Chapter 434: The God Descends, Taking the Lead

"I knew it! Giving the ball to Dong is the best strategy," Gentry said with a smug smile.

"You're absolutely right..."

The bench was speechless.

Gentry's strategy was shameless, yet it was surprisingly effective.

...

TNT Broadcast Studio:

O'Neal and Barkley were getting annoyed with Gentry. When the score was close, they could see some tactics, but once the Suns fell behind, Gentry's strategy was simply to give the ball to Wade Dong.

O'Neal: "Even if my grandma coached the Suns, they'd still win the championship."

Barkley: "There's no real strategy. They just give the ball to Wade Dong, and the score gets closer!"

O'Neal: "You're also a Suns legend. I can ask Tian Zhen to put in a good word for you, so the Suns can sign you next season. You might even get a championship ring."

Barkley: "That's not gonna happen, is it?"

Every time these two bantered, O'Neal would bring up the championship, and Barkley was getting tired of it.

...

"Start double-teaming Wade Dong! We can't let him score anymore!"

Wade Dong had been restrained by LeBron James for the first three quarters, and Spoelstra naively thought he wouldn't be able to break out in this game. But as soon as the fourth quarter started, Wade Dong proved him wrong. If they wanted to win, they had to double-team him.

After the timeout:

The Heat were on offense. Carmelo Anthony had the ball and drove to the baseline for a powerful dunk over Yi Nan.

Score: 90-94!!!

Finally, the Heat scored.

The dunk was explosive, but there was no applause because it was the Suns' home court.

When Wade Dong received the ball again, James and Anthony started double-teaming him, one on each side. Their defense left almost no gaps.

Wade Dong's passing lanes were completely sealed off by the two.

Unless he used the 'Lucky Potion' like he did during the Olympics, breaking through their defense would be extremely difficult.

Fortunately, his teammates were reliable. He faked them out twice, then found the perfect moment to pass the ball through the gap between James and Anthony to Kevin Durant.

Durant received Wade Dong's pass and took a mid-range shot.

Swish!!!

The ball went straight through the net.

Score: 92-94!!!

Although it seemed like Wade Dong had no choice but to pass, Spoelstra saw that James and Anthony had failed to defend him. For a brief moment, Wade Dong had even broken through their double-team.

So Spoelstra shouted from the sidelines, "It's okay if you can't stop him once, but you must stop him the second time!"

Once Wade Dong broke out, there was nothing anyone could do. This was the only way Spoelstra could think of to limit Wade Dong, and the Suns always had someone they could leave open.

For example, with this lineup, Whiteside and Yi Nan's offensive threat was very limited for the Heat.

With 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter:

Score: 97-103!!!

The Suns were down by 6 points.

Gentry made a substitution, bringing in Thompson for Yi Nan and Draymond Green for Whiteside.

This substitution strategy was clearly a failure. During the Suns' offense, Green was left wide open, and the ball was passed to him several times. Uncontested, Green missed all three of his shots, which even made Spoelstra laugh.

The point difference was about to widen again.

Gentry replaced Green with Tracy McGrady.

The Suns continued their offensive play, but James and Anthony's double-team defense was intense. Wade Dong simply stood at the corner three-point line.

Even so, James and Anthony didn't give up on double-teaming him.

"Got a smoke?" Wade Dong joked.

It was a humorous remark, but neither James nor Anthony laughed.

With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and McGrady on the court, the ball was constantly moving. As soon as an open shot opportunity appeared, any one of the four would take the shot without hesitation.

There was only 1 minute and 26 seconds left in the game.

Score: 107-108!!!

The Suns were down by just 1 point.

The Suns had the ball, and Curry had a three-point shot opportunity outside the arc. James could only rush over to help defend.

Wade Dong seized the opportunity to cut to the baseline. Curry threw the ball towards the basket... It was a bit off-target, but fortunately, Wade Dong caught it. He grabbed the ball in mid-air, even making a layup move to avoid Chris Bosh's block. Then, with his right hand, he flicked the ball.

Swish!!!

The ball went straight through the net.

"Wow!!!"

"Holy shit!!!"

"Wade Dong~~~"

The cheers of the fans, DJ, and teammates filled the arena.

Score: 109-108!!!

For the first time, the Suns took the lead.

With only 1 minute and 13 seconds left in the game, the balance of victory tilted back towards the Suns.

"Fuck!" Spoelstra cursed and then called a timeout.

"On the next play, give the ball to James. Anthony, you set a screen, and after the screen, you move outside the three-point line. Wade Dong will face Anthony's direction, and he won't let Anthony shoot a three-pointer easily. James, you take the opportunity to drive to the basket, and you must make this shot!"

"After making this shot, don't leave anyone open on defense! It's the last minute. James, you guard Wade Dong one-on-one, and you must stop him every time!"

...

After the timeout:

The Heat inbounded the ball from the baseline. Chris Paul dribbled to the frontcourt and passed to James, who then faced off against Wade Dong.

Huff...

Huff...

Huff...

James was breathing heavily, having played without a break for the past minute. He was at his physical limit but still wanted to go one-on-one with Wade Dong, although his dribbling pace had slowed significantly.

Anthony moved behind Wade Dong to set a screen for James!

Slap!

Using Anthony's screen, James got past Wade Dong and drove into the paint.

Anthony quickly moved towards the three-point line, making a receiving gesture and shouting, "James, pass the ball quickly!"

James glanced back at Anthony, pretending to pass to him, but then he accelerated towards the basket, jumping and shooting over Whiteside's defense!

But!

Slap!!!

Wade Dong appeared like a god from behind James, slapping the ball against the backboard!

A thunderous block!

He blocked James's layup, then jumped again after landing to grab the ball and immediately passed it to the frontcourt.

Durant sprinted towards the frontcourt with his long strides, received Wade Dong's pass, and scored on a fast break.

Score: 111-108!!!

Spoelstra stood there, stunned, muttering, "This shouldn't have happened... Why didn't Wade Dong defend Anthony?"