"Unbelievable!"
"His body was diving forward, completely off balance, with his back to the basket, and Blake Su still managed to bank it in. What an incredibly soft touch.
"How much talent does it take to pull that off?"
Almost the instant Blake Su made that miraculous layup.
Inside the studio, Hubie Brown was shaking with excitement, his glasses nearly slipping off.
Dave Pasch was just as fired up. He tapped the desk and shouted, "Incredible, incredible! That shot by Blake Su was unbelievable. That was huge. That was a near game-winner!"
Yes.
It was a near game-winner.
After Blake Su finished the layup and scored the 2 points, the Suns retook the lead by 1 over the Lakers. Even if it was only 1 point.
There were only 3.1 seconds left.
Compared with the 27.3 seconds from just moments ago, this was undoubtedly terrible for the Lakers. To put it bluntly, their chance of losing was now over 90 percent.
Most importantly.
Blake Su still had the free throw.
"Step!"
Blake Su stood at the free-throw line. Although his free throws were not especially good, in key moments, he usually did not disappoint.
"Swish!"
Sure enough.
He hit it steadily.
The original 1-point lead became 2 points, making things even worse for the Lakers.
"Fuck!"
"What the hell was that? How did that go in? How could that go in? I'm sick!"
"That bastard Blake Su, how can he hit that kind of shot? No, how did he even grab that rebound just now?"
"The cooked duck is about to fly away. The win we already had in our hands is about to disappear."
"3.1 seconds, down 2. It's over."
"Blake Su, that rookie, that damn annoying rookie. Hurry up and die already!"
"..."
The Lakers fans were so angry their teeth itched. Some of the more hot-tempered fans were furious, their anger boiling over as they cursed out loud.
At the critical moment.
Blake Su grabbed the rebound and used a magical, despair-inducing 2+1 near game-winner to completely blow up the Lakers fans' mentality.
At the same time.
"Beep, beep!"
Phil Jackson called a timeout.
On the Lakers' bench.
At this moment, the Lakers players had all kinds of emotions tangled together. A win that had been right there in their hands had been forcibly ruined by Blake Su, who had even pushed them to the edge of defeat.
Anyone would have taken a serious emotional hit.
Of course.
Except Kobe.
At this moment, Kobe had only one thing in his mind. Wait for the timeout to end, catch the ball, shoot, score, and win it.
"We absolutely cannot lose tonight!"
Kobe muttered to himself.
No one knew whether he was talking to himself or to his teammates, but anyone who saw his eyes could feel it. Kobe right now was terrifying.
Like a bloodthirsty Mamba baring its fangs, enough to send chills down anyone's spine!
"Get the ball to Kobe. Let him take the final shot."
Phil Jackson also placed everything on Kobe.
Right now.
At the most critical moment, the only player the Lakers could trust was their leader. Only Kobe.
"Beep, beep!"
The timeout ended.
The final 3.1 seconds. A game-winner or a loss. It all came down to this possession.
Odom, who had solid playmaking ability, inbounded from the sideline. The rest of the Lakers players moved into position. Everyone knew Kobe would be the one taking the shot.
So.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Blake Su, Curry, and George were all locked onto Kobe.
On the court.
Kobe burst out from the middle near the top of the arc, looking like he was about to catch the ball, but he rushed straight toward the basket instead. At the same time... Fisher popped out and showed his hands for the pass.
Was Fisher going to catch and shoot?
No.
As Nash followed him, Fisher continued straight toward the basket.
"Whoosh!"
And at that moment, Kobe, who had first rushed toward the basket, used the screen again and cut back out. Odom's eyes sharpened, and he immediately passed the ball in his hands.
That's right.
It was still going to Kobe.
"Snap!"
Kobe caught the ball.
"Step!"
"Step!"
With Blake Su held off by Pau Gasol, Curry and George still chased after Kobe immediately. As Kobe caught the ball, he dribbled one step forward.
Then.
"Screech!"
He stopped suddenly and rose straight up. Drifting sideways, leaning back, he released the ball from his hands.
"Ah!"
"Hah!"
Curry and George roared as they jumped to contest. Four big hands sealed toward him at once, but Kobe still got the shot off from an extreme height.
1.3 seconds left.
The basketball spun into the air, flying toward the rim. Under the wide-eyed stare of every fan, it traced a rainbow arc through the sky.
First, the red light came on. Time expired.
Then.
A beautiful sound brushed through the net.
"Swish!"
The basketball plunged straight into the net, snapping it upward.
Good!
Clean make!
Buzzer-beating clean make!
With the final 3.1 seconds, Kobe Bryant, facing a double-team from Curry and George, hit a drifting sideways fadeaway three-pointer.
A buzzer-beating game-winner over the Suns!
The arena went silent for an instant.
"Boom!"
Then cheers erupted like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting apart. Like a raging wave, they swept wildly through the entire arena, as if they were about to tear the roof off Staples Center.
"We won!"
"We won!"
"Blake Su hit a near game-winner, but Kobe hit the real game-winner!"
"Kobe is insane!"
"..."
The fans' deafening cheers violently released the despair they had just fallen into, and they screamed out the joy of victory in their hearts.
"Roar!"
After completing the game-winner, Kobe rushed to the center of the court, tugging at his jersey, his face fierce as he roared freely, venting all the pressure he had endured throughout the entire game.
Fortunately.
The result was good.
"Black Mamba" Kobe had bared his fangs.
With his "Mamba Mentality," his never-give-up spirit, and with defense and offense that sent him crashing to the floor again and again.
He ultimately led the team to complete a 20-point comeback, defended their home-court honor, and claimed the victory.
"Boom!"
Kobe, still tugging at his jersey and roaring as he poured out his emotions, was surrounded by Pau Gasol, Artest, and the rest of the players.
The arena's already blazing atmosphere surged even higher, and the thunderous cheers set the entire place on fire.