Chapter 72: The Final Play – Will Giannis Hit a Game-Winning Buzzer-Beater?

The East held the ball, and with only 18.8 seconds left on the clock, Coach Budenholzer opted to skip the timeout, trusting his All-Stars to finish strong. Calling a timeout in a tie game could risk a costly turnover on the inbounds pass, and this was not the moment to change it.

Kyrie Irving calmly brought the ball up the court. He initially looked like he wanted to take the final shot himself, but after a quick decision, he passed it off to the night's hot hand: Giannis Antetokounmpo. With 36 points already, Giannis was poised to deliver the final blow.

Giannis took his time, signaling for his teammates to clear out. His choice was clear: he wanted an isolation play against Durant. The stadium quieted in anticipation as fans and players alike watched, holding their breath.

As the seconds ticked down, Giannis finally made his move with 4 seconds remaining. He drove hard from the three-point line, using his explosive speed to get past Durant. Tang Lei anticipated the drive and quickly stepped in, preparing to double-team Giannis near the free-throw line. With the West's defense closing in, Giannis hesitated, then stopped suddenly, opting for an uncharacteristic high-arcing floater.

The shot was slightly short, grazing the front rim and bouncing back.

But Giannis was quick, reacting in a flash as he leaped for the rebound. Catching the ball in mid-air, he jammed it home with a powerful dunk.

The arena erupted as the final buzzer sounded.

"OH MY GOD! UNBELIEVABLE BUZZER-BEATER!" 

Fans screamed, and East players rushed to mob Giannis in celebration. Embiid and Irving shouted in triumph, while the West's team stood in shock, processing the turn of events. Durant looked stunned, while Curry and LeBron exchanged grim, resigned smiles.

In the crowd, Yixiaozhu and her fellow fans were frozen, the excitement turned to disbelief and sadness as they processed the gut-wrenching end. It was just a hair away—a fraction of a second from a different outcome.

But as the East players celebrated, Tang Lei approached the officials. He pointed to the scoreboard, indicating the need to review the timing of the dunk. The referees nodded and signaled a replay check.

Everyone's eyes shifted to the giant screen overhead as the slow-motion replay played. The entire crowd went silent, anxious to see the outcome.

The replay zoomed in, showing Giannis's dunk in slow-motion detail. Just before his hands made contact with the rim, the red light indicating time expiration blinked on.

0.35 seconds—that was how close it was. Giannis's dunk had come to a fraction of a second too late.

The officials confirmed the call: No basket.

The game was heading into overtime.

A murmur rippled through the stadium, disbelief mixed with excitement at the prospect of more basketball. Tang Lei's timely suggestion had given his team another chance to fight for the win.

For the first time since 2003, the All-Star Game was headed into overtime. Back then, a young Kobe Bryant had denied Michael Jordan a storybook ending in what was supposed to be his final All-Star appearance. And now, here they were again, with the All-Stars of the current generation vying for their own moment in history.

The game wasn't over yet.

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