Blake Su dribbled past half court.
"Whoosh!"
At the top of the arc, one step beyond the three-point line, Blake Su raised up for a three, ready to give Curry the three-point shootout he wanted.
But.
"Clang!"
Not a great start.
Blake Su's three missed. Ibaka secured the rebound, pushed it ahead to Jennings, and Jennings found Curry, who had sprinted back into the frontcourt right away.
"Whoosh!"
The pass went over.
Curry caught the ball on the left side of the arc, one step beyond the three-point line, and raised up for a three.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net.
"Come on, keep up!"
Curry stared at Blake Su, looking proud and a little smug.
"Whoosh!"
Hearing that, Wall immediately passed the ball over and shouted, "Blake Su, let Curry see what a center's accurate three looks like!"
"Whoosh!"
As soon as Wall finished speaking, Blake Su moved to the left side of the arc, one step beyond the three-point line, the same spot Curry had just shot from, and fired a three-point arrow of his own.
"Swish!"
Right on target.
Nothing but net.
After easily hitting the three, Blake Su tilted his head slightly and looked at Curry. The meaning was clear. I hit mine. Now put on your show.
"Heh!"
Curry smiled faintly.
He brought the ball up again, still to the left side of the arc, but this time from a meter beyond the three-point line. Once more, he launched a cold-blooded shot, the ball cutting high through the air.
"Swish!"
Another make.
"Whoa!"
That deep three drew a burst of cheers from the stands.
However.
On the very next possession, Blake Su stood at the top of the arc, one meter beyond the three-point line, and drilled a three right over Ibaka's defense.
"Boom!"
The stands erupted again with cheers for Blake Su.
But.
"Swish!"
On the next possession, Curry pulled up from the top of the arc and hit an ultra-deep three from two meters beyond the line, another clean swish.
"Wait, what?!"
The fans were shocked and confused, as if they were starting to realize something. But before they could think it through, on the court.
"Swish!"
Blake Su answered with the same kind of ultra-deep three, sinking it from the right side of the arc without the slightest hesitation.
Buzz!
The back-and-forth threes, the spectacular three-point duel that belonged only to Blake Su and Curry, left the fans' minds buzzing.
Then it clicked.
"Wow. Blake Su and Curry, the Suns' two core players, and both of them are elite three-point shooters. Are they trading threes right now?!"
"That's exactly what they're doing."
"Bingo. They're going shot for shot. And did you notice? They're shooting from farther and farther out. Each one is more ridiculous than the last."
"Hiss!"
"Terrifying. They're both practically automatic. Blake Su and Curry are way too accurate from three!"
"Heh heh heh, come on, keep it going. Let the three-point rain fall even harder!"
"..."
Once the fans realized what was happening, they completely boiled over, cheering and shouting in excitement.
Tim Duncan shook his head and gave a blank little smile. "What kind of luck did the Suns have this season, getting both Blake Su and Curry, two major shooters?"
"Yeah."
Parker could not help praising them either. "Two players with top-five shooting ability in the league both ended up on the Suns. How could the Suns not be strong?"
"Exactly."
Ginobili opened his mouth and said, "And the two of them are shooting farther and farther out. Are they treating the All-Star Rookie Challenge like their usual practice court?"
"Heh!"
On the other side of the stands.
Steve Nash smiled and said, "They really are treating the All-Star court like their regular practice court."
"Yeah."
Carter nodded with a smile. "At this rate, are they going to start trading logo threes next?"
"I think they might!"
Steve Nash looked as if that were only natural.
Beside them, George stared at Blake Su and Curry on the court and muttered, "Curry has never beaten him once in practice. I wonder if he can win one tonight."
On the court.
Just as Steve Nash and Carter had said, Blake Su and Curry, who were treating the All-Star court like a practice court, had completely gotten into it.
"Whoosh!"
Curry had barely crossed half court when he reached the logo area, raised his hand, and launched another three, an ultra-deep logo three.
"That's good!"
His teammates Jennings, DeRozan, and the others were all full of anticipation.
"Clang!"
Unfortunately, the shot did not go in.
"Ah, what a shame!"
Gibson looked regretful. He had thought Curry, after hitting threes in a row and shooting from farther and farther out, would keep it going with that thrilling logo three.
Unfortunately, it was just a bit off.
But Ibaka grabbed the rebound and immediately threw a long pass out, sending it back into Curry's hands. DeRozan growled, "Stephen, give us another one."
"Come on!"
Blake Su also pointed at the rim, signaling for Curry to try again.
"Hmph!"
Fine, then. He would.
When it came to threes, no matter how far, Curry was always confident.
Curry snorted and launched another logo three. The basketball flew like an arrow off the string, headed straight for the rim, then plunged into the net and splashed through.
"Swish!"
Good!
The logo three was in.
"Boom!"
The whole arena erupted in deafening cheers.
After hitting the logo three on his second try, Curry was excited too. As he ran back, he said to Blake Su, "I'll give you two chances too!"
"No need."
Blake Su waved him off. With the ball in his hands, he stepped into the logo area. Under the expectant eyes of the fans, he raised up and decisively launched a logo three of his own.
"Can Blake Su answer?!"
Parker's eyes widened.
"Swish!"
A crisp, piercing sound rang out. Blake Su's wide-open logo three dropped in cleanly on his very first attempt.
"Ah, can't you miss one, you bastard?!"
Curry grabbed his head and roared.
Determined to beat Blake Su, he returned to the logo three area again.
DeRozan showed full support and passed the ball over. From farther away, Ibaka shouted, "One more! Show the first-years how good our shooter is!"
"Curry, shoot!"
Gibson shouted along with him.
Watching Blake Su and Curry trade threes like this had his blood pumping too, and he wanted his teammate Curry to win even more.
"Here it comes!"
Even without his teammates cheering him on, Curry was going to take another one.
"Whoosh!"
He raised his hand and fired another logo three.
Would it go in?
"Clang!"
No.
"Ah..."
A wave of sighs rose from the stands.
Sure enough.
Logo threes were not that easy to hit back-to-back. Even though he missed, Curry's three-point barrage had already left the fans more than satisfied.
Only.
Just as everyone was accepting that Curry had failed to keep the logo threes going, Blake Su brought the ball up.
"Swish!"
Another logo three.
Good again.
Buzz!
The arena fell silent for an instant. Then, earth-shaking cheers, like a violent storm, swept through the entire Staples Center.
...
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