NBA: Built to Dominate

Even Del Harris, the Lakers' head coach, had a question mark hovering over his head.

The Phoenix Suns were a playoff team just last season.

Sure, they had traded away Charles Barkley, but they still had solid pieces.

Yet right now…

They were getting absolutely destroyed by two rookies.

Mo Ran. Allen Iverson.

That's it? That's all the Suns could manage?!

Cassell's Reality Check

Even Sam Cassell was stunned.

These Lakers kids were a problem.

Iverson's offense was lightning-quick, though his defense had some gaps.

Cassell could handle Iverson—barely.

But Alex Mo?

He was a nightmare.

Cassell brought the ball up the court, deep in thought.

I need to figure out how to score inside.

Should he keep attacking?

Or should he kick it out to a shooter?

SMACK!

Too late.

Iverson had already stolen the ball.

"NCAA steals leader, baby—who the hell are you?"

Iverson didn't hesitate.

Fast break.

Phoenix tried to get back on defense—too slow.

Iverson exploded to the rim, twisted midair, and finished with a smooth layup.

AND-ONE.

Fast-Paced Lakers

The ESPN commentators couldn't believe their eyes.

"The Lakers haven't run a single half-court play all night!"

"They're living off fast breaks and transition buckets!"

"Iverson and Alex Mo are like two turbo engines, speeding up the entire game!"

Mo Cleans Up the Miss

Iverson stepped up for his first career free throw.

CLANK.

But Alex Mo was already in position.

He boxed out Joe Kleine, snatched the rebound, and instantly slammed it home!

No hesitation. No wasted movement.

The CCTV commentators back in China were losing it.

"Look at that! That's the difference between Alex Mo and most big men!"

Zhang Wenli, the lead analyst, went into full lecture mode:

"Most players in our country, when they grab an offensive rebound, they hesitate."

"They bring the ball down, take a dribble, then try to go up."

"And by the time they do, the defense is already set!"

"But Alex Mo? Straight back up. Explosive. Powerful."

"This is the standard for elite NBA big men!"

His co-commentator, Sun Zhengping, could barely get a word in.

Even Yao Ming is Taking Notes

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, a young Yao Ming was watching intently.

His coach pointed at the screen.

"Xiao Yao, do you see this? That's what you need to work on."

"You have a bad habit of bringing the ball down after rebounds."

Yao nodded while eating his meal.

"Coach, but… Alex is way more explosive than me."

"Who cares?!"

The coach knocked Yao's head playfully.

"From now on, if you take a dribble after an offensive rebound, you're skipping dinner!"

Lesson learned.

For Yao, Alex Mo wasn't just a fellow Chinese player—he was an idol.

And at 7'6", he might just be Alex Mo's tallest fan.

Cassell's Meltdown

As the first quarter ended, Cassell threw his towel to the ground.

"What the hell is going on?!" he shouted.

He turned on his teammates.

"Joe, how many rebounds have you given up to that guy?"

"He's a kid, and he's destroying you!"

His coach, Cotton Fitzsimmons, had heard enough.

"Sam, shut up."

Cassell turned, eyes wide.

Fitzsimmons was pissed.

"If you keep underestimating Alex Mo, you can stay on the bench the rest of the game."

"A kid?!"

"You think a kid drops 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks in one quarter?!"

The Suns were down 28-12.

Alex Mo alone had more points than their entire team.

Cassell Gets Cooked—By His Own Coach

Fitzsimmons wasn't done roasting Cassell.

"Look at your own stats!"

"It's not just Alex Mo destroying us—Iverson is cooking you too!"

"You're getting wrecked by two rookies."

Cassell had no comeback.

He slumped into his seat, pulled the towel over his head, and shut up.

Coach: 1, Cassell: 0.

Steve Nash's Debut

With the game already slipping away, Fitzsimmons decided:

Time to get the rookies some experience.

Enter Steve Nash.

In Alex's past life, Nash's debut was forgettable—

5 minutes. Zero points. Zero assists. Zero steals. Zero blocks. Zero turnovers.

Basically, he was invisible.

But since Cassell was mentally checked out, Nash got more minutes.

Final stat line?

14 minutes. 2 points. 4 assists.

Not bad.

And he even threw in a nasty behind-the-back pass—

That would've been a highlight play…

If Alex hadn't blocked the shot immediately after.

The Lakers Win—Easily

By the fourth quarter, the Suns had given up.

Fitzsimmons had already moved on to game-planning for their next opponent.

Final score:

Lakers 99, Suns 82.

A 17-point blowout—in an era where the league averaged just 95.6 points per game.

Iverson & Mo React

As the game ended, Iverson stretched out on the bench.

"That was… easy."

He turned to Alex.

"Man, I thought the NBA was gonna be tougher than this."

Alex mirrored his stretch, nodding.

"Yeah, this felt just like Georgetown."

They weren't wrong.

Tonight, they had dominated—just like they had in college.

But then, Coach Harris walked over and put an arm around each of them.

"Enjoy this one," he said.

"But bigger challenges are coming."

Mo and Iverson nodded.

"Now, come with me," Harris added.

"Where to?"

"The postgame press conference."

"Everyone's waiting."

And as they walked off, the ESPN broadcast made it official:

They weren't just the Georgetown Twins anymore.

They were the Los Angeles Twins.