Jon Barry spoke at incredible speed, calling the play in a rapid burst.
He didn't block it away?!
More precisely, Blake Su pressed down on the ball, but he could not swat it free, because... in terms of strength, Blake Su truly was no match for "Superman" in his prime.
And the impact from the physical collision sent Blake Su falling backward, crashing onto the floor.
But.
Although Blake Su failed to block Howard cleanly, that head-on contest was exactly what slowed Howard's explosion. Howard was still holding the ball.
"Clang!"
But he dunked it right off the rim.
The rebound?!
Lewis, Turkoglu, George, and Frye all fought for it together. In the air, Howard was coming down after hanging on the rim, while Blake Su was still down on the floor.
And... Curry, Steve Nash, Nelson, and the others were rushing in from the wings at full speed.
In short.
The area under the basket was complete chaos.
But amid the chaos, Frye ultimately grabbed the rebound and clutched it tightly to his chest. Howard had just landed and was about to lunge over to steal it.
"Beep! Beep!"
Alvin Gentry frantically signaled and called the Suns' final timeout of the game.
Blake Su sat under the basket, panting heavily. "Superman's" strength really was terrifying. As he was now, he was no match at all. Or rather...
Raw strength had never been his strong suit.
After Coach Gentry called the timeout, Steve Nash, Curry, and George immediately rushed over to Blake Su and pulled him up.
"Great job, Blake Su!"
Steve Nash patted Blake Su and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Yeah."
Curry slapped hands with Blake Su and said seriously, "That block just now was absolutely crucial!"
George did not say anything. He simply slapped hands with Blake Su. Blake Su did not speak either, and there was not even a trace of a smile on his face, because... the game was not won yet.
Although they had stopped "Superman" Howard's attack,
there were only 4.6 seconds left, and they were still down by 2 points. Completing an offensive possession in just 4.6 seconds was absolutely not easy.
On the Suns bench.
Alvin Gentry urgently drew up the final play. Whether it was a two or a three, as long as it went in, they at least would not lose.
"Boom!"
As he was speaking, the arena suddenly erupted, and thunderous cheers burst from the stands.
What happened?
During the timeout, the big screen replayed Blake Su's back-to-the-basket turnaround three and his desperate block attempt on Howard.
Because that last possession had been so chaotic, everyone had been a little confused watching it live.
Now that the slow-motion replay had been cut together, the fans could clearly see just how powerful Blake Su was on both offense and defense.
On the Magic bench.
Although Blake Su's offense and defense had fully displayed his big-time clutch ability, the Magic were still leading by 2 points.
With only 4.6 seconds left, their chances of winning were still very high.
But.
"Superman" Howard was completely frustrated.
First, Blake Su's absurdly difficult back-to-the-basket turnaround three, released immediately after the spin, looked completely unreasonable to him. It was almost unbelievable.
Yet.
It went in.
Against Blake Su, who had hit 11 threes in one quarter and dropped 35 points, Howard did not dare say that shot was all luck, but he still felt there had to be some luck involved.
That frustrated him.
Second, his own violent dunk, which should have been almost guaranteed, had actually been stopped by Blake Su, by a rookie, causing him to miss the chance to kill the game.
That frustrated him even more!
"Hmph!"
Howard snorted. "Blake Su, jump around outside all you want. Once I defend these next 4.6 seconds and win this game,
I think... everything will be clear."
In the stands.
"CB4" Bosh could not help clapping in praise. "Blake Su's block just now was too important. This rookie is already stronger than I imagined."
"Yeah."
Wade puffed out his cheeks and nodded, then added, "That three before it was important too. Blake Su has already hit 13 threes tonight.
He's tied his own three-point record, and also the NBA single-game three-point record."
"That's right."
LeBron nodded as well, his expression excited. "Also, after hitting that three just now, Blake Su has 65 points tonight, tying his personal single-game scoring record.
I wonder...
can he break his scoring record tonight?!"
On the other side.
Kobe looked at the scoreboard and smiled faintly. "Thirteen threes again, 65 points again. Last time, that kid Blake Su hit a game-winner against our Lakers!
I wonder tonight.
Can he create another miracle?"
"It won't be easy."
Pau Gasol gave an objective reply.
In the seats diagonally above, Allen Iverson, who had come alone, had absolute confidence in Blake Su shining in his eyes. "Blake Su, I believe you can turn this game around!"
From fans to players, everyone was imagining the ending they wanted. But what the ending would actually be could only be known once play resumed.
Soon.
The timeout ended.
With 4.6 seconds left, the Suns' final possession began.
Steve Nash was still inbounding from the sideline near midcourt.
The Magic were still targeting Blake Su like mad. Lewis and Bass stuck to him tightly, giving him no chance to catch the ball. Under the double screen from George and Frye, Blake Su kept changing directions and finally curled free.
"Whoosh!"
Steve Nash passed decisively.
"Step!"
Blake Su leaped high and grabbed the ball, but he was still more than two meters beyond the three-point line, and Lewis and Bass were still glued to him.
No chance to shoot.
Time was running.
"Whoosh!"
Blake Su drove through the two defenders, accelerating as he tried to shake one of them off. George also sprinted over at full speed to screen, but the Magic defenders were sticking too tightly.
At that moment, Blake Su saw the right 45-degree angle above the arc.
Curry... wide open!
"Whoosh!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he passed decisively to Curry, who had hit the game-winner against the Nuggets, giving him another chance to beat the Magic.
But.
Blake Su's passing was not especially good, and this ball was too low. Curry had to crouch down and almost failed to catch it. Though he still secured the ball,
it gave the Magic time to rotate over.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Lewis and Howard rushed at him.
Curry, still rising from his crouch, had no way to shoot. With only 2.2 seconds left, a slightly panicked Curry, before he could fully stand upright,
"Whoosh!"
flung the ball back out. And... to avoid Howard intercepting it, Curry threw the pass very high.
More importantly,
as the basketball spun through the air, time was still draining away.
2.2 seconds.
1.7 seconds.
1.1 seconds.
"Step!"
Blake Su, standing in the middle above the arc, watched the ball fly toward him and leaped high from a standstill. The instant he caught the ball, only 0.8 seconds remained.
"We won!"
Howard growled.
In his view, once Blake Su caught the ball and landed, time would run out. He would have no time to shoot at all. That was why Howard believed the win was already secured.
And it was not just him.
Bass, who was in front of Blake Su, did not follow up to defend either. Lewis and Nelson had already raised both hands, celebrating the victory.
Everyone thought the Suns were done.
However... just when everyone thought the Suns were certain to lose, they saw Blake Su leap up and catch the ball in midair. The instant he received it,
he tightened his core and stabilized his body.
"Whoosh!"
While catching the lob, he fired a three!
The ball left his hand, the timer lit up, and the clock expired.
"Buzz!"
Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at the spinning basketball, watching it trace a beautiful arc through the air.
Then...
"Swish!"
With a crisp sound as it pierced the net,
the three-pointer dropped through!
Blake Su... an alley-oop three, a buzzer-beating game-winner!!!
...
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