Logo shot

"Ding!"

Random Mission Released: Win against the team with the top real-time performance in the division, and you will receive a reward: (Eagle Spear).

Hearing the system mission, Carlos's heart sank.

"'Eagle Spear'? Isn't that the stealing skill from 'Kuroko's Basketball'?"

'Eagle Spear': After getting a sense of the opponent's speed, Izuki can steal the ball from behind his back, without looking, against a much faster opponent like Yukio Kasamatsu. He uses his Eagle Eye to see the position of the ball and locate the opponent. By not turning his body and simply lunging his arm to the desired direction, he can stop high-speed drives, associated with his ability to think ahead before the opponent. He learned this from Kagetora Aida during the Winter Training Camp.

In the previous life...

As someone who loved basketball, Carlos had inevitably come across basketball anime, such as "Slam Dunk" and "Kuroko's Basketball."

"Not bad. The skills from 'Kuroko's Basketball,' even if it's not the ability of the Generation of Miracles, when applied to me in reality, my stealing ability would increase exponentially.

However, to win against the team with the top real-time performance in the division, and it has to be the night when that team is the first in the East or West. In other words... as long as the Suns play against that team, and they are the first in the East or West that night, the mission conditions will be met.

Currently, the first in the East is the Heat, and in the West, it's the Spurs.

The Heat, with their 'Big Three,' and the Spurs, with their 'GDP,' are the strongest teams in the league. Winning against either of them is not an easy task.

Moreover, it seems like I haven't encountered these two teams recently. It seems a bit challenging to complete this well-rewarded random mission."

Thinking about it...

Even though he hadn't encountered them for a while, Carlos still kept an eye on the Spurs and the Heat. Once there was an opportunity, he must complete the mission and obtain 'Eagle Spear.'

...

The Mavericks and the Suns will face off tomorrow night.

At 5 PM...

The Suns team flew to Dallas and checked into a hotel near the American Airlines Center.

That night...

What should have been a time for fans and media to eagerly discuss the upcoming match between the Mavericks and the Suns, promoting the excitement for the battle, was unexpectedly overshadowed by the Bulls and the Nuggets.

What happened?

A match between the second in the East and the sixth in the West was already quite compelling.

The Nuggets, led by Anthony, had maintained a lead for the first three quarters. In the last quarter, they even started an 8-2 offensive surge, widening the point difference to more than 13 points.

Everything seemed to indicate that the Nuggets were going to win the game.

However... after a timeout, "Rose" began his performance, unstoppable drives, penetrating the Nuggets' defense time and time again.

37 seconds before the final buzzer.

"Swoosh!"

Rose hit a three-pointer from outside, a crucial shot.

Despite making only one of his four three-point attempts that night, it was this particular three-pointer that tied the score, showcasing Rose's 'big heart' vividly.

"Melo" dribbled the ball across the half-court, one-on-one against forward Luol Deng, signaling for an isolation play, squeezing the offensive time to 10 seconds, then... driving against the defense.

"Sizzle!"

After a quick stop and a jump shot.

He had already shaken off Luol Deng, but lacked a bit of strength. The ball hit the rim and bounced out. Noah grabbed the rebound, passed it to Rose, and handed it over to Rose unconditionally.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The last attack...

Rose held the ball at the arc, facing the defense of "Melo" Anthony with extreme confidence, a self-assured expression that only a man with absolute strength could show.

Counting down the time...

7.3 seconds left.

Rose held the ball with his right hand, a moment of bending, then he rushed out like a cheetah, swift as lightning, as if every step would tear through Anthony's defense.

However...

Anthony was a prominent figure from the '03 Platinum Generation, and he quickly shifted his steps to keep up. But suddenly, Rose made a quick stop, took a step back, and jumped high, shooting a fadeaway three-pointer... the ball left his hand.

"Ding!"

Anthony also went for a full-force block, but still couldn't block Rose's shot.

The spinning basketball soared through the sky and gracefully sank into the net.

"Swoosh!"

Hollow swish...

The shot clock had just expired, Rose's three-pointer sealed the victory against the Nuggets, igniting the arena and allowing countless fans to further experience the greatness of the 'Heir to Jordan' and the 'Windy City Assassin.'

"MVP!"

"MVP!!"

Although the game had ended, the cheers of "MVP" in the arena didn't stop.

In addition...

With Rose's game-winning shot, with the Bulls winning this game, the Bulls also achieved a record of 16 wins and 5 losses, the same as the Heat. The Bulls and the Heat were scheduled for a season matchup.

The Bulls won...

So... even though the records were the same, the Bulls took the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The next day...

When Carlos received this news, he was overjoyed. The system mission was to win against the division's top team, and after the Suns played against the Mavericks, the next opponent was the Bulls.

In other words...

If he could win against the Bulls, Carlos would receive the reward.

The unexpected happiness made Carlos happy for quite a while. Although winning against the Bulls was not an easy task, it was better than not having the opportunity to play at all.

"Great!"

"However, for now, I need to focus on the Mavericks. Nowitzki's 'one-legged fadeaway shot' is no joke. This year, Nowitzki led the team to win the championship and was awarded the Finals MVP."

...

9 PM...

American Airlines Center.

The highly anticipated matchup between the Mavericks and the Suns finally kicked off!

Warm-ups ended, starting lineups announced.

Dallas Mavericks' starting lineup: 6'4" point guard Jason Kidd, 6'2" shooting guard Jason Terry, 6'7" small forward Caron Butler, 7'0" power forward Dirk Nowitzki, and 7'1" center Tyson Chandler.

Phoenix Suns' starting lineup: 6'3" point guard Steve Nash, 6'3" shooting guard Stephen Curry, 6'6" shooting guard Vince Carter, 6'11" power forward Channing Frye, and 7'1" center Carlos.

"Jump ball!"

The battle for the jump ball between Carlos and Chandler. Faced with the taller Chandler, Carlos remained calm. Suddenly, he leaped high and effortlessly flicked the basketball.

Jump ball...

Carlos still hadn't lost.

"Bam, bam, bam!"

Curry quickly advanced with the ball, found Nash in the frontcourt, slowed the pace a bit, passed to Carter, who had already run to the left corner, and Carter attempted a three-pointer.

"Clang!"

The shot missed...

Chandler tipped the rebound out, Kidd on the left high post just jumped to catch the ball when Carlos leaped and snatched the ball in mid-air, smoothly making a jump shot.

"Swoosh!"

The putback was successful.

Mavericks (0): (2) Suns.

The Suns took the lead. Kidd controlled the ball, moved to the top of the key, surveyed the court, and then lobbed a high pass to the right high post where Nowitzki was.

He himself ran to the left, creating distance from the defending player.

Carter rushed over to defend Nowitzki, who used his back strength, pressed against Carter's shoulder, took a step forward with his left leg, then quickly turned his body halfway, raised the basketball with both hands, and slightly lifted his right leg. Using the left foot as a pivot, he jumped, executed a fadeaway jump shot.

An easy release.

"Swoosh!"

The basketball swished through the net.

"Everyone, look, logo shot, one-legged fadeaway shot!"

In the commentary booth, Van Gundy exclaimed, "This is Nowitzki's unstoppable 'one-legged fadeaway shot,' Carter can't defend against it, there's just no way."