NBA M3 - Chapter 563: That Damn Pressure (Patreon)

The first quarter ended with Blake meeting Kyrie Irving head-on and blocking his shot, giving Irving a taste on both ends of the floor of just how strong the player who had defeated his idol Kobe really was.

During the break, Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott pulled Irving aside and spoke to him seriously.

“Kyrie, taking Blake one-on-one and beating him would give the team a huge lift, but you can’t let your emotions take over.

“Against someone that tall and that athletically gifted, it’s going to be very hard for you to play your normal game one-on-one.

“If we’re going to win, we need you producing on offense. So you need to avoid Blake and attack somewhere else.”

He understood the fearless urge of a rookie to challenge a player who had achieved a Grand Slam of honors the previous season. But now he had to warn Irving.

Blake was not someone an ordinary rookie could easily take on.

“Mm.”

Irving nodded.

After spending half a quarter matched directly against Blake, Irving had already felt just how strong he was. He no longer looked down on him the way he had before and became much more cautious.

The second quarter soon began.

Because Irving had played so well early in the first, Phoenix led by only four even after Blake shut him down later in the quarter.

But the Curry and Klay bench pairing came in firing. Over a 5-minute, 15-second stretch, they pushed the Suns’ lead from four to seven.

“Beep, beep!”

Cleveland called timeout.

When the starters returned, the Cavaliers, as the team playing from behind, needed points quickly. Otherwise, with the pace Phoenix had been playing at this season, there was a very real chance the Suns would wrap up another game after three quarters.

That meant the burden of closing the gap fell on Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 overall pick who had been red-hot lately.

Irving understood that too. He deliberately tried to attack away from Blake, but that was only his plan. Blake had already decided to hunt him.

At 6:14, Irving avoided Blake, beat Curry one-on-one, drove down the left side, and twisted through the air to evade Yao Ming’s contest.

He stretched into a double-clutch layup.

But while Irving had slipped past the first defender, Blake came flying in from behind.

“Smack!”

Another chase-down block off the glass sent the ball flying.

At 4:12, Irving jumped into the passing lane on George’s drive, stole the ball, and immediately pushed the break.

“Whoosh!”

Nash sprinted after him from the wing. Casspi, Blake, and the rest of the players raced up the floor as well, but Irving and Nash were out in front.

Irving was simply too fast. He pulled away from Nash, ignored the defense in front of him, and lofted a high layup toward the rim.

Nash could do nothing about it.

But just as the ball left Irving’s hand and began to rise...

“Whoosh!”

Blake suddenly appeared in the air behind him. Before the ball could climb any higher, Blake reached out with one huge hand and snatched it cleanly out of the air, then sailed right over Irving’s head.

“Thud!”

He landed near the baseline and came to a stop with his back to Irving, the ball still in his hand.

“What was that?!”

One Cavaliers fan stared wide-eyed from the stands.

Another grabbed his head and shouted, “Blake was behind Irving, and he caught the shot out of the air?! What... what even was that?!”

They had both seen it happen, yet it still felt unreal. Blake’s backward-reaching snatch block had been vicious.

“My God!”

“My God!”

George and Curry, standing on opposite sides near the top of the arc, covered their mouths and shouted almost at the same time.

Even Nash, who had seen it from close range under the basket, could not help grimacing.

Irving stared at Blake’s back, then at the ball in his hand, and immediately understood what had happened. He simply froze.

That brutal midair interception shattered Irving’s composure. For the final few minutes of the second quarter, his play fell apart.

By halftime, Phoenix had stretched the lead to 19 points.

It was a familiar margin and a familiar rhythm. The Suns were beginning to break the game open again.

Not even a Cavaliers team led by a red-hot No. 1 pick in Irving, fresh off beating a strong Magic team, could stop it.

...

Irving recovered somewhat after the halftime break, but with Cleveland already down 19, half the battle had been lost mentally. The game no longer held much suspense.

Still, one possession with 7:18 left in the third quarter caused quite a stir.

Irving used a screen to shake George and drove to the right side of the free-throw line. No one was directly in front of him, giving him a clean look.

Just as he rose to shoot, Blake closed from the side.

But Blake was late. He could only reach out a hand and had no chance to leave the floor for a real contest.

And yet...

Irving rose up and completely airballed the shot.

“Whoa...”

A wave of disbelief rolled through the arena.

Cavaliers fans threw up their hands, unable to believe Irving had missed that badly.

At the same time, back in the broadcast studio, Mike Breen stared at the play and exclaimed, “Good heavens! Blake barely reached out a hand, and that alone scared Irving into an airball.

“Tonight, ‘The Emperor’ Blake has beaten Irving so badly he looks like he’s questioning the meaning of life.”

Van Gundy could only marvel, “That damn pressure!!!”