Chapter 337: Playing a Joke on the World

The Suns called a timeout.

As Wade walked off the court, he noticed Green frowning and asked, "Does it hurt?"

"A little..."

Green smiled.

The blocking foul that Green committed was a result of him taking a step forward and colliding with Kobe as he jumped. However, this kind of physical contact is usually not enough to cause injury to professional players.

"We have 39 seconds left, trailing by only 1 point. We have two choices: go for a 6-second violation to leave ourselves with a chance for the last shot, or try to run down the clock and leave the Lakers with less than 15 seconds to score."

Gentry analyzed the situation and asked Wade, "Brother Dong, which option do you prefer?"

"I..."

Wade glared at Gentry, then said, "Let's go for the 6-second violation and give ourselves some leeway."

Wade still remembered the game where he was buzzer-beaten by Duncan, and ever since then, he always wanted to leave some room for himself in critical moments.

"Okay."

Gentry nodded and began to set up the play.

...

The timeout ended.

The game had reached its most critical 39 seconds.

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

The home fans cheered loudly, trying to use their home-court advantage to overwhelm the Suns.

Green stood at the sideline, ready to inbound the ball.

The Suns had four players on the court: Curry, Thompson, Durant, and Wade, all with exceptional three-point shooting abilities. However, Kobe was sticking to Wade, not allowing him to receive the pass.

"Whoosh~~~"

Green passed the ball to Durant.

Durant received the ball, dribbled twice, and reached beyond the three-point line, also drawing the attention of the Lakers.

"Give me the ball!"

At this moment, Wade broke free from Kobe's defense and reached out to Durant for the pass.

Durant didn't hesitate and immediately passed the ball to Wade.

Wade received the ball and, facing Kobe's defense, jumped high and took a three-pointer.

"Swish!!!"

Wade's jump was so high that it was difficult for Kobe to block the shot, and the ball went in smoothly.

Score: 112-110!!!

The Suns took a 2-point lead with 32 seconds left in the game.

"Brother Dong, you're awesome!"

Durant and Curry had already rushed over to embrace Wade.

The Lakers called another timeout, their last one for the game.

...

After the timeout, the Lakers had one last chance to score, but they had plenty of time, and they needed to run down the clock, leaving the Suns with at least 9 seconds to score if the Lakers used the full 24 seconds.

In other words, even if the Lakers scored on this possession, they couldn't guarantee a win.

Think about Wade's 100% buzzer-beating shot percentage... It left all teams in despair. 

Harden slowly dribbled from the backcourt to the frontcourt, running down the clock. The Suns didn't attempt to steal the ball, and 16 seconds quietly passed...

With 17 seconds left in the game, the Lakers had only 8 seconds left on the shot clock.

Gasol and Howard had already collapsed into the paint, with Wade defending Kobe and Thompson defending Harden.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

With 8 seconds left on the shot clock, Harden dribbled between his legs and suddenly pushed off Thompson, stepping back beyond the three-point line.

Thompson took a step back.

But... Harden's toes extended forward, and he stepped back for a three-pointer.

Although Wade was defending Kobe, his attention was also on the entire court. When Harden took the three-pointer, Wade shouted to Green and Durant, "Protect the rebound!"

Wade finished speaking and noticed that instead of rushing in to grab the rebound, they were both pulling back to the three-point line.

"Whoosh~"

Harden's three-pointer clanked off the rim.

However, with Green alone in the paint against Howard and Gasol, the two big men easily grabbed the rebound.

Howard jumped and grabbed the rebound, then held the ball close to his chest.

The Suns still had a 2-point lead, and Green hesitated, not daring to foul. Taking this opportunity, Howard passed the ball to Harden.

Harden received the pass and then passed it to Kobe.

With 3 seconds left in the game, all the spectators stood up.

Kobe held the ball with both hands at his waist, his eyes fixed on Wade instead of the basket.

"3!"

"2!"

...

"1!"

In the final moment of the game, Kobe lifted his hand and made a fake shot, then, without even trying to fake out Wade, he took an extremely exaggerated fadeaway jump shot, releasing the ball from his fingertips.

The arc of the shot was very high, and even with Wade's jumping ability and height, he barely grazed the ball with his fingertips.

The game clock expired.

The entire arena fell silent, and everyone's eyes were on the ball...

If the ball went in, Kobe would have buzzer-beaten the Suns!

If the ball didn't go in, the Lakers would have lost the game.

Wade landed and turned to look at the ball, and everyone fell silent.

"Swish!!!"

The crisp sound of the ball passing through the net echoed.

"Wow!!!"

The home crowd erupted, and the Lakers had defeated the Suns!

"Ah!!!"

Kobe grabbed the front of his jersey with his left hand and ripped it open, roaring towards the sky.

"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

The fans cheered, danced, and celebrated. In the league, defeating the Suns was a cause for great joy, even in a regular-season game.

Gentry was stunned, a bitter smile on his lips.

He hadn't expected... that with the Suns' deep bench, they would still be buzzer-beaten by Kobe and lose the game.

Game statistics:

Wade: 41 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks.

Durant: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.

Curry: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.

Kobe: 41 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks.

Harden: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 13 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks.

Gasol: ...

...

After the game, Kobe found Wade, and the two men clasped hands and bumped chests. Kobe said, "It's really difficult to beat you!"

"You're an idol~"

Wade smiled, still holding the stat sheet in his hand.

Since they had lost the game, they needed to find the reason.

Kobe said, "But this is just a regular-season game. I'll also beat you in the playoffs."

"Hmm hmm~"

Wade nodded in agreement and, seeing that Kobe had scored 41 points in this game, smiled and said, "Today is January 27th. Look at your 41 points. Doesn't it feel like you're playing a joke on the world?"

Kobe glanced at the stat sheet, "You also scored 41 points. So, you're also playing a joke on the world."

April 1st is April Fool's Day, and the number 41 seems like a joke played on the world.