Desert night kept the scoreboard low,
eighty-one glowing like a warning lamp.
After a bright first half, the third went silent,
and the crowd heard rebounds thud the wrong way.

Booker in street clothes, Brooks with a wrapped hand,
two engines idling on the sideline.
Still, Collin Gillespie kept striking sparks,
and Grayson Allen chased daylight through tight seams.

Film room morning: box-outs, spacing, breath.
Jordan Ott draws new routes on the whiteboard,
asking for sharper cuts, earlier help,
for five voices moving like one answer.

No game on the calendar for this one day,
only practice shoes and stubborn rhythm.
By Thursday lights against Los Angeles,
the Valley wants grit to turn back into fire.