"Beep! Beep!"
Coach Spoelstra had no choice but to call another timeout.
"Holy crap!"
In the stands, Mutombo shook his head repeatedly, still stunned.
"A center, on the Finals stage, against the Heat Big Three's defense...
"He just keeps shooting from farther and farther away.
"Six deep threes for 18 points. Blake, this 'Monster Rookie,' has completely changed the way I look at centers."
"This is insane!"
"The Answer" Allen Iverson's eyes were wide. Even though he had already witnessed several of Blake's crazy three-point barrages, he was still shocked.
"This is incredible!"
Iguodala stared in disbelief.
"In barely half a quarter, Blake has gone 6-for-8 from three and scored 18 points, almost single-handedly cutting the deficit to 10!
"If this keeps up...
"By the end of the third quarter, are the Suns really going to erase a 20-point deficit in a single period?!"
Just thinking about it sent a chill through Iguodala.
And the Heat fans inside the arena were feeling that same fear.
"What even is this?! Who shoots threes like that? What kind of center keeps launching from way beyond the arc and actually makes them?!"
"Damn it!"
"Blake isn't even a center at this point!"
"The Heat have to hold steady! Stop treating Blake like a center. Guard him like a shooter and take away his three!"
"He's way too accurate!"
"No, Miami knows that! They've been picking him up farther and farther from the basket, several meters beyond the three-point line!
"But Blake, that monster, just keeps shooting from even farther out, and he keeps making them!
"This is ridiculous!"
"Deep! Deeper! From way downtown! Blake's three-point shooting is unbelievable for a center!"
"He wiped ten points off the lead in half a quarter. Miami... you have to hold on!"
"..."
The home crowd was already starting to panic.
The Heat still led by 10, but Blake's explosion had everyone restless in their seats.
On the Suns' bench...
"Beautiful!"
"Blake is incredible!"
Curry was so excited he was practically bouncing up and down, while George pumped his fist hard, completely won over by one ridiculous deep three after another.
"Blake... tonight, he really is our team's god!"
Nash was completely fired up too.
"Absolutely unbelievable. But that's Blake. That's why everyone on this team follows him without hesitation. He's just that good!"
Carter was equally shaken.
If Gentry's halftime speech had merely kept the players from losing hope, then Blake's six three-pointers had done much more.
In an instant, the entire Suns team became convinced they could come back and win.
Meanwhile, on the Heat bench, the players' expressions had grown noticeably tense.
"What's going on?" Wade frowned. "Blake spent the last two games attacking the rim. Why did he suddenly start relying on threes? And that accuracy... it's ridiculous."
"Uh..."
LeBron thought for a moment.
"He was attacking the rim because we were pressuring him so hard on the perimeter that he had no choice but to drive.
"But tonight, after going into halftime down 18, he has to use threes to make up ground.
"Our defense has already been good. He's making shots from that far away one after another.
"All you can say is... he's got an unbelievable shooting touch right now."
"Exactly."
Coach Spoelstra nodded, then immediately added, "But we can't just accept it because he's hot.
"Turn up the pressure. If we have to deny him the ball entirely, do it.
"We have to stop him as much as possible!
"At the very least, don't let him get those threes off so comfortably!"
"Got it!"
The Heat players nodded.
The timeout ended.
Play resumed.
Just as Spoelstra had instructed, two members of the Heat Big Three began shadowing Blake almost obsessively.
They were determined not to let him catch the ball on the perimeter.
The idea was simple. Keep Blake from getting the ball outside, keep him from shooting threes, and keep him from scoring.
But could even that stop a Blake who had already caught fire?
5:11.
Blake caught the ball in the left high post with his back to Bosh.
He bumped him once, made a half-turn, and went straight into a turnaround jumper.
"Swish!"
Good.
3:41.
Unable to get the ball beyond the three-point line, Blake caught it on the right low block and backed down LeBron.
He faked a pass, sending Chalmers, who had come over to double-team, away.
"Thud!"
Blake powered into LeBron with his back and hips, then suddenly half-turned into another turnaround jumper.
LeBron's eyes sharpened as he leaped to contest.
But it was only a shot fake.
Blake got LeBron off his feet, stepped forward, and floated the ball softly off the glass.
"Swish!"
Another one!
"Wow! Twenty-two points!
"Blake has already scored 22 in this quarter, and there are still almost four minutes left in the third!
"His desire to win has completely unleashed him!"
"How are the Heat supposed to stop Blake now that he's gone completely berserk?!"
2:11.
"Whoosh!"
Nash attacked from the left wing and drove toward the rim.
After drawing Wade's defense, he kicked the ball to Blake in the left corner.
Bosh and Chalmers were both right there.
"Whoosh!"
Blake rose over both defenders and fired another three without hesitation.
"No way!"
Bosh and Chalmers shouted as they lunged to contest.
The next instant...
"Swish!"
The crisp sound of the net made both of them freeze.
Another three for Blake!
His seventh three of the quarter.
Twenty-five points in the period!
30.3 seconds remaining.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
Nash controlled the ball at the top of the arc.
Blake was on the right high post, completely surrounded by LeBron and Bosh, with almost no room to move.
Then, with 7.4 seconds left on the shot clock, George came over to set a screen.
Blake sprinted upward as though he were about to curl out to the perimeter for another three.
Then he suddenly reversed direction and cut toward the basket.
"Whoosh!"
Nash saw it immediately and lobbed the ball toward the rim without hesitation.
From the other side, Blake came charging into the paint.
He and Haslem jumped almost simultaneously.
But Blake's terrifying vertical and wingspan allowed him to catch the ball more than a full hand above Haslem's reach.
Then...
"BOOM!"
Blake hammered home the alley-oop right over Haslem!
"Oh my God!
"Blake got up ridiculously high!
"That was a rim-level alley-oop right over Haslem! Absolutely vicious!
"Twenty-seven points!
"The 'Monster Rookie' has hit seven threes and scored 27 points in this quarter alone!
"And behind Blake's unbelievable explosion, the Suns have somehow cut what was once a 20-point deficit...
"Down to just five!
"This is madness!
"Blake has completely taken over!"
8.2 seconds remaining.
The Heat had the final possession of the third quarter.
Chalmers brought the ball up and passed toward Wade on the other side.
"Oh! George read it!"
He jumped the passing lane and stole it cleanly.
Possession instantly flipped.
George pushed the fast break.
Up ahead, Curry and Nash were both available.
Plenty of options.
Who would he give it to?!
Neither of them.
George reached the top of the arc, then threw the ball back to Blake trailing the play.
He ignored every other option.
He trusted Blake.
Blake caught it straight on at the top.
Three meters beyond the arc?!
Another shot from way downtown!
The ball left his hand as the clock expired.
Blake's buzzer-beating three from absurd range...
Was it good?!
Dead center!
"Bang!"
Another one!
His eighth three-pointer of the quarter!
The "Monster Rookie" drills the buzzer-beater and reaches 30 points in the third quarter alone!
Blake... has completely lost his mind!
...
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