916: The spoiler of a good night
In February, the All-Star Game is about to begin.
In addition, February is also the most frequent period of mid-term trading in NBA.
Isaiah Thomas is one of the protagonists of the trading rumors. He once again fell into trading rumors after playing less than 50 games in the Suns.
This little defender, who is only 1.75 meters tall, burst out with great power today.
"Today, even the fans who once supported the team to trade Thomas are absolutely proud of him. If Isaiah hadn't played well, the Suns might have lost!"
Watching Thomas dribble through the midfield line, the live commentator immediately became excited.
Now, the Suns only need to score another 3 points to widen the score difference to double digits.
Isaiah Thomas is the person who is most likely to help the Suns widen the score gap now.
Mike Conley did not give Thomas Jr. any room to make moves. He began to tightly block Thomas Jr. two steps away from the three-point line.
Thomas was calm and he had fully demonstrated confidence today. He slowly approached, holding Conley with one hand, very powerful.
At the same time, Thomas Jr. signaled his teammates with his eyes and called for cover.
Judging from all the signs, this attack from the Suns seems to be ending by Thomas Jr.
But Thomas Jr. did not kill the basket after bypassing the screen, but found p.j. Tucker who was ready at 45° on the right!
Tucker entered the league in the draft in 2006, but after the Raptors played a tepid season, Tucker was quickly cut.
Since then, Tucker has experienced a long wandering career in Europe. It was not until the 12-13 season that he finally returned to the NBA field.
As a No. 3 position that can defend and shoot from a long time, Tucker is undoubtedly very popular in this league today.
Tucker's three-point shooting percentage this season is 38.1%, which is undoubtedly a very outstanding number. Therefore, Thomas Jr. also trusts Tucker very much.
He believes that Tucker can make this key three-pointer!
Tucker was ready to catch the ball, and Link had just bypassed the cover without the ball, so there should be no time to interfere.
As soon as he receives the basketball, Tucker will immediately shoot, leaving no time for Link to interfere with the shooting!
Everyone held their breath, and all Suns fans were waiting for the unpopularity to happen. This three-pointer is likely to change the trend of the entire game!
Tucker saw that the basketball was getting closer and closer to him, and he became more and more excited. But just as he was about to touch the basketball, a black shadow suddenly blocked between him and the basketball.
"What!?" Tucker was a little surprised, because there was a big "0" written on the back of the black shadow.
Just now, he clearly saw Link being blocked by no ball cover, so it was impossible for him to come back so soon!
Thomas Jr. was also surprised. His pass just now was not a whim.
He made a judgment and believed that it would be difficult to make a mistake when passing it to Tucker, so he passed the ball over. Judging as a point guard, he also believed that Link could not grab the ball.
But in front of Link, nothing is impossible. His speed is beyond everyone's prediction.
"Link cut off Isaiah Thomas' pass, this is a key defense worth a thousand gold. He went down quickly! The Suns' defense was completely reflected, and Link threw away all the defensive players as soon as he ran across the midfield line."
After the steal, Link showed his incredible start speed again. From stealing to throwing away the defender, he finished it in one go.
As soon as the live commentator finished speaking, the basket made a loud noise.
Link stole the ball and dunked it with one hand, smashing the basketball into the frame.
This dunk was so powerful that it seemed to have calmed the whole audience, making the American Airlines Center quiet instantly.
The commentator just sarcastically said that now is the time to test the quality of the best player in the month, but Link got a steal and a one-double dunk.
The commentator even wondered if Link had heard what he said.
Could it be that Link is going to play a single-handed rescue game again?
"You can't let them succeed, continue to suppress them!" Suns coach Jeff Hornersek shouted at Thomas on the sidelines.
Thomas shook his head. He had asked Horacek about trading rumors a few days ago. Horacek bluntly stated that Sun Summer would introduce him because of a wrong decision, so he is now in a hurry to send him away.
But now, Horacek puts all his hopes on this player who joined the team due to a decision-making mistake.
It's really ironic.
But Thomas Jr. doesn't care about these things, he just wants to prove his worth with victory.
Thomas Jr. approached the Grizzlies again at halftime. This time, he didn't dare to pass the ball rashly again. Especially, he didn't dare to pass the ball to Link's matchup.
Thomas passed the ball very carefully to Bledsoe and then began to turn into an off-ball offense.
The Suns' goal is still very clear!
With little time left, the Suns can basically make the game stable as long as they can score another three-pointer.
Moreover, it is not easy to attack the Grizzlies' inside line now.
Because the Suns' guard group had scored too many goals by breaking through, the Grizzlies now have very tight protection against the basket, almost seamlessly.
Instead of breaking through hard, three-pointers may be a better choice.
Although Thomas Jr. is the No. 1 position and needs to hold the ball to exert all his strength, his offensive ability is not bad, and he can still achieve miraculous results when used occasionally.
After a series of off-ball screens and Thomas Jr.'s excellent running skills, he quickly got a shot opportunity.
Bledsoe broke through and passed the ball, and delivered the ball to Thomas Jr. in time, who took action immediately!
Fans at the U.S. Airlines Center were staring at the basketball with anticipation. If this goal was scored, the Grizzlies would be 8 points behind!
With less than one minute left in the game, an 8-point lead is enough to allow the Suns to embrace the final victory.
But unfortunately, Isaiah Thomas' three-pointer disappointed everyone.
His three-point shooting percentage this season is as high as 39.1%, close to 40%. However, the key shot is very different from ordinary shooting.
Everyone covered their heads and Thomas failed to enter, which not only meant that the Suns lost the opportunity to kill the game.
This even indicates that the Grizzlies have the opportunity to narrow the score difference!
Randolph received his ninth rebound of the game, and Link immediately stepped forward to respond, and he wanted to control the ball himself and pass half!
After Link got the basketball, P.J. Tucker immediately stepped forward to block it. But Tucker did not dare to get too close. He knew that if he pressed Link close to him, he would definitely be dizzy by Link's smooth dribbling.
Tucker retreated all the way, and his only function at this time was to prevent Link from rushing at speed.
Tucker will only press close to the front until Link reaches the three-point line.
As a result, Link suddenly made a jump shot from the three-point line!
When Link saw Tucker let him go for a while, he thought it was an opportunity, so he took action directly.
Last summer, Link spent a lot of time polishing his ability to shoot far after dribbling.
He learned this trick in hopes to score as much as he wants outside the three-point line as Curry did.
Now, although Link is not as perverted and accurate as Curry, he is definitely a three-pointer killer.
When Tucker realized that he was about to interfere, Link had calmly completed the move.
However, this difficult three-pointer from a long distance got a completely different result from the moment.
Thomas's three-pointer just hit the box, but Link's three-pointer jumped into the net hollow, leaving only a white "wave" on the basket.
Link raised his right arm high and placed his palm in his ear.
This celebration move is very similar to Iverson's "listening" move, but the meaning of it is completely different.
Iverson wanted to hear cheers, and Link meant, "Why are you silent? Wasn't it quite lively just now?"
This is the difference between a superstar and an ordinary star, and this is the value of key ball abilities!
The goal that Thomas couldn't score was easy and freehand!
"Link actually made a shot! God, how is this possible!?" The local commentator covered his head, and a steal, a three-pointer, and the Suns instantly led the Grizzlies by only 2 points!
Thomas gasped, thinking it would be a night to prove himself.
But now, this originally beautiful night has ushered in a disruptor.
Now the game is only 30 seconds left, and if the Suns can no longer grasp this attack, it will be very dangerous.
Jeff Hornersek immediately used the last timeout in his hand and nervously arranged the tactics of the last attack.
Chapter completed!