The NBA's Twilight Star System

In February, as the Cavaliers continued their push forward, Russell Westbrook put on a jaw-dropping statistical display in the Western Conference.

On February 28, in a game against the Trail Blazers, Westbrook recorded 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, marking his third consecutive triple-double performance.

He became the first player since LeBron James in 2009 to achieve such a feat.

For the month of February, Westbrook averaged 31.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 10.3 assists, making him the second player in NBA history — after Oscar Robertson — to achieve a 30+9+10 average over a single month.

On March 5, Westbrook was named Western Conference Player of the Month, the first time he had ever received the award in his career.

In the Eastern Conference, the Player of the Month was LeBron James, with averages of 25.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists, continuing his dominant form.

As for the Rookie of the Month, it was once again Jay Sun and Andrew Wiggins. The award had essentially been monopolized by the two all season.

However, Jay had now pulled ahead of Wiggins in the Rookie of the Year race, with a clear lead in stats, team success, and media attention.

At this point, if Jay didn't win Rookie of the Year, it would be blatant evidence of a conspiracy.

Shortly after the league announced the monthly awards, on March 7, the Cavaliers prepared to face one of their biggest Eastern Conference rivals — the Atlanta Hawks.

Before this matchup, the Cavaliers had defeated the Rockets, Celtics, and Raptors, riding a three-game winning streak.

With momentum on their side, the Cavaliers headed to Atlanta with the clear mission of sweeping the Hawks 3-1 in their season series.

Going into the game, the record between the two teams was 2-1 in favor of the Cavaliers, making this their final regular-season encounter.

Would the Cavs pull off the sweep, or would the Hawks even the score?

March 7, at the Hawks' home arena.

Jay Sun stood on the sideline, going through warm-ups to get ready for the game.

The Hawks had achieved a unique feat this season — they were the first team in NBA history to have their entire starting five named Players of the Month.

In early February, the league announced that all five Hawks starters had been awarded the Player of the Month honor for January, highlighting their incredible chemistry and team success.

This team-first mentality made the Hawks a fan favorite, with many hoping they could pull off a "Cinderella story" championship run.

But if the Cavaliers had anything to say about it, that wouldn't happen.

The game began, with Al Horford winning the tip-off for the Hawks.

Jeff Teague brought the ball up the court, and Jay Sun locked in on his usual matchup — Kyle Korver.

Every time Korver faced Jay, he struggled. Still, Korver stuck to his signature constant off-ball movement, trying to shake free.

Teague used a Horford screen to get into the paint, drawing the defense and kicking it out to Paul Millsap.

Millsap caught the pass and hit a mid-range jumper.

2-0, Hawks.

On the next possession, LeBron James took the ball and faced off against DeMarre Carroll.

Carroll's defense? Useless.

LeBron powered through him and finished with an emphatic dunk.

Somewhere, Manu Ginobili would've said: "Carroll needs to combine defense with a bald head to be more effective."

The two teams went blow-for-blow in the first quarter, with the Hawks relying on their team play and the Cavaliers leaning on their stars.

But the Hawks' defensive strategy against LeBron was top-notch, perhaps the best in the East.

At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks led 36-30, with LeBron struggling and Kyrie Irving carrying the load.

In the second quarter, it was time for Jay Sun to step up as the primary ball-handler while Kyrie took a rest.

The Hawks brought in Dennis Schröder to replace Teague, matching up with Jay.

When Schröder ran into Jay's Clamps-enhanced defense, the results were painful to watch.

Jay didn't even use Stockton's sneaky tricks for fear of breaking Schröder in half, but Schröder still looked utterly helpless.

From the commentary booth, Charles Barkley couldn't help but comment:

"Schröder looks like a little mouse caught in a mousetrap."

Despite frantically running around, Schröder couldn't escape Jay's suffocating defense.

In the entire second quarter, Schröder scored just two points on free throws and failed to hit a single field goal.

Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Jay and Kevin Love were in perfect sync.

Their Pick & Roll Maestro/Needle Threader combination was unstoppable, with Jay setting Love up for easy threes and layups.

Although Love wasn't Karl Malone, his three-point shooting added another dimension to their pick-and-roll game.

The duo played so well together that fans started calling them the "Mini Stockton and Malone" of Cleveland.

By the end of the second quarter, the Cavs had outscored the Hawks 24-17, with Jay scoring 9 points and dishing out 4 assists.

The halftime score stood at 54-53 in favor of the Cavaliers.

The third quarter saw Jay sitting on the bench while the Cavaliers' stars took over.

The Hawks maintained their even rotation, while LeBron and Kyrie played heavy minutes.

Midway through the third, LeBron broke through a double team from Horford and Millsap and kicked the ball to J.R. Smith in the corner.

J.R. nailed the three, forcing the Hawks to rethink their double-teaming strategy.

The third quarter became a battle of teamwork versus star power, with the Hawks relying on ball movement and the Cavs leaning on LeBron and Kyrie.

At the end of the third, the Cavaliers led 85-81, a narrow four-point lead.

Going into the fourth quarter, Tyronn Lue saw that both LeBron and Kyrie were exhausted.

With a sly grin, Lue made a decision.

"Shut the gates. Release Jay Sun."

The fourth quarter began with Jay, J.R. Smith, LeBron, and Love on the floor.

The first play of the quarter saw Teague and Millsap running a pick-and-roll.

But Teague's pass to Millsap was sloppy, and Jay picked it off!

Jay darted up the court on a fast break, went coast-to-coast, and —

BAM!

Jay Sun threw down a monster dunk!

Even LeBron ran over to high-five Jay after the play, grinning from ear to ear.

"This kid is getting better and better. Not bad at all."

Teague played more cautiously, sensing that Jay's defensive presence had ramped up.

Still, he struggled to keep the ball out of Jay's reach.

When Millsap and Horford tried to bail him out, they too fell into Jay's defensive web.

Meanwhile, on offense, Jay called for a pick-and-roll with Love.

Using Love's screen, Jay drove inside, and when Millsap and Teague collapsed on him,

Jay whipped a perfect pass to Love at the arc.

Love caught the pass and, without hesitation, shot a three.

SWISH.

Kevin Love nailed it.