Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 117 - 86: The Kill Shot

"Oh no, how did he miss that?"

Behind him, Lexi let out a surprised sigh.

Chen Yu also had a regretful look on his face, as if he could hear the sighs from countless fans in the stands.

At a critical moment like this, every single point was incredibly important.

On the court, Kobe held his shooting form, stunned for a full three seconds before lowering his arm.

A superstar is a superstar.

Kobe took a deep breath, quickly shook his shoulders, and held out his hands for the ball again.

Holding his breath, he shot the basketball steadily.

In!

No celebration. Ignoring the cheers from the stands, Kobe turned and silently ran back.

’Thirty-four seconds left. There’s still a chance to win.’

But at this moment, both Iverson and Hill had smiles on their faces.

Finally, they had taken the lead.

It was only by one point, but it was enough.

In these final moments, whoever had the lead also had the upper hand.

Iverson dribbled the ball up the court. Kobe, trying to atone for his earlier miss, pressed him with tight defense before he even crossed half-court.

If he couldn’t get a stop on this play, they would be in even more trouble.

But trying to steal the ball from Iverson was incredibly difficult.

It took a full ten seconds for Iverson to get the ball across half-court.

He passed the ball off to Hill, who had come to help, then suddenly burst forward.

Hill didn’t rush to attack, instead running down the clock. When there were eight seconds left on the shot clock, he made a sharp bounce pass across the court to Iverson.

"Don’t let him drive!" Adelman shouted from the sideline.

Kobe spread his arms, staring daggers at Iverson, and growled, "Come on!"

From the very beginning, his only target had been Iverson.

The entire arena subconsciously held its breath, watching the two go one-on-one.

This would likely be the shot that decided the game.

The basketball danced in Iverson’s hands. He made his move, faking a drive.

He was incredibly fast, possessing the quickest first step in the entire league.

But Kobe was just as quick, taking a small step forward to cut him off.

But just then, Iverson pulled the ball back. He twisted his body, turning his back to Kobe and hiding the ball in his right hand, concealing it from Kobe’s view.

Kobe’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly shifted his weight to the right.

’He’s going to go right.’

But his prediction was wrong. The post-up was another fake. Iverson, as light as a feather, executed a touch-and-go spin. He quickly bounced the ball back the other way, pulling it back laterally while facing the basket.

He had created enough space to shoot, and only three seconds remained on the shot clock.

Iverson jumped without hesitation and released the ball.

Shaken off the dribble, Kobe desperately tried to recover and leap for the block, but he could only watch helplessly as the basketball sailed past his fingertips.

He quickly snapped his head around to watch.

That basketball, illuminated by the lights overhead, plunged straight into the hoop.

A 3-pointer!

Kobe’s heart sank into the depths of the ocean.

That shot was the dagger.

Iverson landed, his right arm still held high in its follow-through. Then, his open palm closed into a fist.

He clenched it tightly, as if telling everyone, ’See? I told you we could win.’

With that basket, the entire arena erupted.

"MVP!"

Chants of "MVP" echoed through the arena like a tsunami.

Chen Yu subconsciously clutched his chest, his mouth suddenly dry.

’That was too intense!’

Timeout.

Only 11.2 seconds left.

But the deficit was four points.

"Don’t panic, we still have a chance," Adelman said, grabbing his clipboard. His eyes swept over the few guards the West had on the floor.

J Kidd, Kobe, Finley, Payton. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’Who should get the final, crucial shot?’

’J Kidd is out.’

’Payton takes a lot of threes, but his career percentage of around 30 percent isn’t good enough.’

Adelman’s gaze finally settled on Finley.

’I think he shot 40 percent from three last season.’

But just then, Kobe suddenly spoke up. "Coach, let me take it. Trust me, I can make it."

Adelman glanced at Kobe.

’Is this really a matter of trust?’

’If I remember correctly, you averaged 2.2 three-point attempts per game last season, but you only shot 31.9 percent.’

’With numbers like that, I can’t risk giving you the shot.’

But when their eyes met, Adelman was taken aback. What a look of determination, confidence, and desire for victory.

After a moment of hesitation, Adelman said, "You’re the second option."

With that, he began to draw up the final play.

The shot had to be quick. If they made it, they could foul and still have a chance.

After laying out the play, Adelman couldn’t help but feel a sense of disbelief.

’An All-Star Game... turning out like this. Who would’ve believed it?’

The timeout ended.

At this moment, almost no one could remain in their seats. Everyone was on their feet, anxiously watching the court.

The players started moving, especially Finley.

But Hill was sticking to him like glue.

Clearly, Brown had guessed who would be taking this critical shot.

It wasn’t much of a guess, really. Of the four guards the West had in, only Finley was a reliable three-point shooter.

Duncan silently counted the seconds. If he didn’t inbound the ball soon, it would be too late.

He caught a glimpse of Kobe out of the corner of his eye and made a daring long pass, lobbing it towards him.

Tracy McGrady immediately pounced, staying right on him and giving Kobe no room to shoot.

"Watch the foul!"

Brown shouted nervously from the sideline, terrified that Tracy McGrady would get tricked into fouling Kobe.

But it was too late.

Kobe pump-faked, drawing the high-strung Tracy McGrady into the air, then immediately jumped and leaned into him.

And at almost the same instant, using his incredible core strength, Kobe threw up the shot as his body was falling.

It was a low, flat shot from a tricky angle, but as if guided by a laser, it banked straight into the basket.