Chapter 339: One-Legged Fadeaway

"Look at this guy..." Wade Dong pointed at Nowitzki, "He's so confident in his shooting."

"Oh my..."

Wade Dong's words made Nowitzki stumble slightly, almost losing his balance.

Nowitzki, who had been in the league for over a decade, had never heard anyone praise his shooting confidence before.

The Suns had the ball.

Wade Dong dribbled up the court, using his signature butterfly dribble to get past Calderon.

Instead of going for a layup after penetrating the paint, Wade Dong spun around and came out from under the basket. Nowitzki and Marion followed to defend Wade Dong, and Carter took advantage of this opportunity to cut along the baseline.

"Slap!" Wade Dong flicked his wrist, making a no-look pass through Marion's legs to Carter.

"Bang!!!" Carter caught the pass and slammed home a two-handed dunk.

The entire Mavericks team was stunned. Why was Carter, who rarely shot with the Mavericks, suddenly transformed after joining the Suns?

...

In the Chinese broadcast booth...

Commentator Zhang: "What a beautiful pass!"

Yujia: "And a fantastic dunk!"

...

The play was truly spectacular, and the 'MVP' chants echoed throughout the arena.

When Wade Dong had spun out from under the basket, he had three passing options, with Curry and Durant both positioned beyond the three-point line. He chose to pass to Carter because of his timely cut, which led to this amazing play.

On the Mavericks' next possession...

Wade Dong and Green switched defensive assignments, and when Nowitzki got the ball, Wade Dong was defending him.

Nowitzki, with the ball, faced Wade Dong and said, "This is the first time we're guarding each other."

"Yeah, my idol," Wade Dong nodded.

"We usually don't meet in the playoffs," Nowitzki said, puzzled.

Since their championship win, the Mavericks seemed to have exhausted their luck and strength. Their performance in the past two years had been lackluster, and they were no longer in the same league as the dominant Suns.

Wade Dong's blunt comment made Nowitzki feel the politeness from the East.

Nowitzki, with the ball, backed down against Wade Dong and made a quick spin move. He then used his signature one-legged fadeaway jumper.

In basketball, you have to let your game do the talking!

Wade Dong's words had struck a chord with Nowitzki, so he wanted to respond with a made shot.

"Slap!" But as Nowitzki released the ball, Wade Dong blocked it.

"Damn!"

The Suns' bench erupted in excitement. "Did Brother Dong just block Nowitzki's shot?"

Nowitzki's one-legged fadeaway jumper was always a high-arching shot, and his height made his release point extremely high.

Nowitzki's shot was one of the hardest to block.

But from the bench's perspective, most players' heads were at Wade Dong's waist level when he blocked the shot. Wade Dong's leaping ability was terrifying!

This time, Wade Dong's block only deflected the ball into the air.

After landing, Wade Dong jumped again, grabbed the ball, and passed it ahead to the frontcourt.

"Whoosh~~~"

Kevin Durant sprinted to the frontcourt, received Wade Dong's pass, and scored a layup.

6-2!!!

After Wade Dong's block on Nowitzki, the Suns took control of the game's rhythm.

With 9 minutes left in the first quarter, Wade Dong, Carter, and Durant were subbed out for Thompson, McGrady, and Gortat.

The Mavericks also brought in their bench players.

The gap between the two teams became evident...

Brandon Jennings, who had just checked in, missed a mid-range shot, and Gortat grabbed the rebound, passing it to Curry.

Curry dribbled up the court, stopped abruptly beyond the three-point line, and easily shook off Ellis with a quick move.

"Swish!!!" Curry's three-pointer found the bottom of the net.

Ellis and Curry had been teammates on the Warriors, and Ellis used to be Curry's senior. However, the gap between the two players had widened significantly.

Marion's shot was then contested by Thompson.

Green grabbed the rebound and passed to Curry, who dribbled up the court. Seeing that Calderon was defending McGrady, Curry passed the ball to him.

McGrady, with the ball, faced Calderon, faked left, then blew past him and drove to the basket for an easy layup.

31-17!!!

The Suns were leading the Mavericks by 14 points.

After the loss to the Lakers, Wade Dong had said that they couldn't afford to lose any more games, and Gentry's motivational speech had fired up the entire Suns team.

Even against a weaker opponent like the Mavericks, the Suns showed no signs of complacency.

35-19!!!

The first quarter ended with the Suns leading by 16 points.

...

Five minutes into the second quarter, Wade Dong re-entered the game.

Nowitzki had been scoring consecutively.

"Aigh..." Wade Dong sighed softly and redeemed a 'Nowitzki's One-Legged Fadeaway Package'.

This shooting skill required a soft touch and combined Nowitzki's height and wingspan to maximize its effectiveness. It wasn't a suitable move for Wade Dong.

The reason Wade Dong redeemed this package was to understand Nowitzki's shooting rhythm.

"Slap!" As Nowitzki backed down and attempted his signature one-legged fadeaway again...

"Slap!" Wade Dong blocked Nowitzki's shot once more.

"Damn!!!"

The Suns' bench erupted again.

"Ang ne bi li o bao!!!"

When was the last time Nowitzki had two shots blocked in a single game?

Nowitzki was feeling a bit frustrated. It seemed like Wade Dong had figured out his shooting rhythm, and Wade Dong's incredible leaping ability was the main reason for the consecutive blocks.

After the block, the ball was grabbed by Calderon, who passed it to Marion beyond the three-point line.

Marion received the pass and took a step forward before attempting a three-pointer.

"Tsk tsk~~~" Wade Dong watched Marion's shooting form and clicked his tongue, saying, "No matter how high his shooting percentage is, I wouldn't shoot like that. His form is just too ugly!"

"G~~~" Despite Marion's ugly shooting form, he missed the three-pointer.

Wade Dong grabbed the rebound and passed to Curry, who dribbled up the court and then passed back to Wade Dong. Wade Dong received the ball and drove into the paint, drawing a foul from Nowitzki.

He abruptly stopped, and with a one-legged fadeaway jumper...

"Swish!!!"

The ball swished through the net.

This was just the first offense.

On the Suns' second possession, Wade Dong posted up against Nowitzki, shook him with a series of moves, and attempted another one-legged fadeaway.

"Swish!!!"

The ball swished through the net again.

...

In the Chinese broadcast booth...

Yujia: "Wade Dong has the ball and is going one-on-one against Nowitzki. Oh, a one-legged fadeaway!"

Commentator Zhang: "He's just toying with him."

Yujia: "Another one-on-one, and it's another one-legged fadeaway! He made it again! The fourth shot, and Wade Dong is still going one-on-one against Nowitzki. Haha... Wade Dong is on fire!"

Commentator Zhang: "He's just toying with him."