"Tap!"
Blake Su stepped onto the court.
"Boom!"
Staples Center, already boiling with noise, erupted even louder. The Blake Su countless fans had been waiting to see had finally taken the floor.
At this point, given Pierce and Durant's poor performances, Blake Su only needed to score more than 20 points to reach the finals, no matter how many points Ray Allen scored afterward.
So in terms of pressure, Blake Su had relatively little on him.
"Beep, beep!"
With the whistle, Blake Su began shooting.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
At the first rack, he did not miss a single shot. One after another, all five dropped cleanly through the net.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
At the second rack, Blake Su stayed perfect, hitting everything again and reaching 12 straight points.
"Good!"
His precise shooting drew applause and praise from the fans.
"Blake Su is basically locked into the finals!"
"With this rhythm, he's definitely advancing!"
The fans who liked Blake Su relaxed.
However.
Starting from the third rack, Blake Su's touch began to slip. Over the final 15 shots, he missed four and made eleven, with one of the misses being a money ball.
So Blake Su lost a total of 5 points and finished with 25, even higher than Curry.
In the stands.
Steve Nash exclaimed, "Wow, 25 points. I did my homework last night, and the Three-Point Contest record is 25 points. Blake Su has already tied it."
"No, no, no!"
Carter shook his head. "Generally speaking, only scores from the final round are included in the record books. The first round doesn't count."
"I see. Well, either way, with 25 points, Blake Su is definitely in the finals. And Curry is definitely in too."
Steve Nash said.
"Exactly."
Carter nodded with a smile. "Both of our team's two great shooters are in the finals. Now Ray Allen needs at least 20 points to get in.
"That's a lot of pressure."
As they spoke, Ray Allen took the court. He had originally thought that going last would let him control the situation and make things easiest for him. But now, it did not seem to be that way.
"More than 20 points? I can do that."
Ray Allen narrowed his eyes, full of confidence.
After all, before Blake Su and Curry, Ray Allen had been widely recognized as one of the league's strongest shooters. Even now, he was still one of the league's elite marksmen.
He had every reason to be confident.
"Beep, beep!"
With the whistle, Ray Allen's first-round shooting began.
"Swish!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
Ray Allen got off to a poor start. At the first rack, he made only three of five and missed the money ball, immediately losing four points. The danger rose at once.
Just as everyone felt Ray Allen's form was not good enough.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
The more Ray Allen shot, the smoother he became. He made 16 of the final 20 balls, and all four misses were regular balls.
So Ray Allen ultimately finished with 22 points, surpassing the Heat's James Jones, who had scored 20, and advanced to the finals in third place.
In the stands.
Kobe smiled and said, "I guessed earlier that Blake Su, Curry, and Ray Allen would reach the finals. Their three-point ability is the strongest."
"Yeah."
Pau Gasol agreed. "The league's three top shooters are all gathered in the finals. That kind of divine three-point shootout is going to be incredible."
"Of course."
Kobe and Pau Gasol were both looking forward to it.
And it was not just the two of them. The contest was unfolding exactly the way everyone had hoped, so the fans were naturally eager for the final round to begin.
After a short ten-minute break, the final round arrived.
The rules and scoring were the same as the first round. However, the shooting order was no longer decided by drawing lots.
First-place Blake Su would go last.
Second-place Curry would go second.
Third-place Ray Allen would go first.
The last shooter could control the situation, which was a benefit given to the first-round winner. Of course, that was only an outside factor.
The most important thing was still pure ability.
"Tap!"
Ray Allen was the first to step up.
"Whoa!"
As one of the league's three top shooters and an older-generation sharpshooter, his appearance immediately drew cheers and applause from many fans.
"Ready."
The referee made the signal. Once Ray Allen indicated he was ready, the whistle blew and the clock started.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Clang!"
At the first rack, Ray Allen missed only one regular ball. Over the next three racks, he also missed only one regular ball at each spot.
The fifth rack was the final rack.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Ray Allen got smoother as he shot. With that quick, clean release, he did not miss a single ball, making all five. Counting the end of the previous rack, he finished by hitting nine straight.
"Ray Allen!"
"Whoa!"
After Ray Allen's amazing performance, completed within the one-minute limit, the fans cheered for him once again.
"How many points?"
"It feels like a lot!"
The fans guessed excitedly while looking up at the scoreboard together. There, the number "26" was clearly displayed.
"26 points?"
Shaq was startled.
Kevin Garnett laughed and shouted, "He broke the record! Ray broke the 25-point record jointly held by Craig Hodges of the 1986 Bulls and Jason Kapono of the 2008 Raptors!"
"Wow."
"The Dream" Hakeem Olajuwon clicked his tongue. "Ray Allen is still accurate. He went first and immediately broke the Three-Point Contest scoring record with 26 points.
"Tonight, he might very well be the Three-Point Contest champion."
"Now Curry and Blake Su are under a lot of pressure!"
"The Smiling Assassin" Thomas laughed. "Bird also smiled and said, "Twenty-six points is really high. Looking at it this way, Blake Su may have a hard time winning."
Ray Allen went first and directly broke the Three-Point Contest scoring record with 26 points.
Invisible pressure fell on the players behind him.
As the fans discussed it heatedly, Curry, still fairly calm and confident, stepped onto the court. After adjusting his breathing slightly, he began his final-round shooting under the referee's whistle.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Curry made every shot at the first rack. Then he made every shot at the second and third racks as well. Fifteen straight makes from Curry sent the arena into a frenzy.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Then, at the fourth rack, Curry continued his unstoppable run and made them all again.
"Damn, at this pace, is he going for a perfect score?!"
The fans were stunned.
The final rack.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Curry kept firing and kept making them, sending countless fans to their feet. Everyone seemed ready to witness the birth of a perfect score together.
But.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
Maybe his touch finally slipped, or maybe Curry had gotten too fired up. The final two balls, one regular ball and one money ball, both missed.
He lost 3 points.
In the end, Curry finished with 27 points.
Even so, Curry's 27 surpassed Ray Allen, who had just broken the Three-Point Contest scoring record, and broke the record once again.
"Wow!"
"The Three-Point Contest scoring record has been broken back-to-back. This really is a divine shootout!"
Every fan who saw that score cried out in shock.