"Whoa!"
The brutal chase-down block off the backboard sent a wave of gasps through the arena.
"How is that possible?!"
"The Flash" Wade was stunned.
He simply couldn't believe that a center could get beaten off the dribble, recover from behind, and still block his shot.
It made no sense.
It seemed physically impossible.
And yet... it had just happened right in front of him.
But Wade's shock wasn't over.
On another possession shortly afterward, Blake once again stopped Wade's drive to the basket.
Then, on the other end...
"Swish!"
Blake rose over Wade's defense and buried another three-pointer.
Yes.
A completely unreasonable three right in his face.
In less than two minutes, Blake had shut down Wade twice defensively and made two shots of his own, scoring five straight points.
Just like that, the deficit was down to seven.
"Beep! Beep!"
Spoelstra immediately called timeout.
"Heh."
In the stands, Kobe smiled. "Wade can't stop him defensively, and he can't beat him offensively either. Wade alone simply can't contain Blake.
"Even if Wade has been called 'Jordan, five centimeters shorter,' he's still at a disadvantage against Blake, whose ridiculous physical gifts make him practically 'Jordan, seventeen centimeters taller.'"
"Haha!"
Wall laughed, then sighed in admiration. "One-on-one, Blake is basically unstoppable against anyone in the league.
"Even Wade can't handle him."
"Yes!"
Across the arena, Yoona clenched her fist excitedly. "It's only seven points now. They still have a chance to win tonight."
"Mm-hmm."
Mia Quinn nodded. "They'll definitely win."
At the commentary table, Van Gundy narrowed his eyes.
"He may be 'The Flash,' the second-best shooting guard in the league, and a top-five player overall.
"But one-on-one against Blake, even Wade doesn't stand much of a chance."
"Exactly."
Mike Breen tapped the desk and nodded. "If Spoelstra hadn't called that timeout, Phoenix probably would've cut the deficit even further."
And that was exactly why Spoelstra had called it.
After the timeout, he immediately sent all five starters back onto the floor ahead of schedule.
Phoenix did the same.
If they weren't going all out now, when would they?
The final battle had begun early.
With both starting lineups back on the court, the game once again became Blake against the Heat Big Three, returning to the same back-and-forth struggle as before.
Blake's performance?
As good as ever.
But the Heat Big Three were just as sharp offensively.
And once again, that made it extremely difficult for Phoenix to close the gap.
Even with Blake playing more aggressively than ever in the fourth quarter, the Suns could only chip away at the lead little by little.
With 12.4 seconds remaining...
"Swish!"
Blake controlled the ball, used a screen to create an opening, then rose from the left side above the arc and buried a three-pointer over LeBron.
In truth, LeBron hadn't gone all out to contest it.
Because even if Blake made the shot, Miami would still lead by four.
And only 2.3 seconds remained.
The Heat inbounded the ball. Wade caught it and quickly passed it away before Curry could foul him.
"Beep! Beep!"
The clock expired.
In the end, the Heat defeated the Suns by four points on their home floor, taking another game in the series.
The Finals now stood at 3-1.
The 2011 Miami Heat were one win away from the championship.
At the commentary table, Van Gundy shook his head and sighed.
"Tonight... Blake finished with 58 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks.
"Fifty-eight points in a playoff game.
"That's the third-highest single-game scoring total in playoff history, behind only Michael Jordan's 63 and Elgin Baylor's 61.
"In other words, Blake's 58-point performance tonight has put him among the top three single-game scorers in NBA playoff history.
"And if we look only at the Finals, his 58 points rank second, behind only Baylor's 61.
"And most importantly...
"Blake is still just a rookie.
"This was another extraordinary, almost unbelievable individual performance.
"But Phoenix still lost by four.
"The 'Monster Rookie' Blake gave everything he had tonight. He left absolutely everything on the floor."
"Yes."
Mike Breen nodded, sympathy showing on his face.
"He played brilliantly even in defeat.
"Miami deserves credit for moving within one win of the championship.
"And Blake deserves just as much respect for the performance he gave us tonight."
"BOOM!"
As the commentators spoke, thunderous cheers erupted throughout the arena.
This was Miami's home court.
The Heat had won again and moved within one victory of the championship.
For Heat fans, there was every reason to celebrate.
It was a night of pure celebration.
Kobe looked at Blake's numbers and spread his hands. "That's rough. But Blake has already done everything anyone could ask of him."
"So that's probably it."
Wall scratched his head. "Phoenix is down 3-1 now. Unless something unexpected happens, Miami should win the championship."
"Yeah."
Kobe nodded. "If nothing unexpected happens, the Heat will be champions."
"Damn it!"
Wall cursed in frustration. "I don't want the villains getting the last laugh. I really wanted to see Blake become the 'superhero'!"
Across the arena, Anthony was grinning.
"This should be over.
"It wasn't a blowout, but a win is a win. And now the Finals are 3-1.
"At this point, Miami winning the championship feels almost inevitable.
"I think... we can probably congratulate LeBron in advance on his first championship.
"Right, Chris?"
"Ah... y-yeah."
Paul nodded.
But his answer was clearly distracted.
He watched Wade and LeBron laughing on the court as they celebrated the victory.
One of his close friends was about to win a championship.
And Paul couldn't help feeling something stir inside him.
Jealousy?
No.
It was envy.
More precisely, envy of the championship itself.
Paul had always been one of the most fiercely competitive players in the league, with an overwhelming desire to win.
At times, he would even play through injuries, risking more serious long-term consequences, simply because he wanted to help his team win.
But his talent and effort had never produced the kind of results he wanted.
He had now spent six seasons in the NBA.
He missed the playoffs in his first two years.
In the next four, he reached the second round once.
The following year, he was eliminated in the first round.
And in each of the past two seasons, he hadn't even made the playoffs.
As one of the league's top five point guards, Paul had spent six years in the NBA without ever reaching the Finals.
He hadn't even made it to the Western Conference Finals.
And year after year, the results had only gotten worse.
For Chris Paul, already entering his prime and possessing such a fierce competitive drive, that was incredibly difficult to accept.
Now, watching his close friends stand on the verge of a championship, Paul wanted one too.
And that desire was only growing stronger.
"No."
"Next season, something has to change.
"I have to make a run at the championship!"
...
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