"Swish!"
The ball ripped cleanly through the net.
Right through the heart.
Blake had buried the logo three.
"BOOM!"
The arena instantly erupted into deafening cheers.
"Oh my God!"
"The Admiral" David Robinson stared wide-eyed and shouted, "A logo three?! Blake... he's insane!"
"What a terrifying player."
"Skyhook" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could only shake his head.
Magic Johnson clicked his tongue in amazement.
"That possession could have decided Phoenix's entire season.
"If he misses, Miami has a real chance to come back, win the game, and take the championship.
"And at a moment that important, Blake didn't even think about playing it safe. He chose an incredibly difficult logo three.
"You need some serious confidence to take that shot."
"No, no, no!"
"The Dream" Hakeem Olajuwon laughed excitedly. "That's more than confidence.
"That's the 'Monster Rookie' having absolute faith in his own ability.
"Or maybe you could call it nerves of steel.
"He has the ability to make shots like that when the pressure is at its highest."
"Exactly."
David Robinson nodded. "The risk was enormous, but so was the reward.
"If that shot goes in...
"It practically ends the game."
And that was exactly what happened.
With that logo three in the closing seconds, Blake pushed Phoenix's lead to five.
Five points.
12.1 seconds remaining.
Blake had all but sealed it.
"Beep! Beep!"
Spoelstra nearly grabbed his head as he called timeout.
There was no way he had expected Blake, of all people, to pull up from the logo in that situation.
And he certainly hadn't expected him to make it.
It was crazy.
Unbelievable.
Almost impossible to process.
"Yes!"
"Blake~~~!"
Mia Quinn jumped to her feet with both arms raised, looking as though she wanted to run straight to the Suns' bench and wrap Blake in a huge hug.
She was ecstatic.
Because victory was now right in front of Phoenix.
Right in front of Blake.
In the broadcast studio...
"Oh my God!"
Mike Breen clutched his head, eyes wide.
"A logo three!
"Blake... Blake made it!
"That was incredible!
"Absolutely incredible!
"What a shot!
"I... I don't even know what to say anymore!"
He was so excited that he could barely put a sentence together.
Beside him, Van Gundy opened his already sweaty palms, his hands trembling slightly.
"A logo three to put the game away!
"That's Blake.
"He loves ending games with shots like this, and he has a knack for delivering when it matters most.
"He was made for moments like this.
"What a performance!"
"Yes! Exactly!"
Mike Breen and Van Gundy were already celebrating as though the result had been decided.
On the Suns' bench, Curry and George practically leaped into their high-five with Blake.
Nash, Carter, and the others crowded around him, patting him excitedly.
Blake's fourth-quarter performance hadn't been as dominant as earlier because of the toll all that effort had taken on his body.
But on the biggest possession of the game, at the most important moment...
That logo three was as cold-blooded as it gets.
"Beautiful!"
Gentry tossed his clipboard aside and rushed over to praise Blake, unable to contain his excitement.
"Whew..."
Blake sat down and sucked in deep breaths.
He was exhausted.
Completely exhausted.
But with his teammates surrounding him and Phoenix now ahead by five, he couldn't help but smile.
Every bit of effort had been worth it.
Meanwhile, on the Heat bench...
"Is Blake some kind of monster?"
Chalmers looked stunned.
Haslem was equally shaken.
They were both playing inside, yet the difference between him and Blake felt enormous.
"What a nightmare to deal with."
LeBron frowned deeply.
Blake had spent almost the entire night attacking the basket.
Aside from wide-open catch-and-shoot opportunities, he had barely attempted a three-pointer off his own creation.
Of course, Miami's defense had played a major role in that.
The Heat had been determined not to give Blake clean looks from three.
Forcing jumpers over the Heat Big Three was difficult and less efficient than attacking their weaker interior defense.
So when Miami expected Blake to drive yet again in the final moments...
He suddenly pulled up from deep.
And caught everyone completely off guard.
"We spent all night trying to take away his three...
"And in the end, a center kills us with one anyway?"
Wade shook his head helplessly.
"Stay calm!"
Spoelstra immediately tried to settle everyone down.
"We still have a timeout.
"There are 12.1 seconds left.
"If we hit a quick three and foul immediately, we still have a chance to erase five points."
LeBron nodded.
The others did the same.
The odds were terrible.
But if they somehow pulled it off, they would be champions.
There was no reason to quit now.
Before long, the timeout ended.
Bosh inbounded from the sideline.
LeBron and Wade moved in opposite directions before Wade curled out toward the right wing.
He caught the ball about a step behind the three-point line.
There was no time to hesitate.
"Whoosh!"
After a quick adjustment, Wade rose for three.
But the instant he released the ball...
Blake came flying over.
He jumped with Wade, fully extended his long arm, and swatted the shot away.
"Unbelievable!"
"Blake blocks Wade's three!
"That's it!"
On that possession, Blake had committed himself to Wade, willing to leave LeBron with the possibility of getting a three.
If LeBron had received the pass, he might have had an opening.
But the ball went to Wade.
And Blake was waiting.
"Whoosh!"
George chased down the loose ball and secured it.
The Heat stopped trying to extend the game.
The final seconds quietly ticked away.
The Heat lost by five.
Phoenix had won Game 5.
The series was now 3-2.
In the broadcast studio...
Mike Breen pumped his fist.
"Phoenix stays alive!
"And Blake delivered on part of what he promised before the game.
"He led his team to a win.
"Tonight, after giving absolutely everything he had, Blake finishes with 50 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 8 steals, and 8 blocks.
"Fifty points in the Finals...
"Along with a near quadruple-double.
"That is an unbelievable stat line."
"Absolutely."
Van Gundy nodded excitedly.
"What Blake did tonight can't be summed up by simply saying '50-point near quadruple-double.'
"Those numbers are real.
"And they are completely absurd."