cousins had faced Bynum in those games.

He knew Wade Dong could play power forward, but before facing him, Cousins thought that players like Duncan, Gasol, and Griffin had gone easy on Wade Dong... Now, facing him for the first time, he realized that Wade Dong was a tough matchup!

After three failed attempts to back him down, Cousins spun off and tried a hook shot!

"Get lost!"

Wade Dong swatted the ball out of bounds.

Cousins: (╬  ̄皿 ̄)

The Kings inbounded the ball, but Wade Dong immediately instructed, "Let Cousins receive the ball!"

The Suns followed Wade Dong's instruction, with Thomas inbounding the ball to Cousins, who was the only open player.

Cousins received the ball in the three-point line area, dribbled twice, and backed down Wade Dong, using his strength to drive to the basket for a layup.

But just as Cousins was about to shoot, Wade Dong took a step back, and as Cousins went up for the layup, Wade Dong jumped to block it.

"Swat!"

Wade Dong sent the ball out of bounds again.

Cousins: (╬  ̄皿 ̄)=○

The Kings inbounded the ball for the second time, but before Cousins could do anything, the 24-second shot clock expired.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle for a 24-second violation.

"Wow!"

The Kings' arena erupted in sparse cheers.

Wade Dong's consecutive blocks on Cousins were indeed impressive... If this were the Suns' home court, the entire arena would have been cheering.

The Suns were on offense, with Curry driving past Thomas and scoring a layup over Evans.

5:1!!!

From the start, it was clear that the Kings and the Suns were not on the same level.

The Kings struggled on offense.

But their defense was even worse. Against a team with both Curry and McGrady, they couldn't focus all their defensive efforts on Wade Dong, making it easy for him to score.

At the end of the first quarter:

Wade Dong had played the entire quarter at power forward, scoring 16 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists, stealing the ball twice, and blocking 4 shots in 9 minutes.

In addition to the two blocks on Cousins at the beginning, Wade Dong also blocked two layups by Thomas.

As Wade Dong sat on the bench, Warrick held the stat sheet and said to him, "Dong Ge, you're going for another quadruple-double."

"Hmm... hmm?"

Wade Dong hadn't paid much attention to his stats until he saw the sheet.

Gentry smiled and said, "For others, getting a quadruple-double is a historic feat, but for Dong Ge, it's as easy as eating and drinking."

After saying this, Gentry took a sip from his goji berry tea and added, "It's that simple."

The Suns currently had their bench players on the court, even though Whiteside had performed well during garbage time in recent games. Gentry still hadn't included him in the regular rotation.

Nash, Thompson, Frye, Tucker, and Middleton were on the court.

Despite this lineup, the Suns continued to extend their lead.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Gentry subbed in Wade Dong, while the other four starters remained on the bench.

The Suns players understood that Gentry was putting Wade Dong back in not because the bench was struggling but because he wanted Wade Dong to pad his stats...

Wade Dong needed at least 6 blocks in this game to become the league's blocks leader.

At the same time... Wade Dong's stats were tantalizingly close to a quadruple-double. He had already achieved this feat three times in his career, an unprecedented accomplishment, and he was on the verge of adding to that tally.