In the final moments of the game, George received two technical fouls in rapid succession and was ejected. It all happened so quickly that no one had time to react.
"@#$%...!"
Having completely lost control, George unleashed a torrent of curses at the referee.
Fortunately, Blake and Curry rushed over in time and pulled him away.
Otherwise, in his blind rage, George might actually have attacked the official.
"Piece-of-shit referee! You keep making crooked calls for a little money. You're absolute garbage!"
George kept looking back and cursing as members of the Suns staff escorted him toward the players' tunnel and back to the locker room.
The referee's previous call had indeed been questionable.
The contact between Blake and Marion had been physical, but it did not seem severe enough to warrant an offensive foul.
Was the referee deliberately favoring Dallas?
Had he accepted a bribe?
Those were merely suspicions and angry complaints from frustrated fans. They could not be treated as facts. At most, the fans could curse for a while to vent their anger.
For now, George's ejection had cost the Suns a player who had caught fire tonight. It had also awarded the Mavericks two technical free throws, while Dallas still retained possession.
On top of that, the Mavericks already held a one-point lead.
Before the offensive foul, Phoenix had possessed a chance to take the lead.
Now, a single whistle had thrown the Suns straight into the fire and brought them to the brink of losing the game.
Nowitzki stepped to the line to shoot the two technical free throws.
"Clang!"
He missed the first.
Then came the second.
"Clang!"
Another miss.
"What's going on?"
In the commentary booth, Van Gundy exclaimed, "Nowitzki is shooting 94.3 percent from the free-throw line this season, yet he just missed both. That is incredibly rare."
"Heh. It certainly is," Mike Breen agreed. "But what difference does it make?
"There are only 4.7 seconds remaining. The Mavericks lead by one and still have possession.
"There's no way the Suns can win."
"That's true."
On the court, boos continued pouring down from the Suns fans.
Perhaps the deafening noise had caused Nowitzki to miss both shots.
Even so, Nowitzki looked frustrated. The Mavericks were still almost certain to win, but missing two free throws in such a crucial moment left him dissatisfied.
After the technical free throws, Dallas retained possession.
Marion prepared to inbound from the baseline.
The Suns applied full-court pressure. Marion tried to find Nowitzki but could not get the ball to him, so he eventually passed to Kidd.
"Whoosh!"
Curry lunged at Kidd and immediately committed the foul.
"Beep! Beep!"
The whistle sounded, sending Kidd to the free-throw line.
His first attempt went up.
"Clang!"
No good.
"What the hell are the Mavericks doing? They've missed three straight free throws!"
"Serves them right!"
"That's karma! I hope they miss every single one!"
The Suns fans cursed viciously from the stands.
"Swish!"
Kidd calmly made the second.
One of two.
"Beep! Beep!"
Gentry immediately called the Suns' final timeout.
Dallas now led by two, and Phoenix had only 2.3 seconds remaining.
That was barely enough time to catch the ball and shoot.
With 9.6 seconds left and the Suns trailing by one, they had still possessed a sliver of hope.
Now, with only 2.3 seconds remaining, a two-point deficit, and George ejected after his breakout performance, the outcome appeared settled.
The Mavericks had won.
"Stay calm. Get the ball to Blake!"
Those were Gentry's only instructions.
With so little time left, he could think of no other way to turn the game around except asking Blake to create another miracle.
"Beep! Beep!"
It was only a short timeout.
The teams quickly returned to the court.
With 2.3 seconds remaining, everything came down to this final possession.
"Don't get your hopes up."
"Blake is still only a rookie. He may have shown some clutch ability, but there's no way he can keep making shots like that."
"Come on. Does anyone seriously believe Blake is going to hit a game-winner with only 2.3 seconds left in the Western Conference Finals?"
"It's over!"
"See you in Game 5 for the pivotal matchup!"
"..."
In the stands, the Mavericks fans were already celebrating.
On the Dallas bench, Barea, Stevenson, Peja, and the others were also preparing to cheer their victory.
On the court, Nash stood on the sideline with the ball.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Curry sprinted left to get open.
Carter, who had replaced George, ran right.
Blake cut toward the basket, then abruptly reversed course and sprinted back toward the perimeter.
"Whoosh!"
He accelerated at full speed.
First, Blake fought through contact with Marion and shook him off.
Then he escaped Terry.
Finally, he burst free from the crowd and raced toward Nash.
"Whoosh!"
Nash delivered the pass.
"Smack!"
Blake caught the ball on the left wing, already a full meter beyond the three-point line.
Carried by his momentum, he took one more step away from the basket.
He was now more than two meters behind the arc.
Blake caught the ball with his body turned sideways.
There was no time to think.
He rose immediately, leaning backward as he launched an ultra-deep three.
"Ah!"
Nowitzki, positioned nearby on the left wing, roared and leaped to contest.
His timing was excellent.
He missed blocking the shot by the smallest possible margin.
But a margin was still a margin.
The ball slipped just over Nowitzki's fingertips and spun toward the basket.
1.7 seconds.
0.8 seconds.
The red light flashed.
Time expired.
Every person in the arena looked upward, watching the ball trace a beautiful arc through the air.
It slowly descended.
Then...
"Swish!"
Straight through the heart of the net!
Game over!
Blake buried an ultra-deep three at the buzzer to defeat the Mavericks.
He had beaten a Dallas team whose endless stream of "X-factors" had erupted throughout the entire night.
"Boom!"
The instant the ball ripped through the net, the arena erupted with a deafening roar.
It sounded like a missile had exploded at the bottom of a deep well, sending enormous waves crashing upward.
"We won!"
"A game-winner!"
"Blake did it! With only 2.3 seconds remaining, he created another miracle! He hit an ultra-deep three at the buzzer to defeat the Dallas Mavericks!"
"Blake is The Man Born for Game-Winners!"
"Ahhh! Blake is unstoppable!"
"..."
Cheers, screams, shouts, and roars filled the arena.
Every Suns player and fan raised their hands and celebrated wildly, savoring a game-winning night that belonged entirely to them.
"Unbelievable!"
In the commentary booth, Van Gundy's eyes widened as though they might pop out of his head.
"Incredible! Absolutely incredible! That shot from Blake was beyond belief!
"He did it!
"He did it again!
"Once again, Blake has pulled the Suns back from the edge of defeat with an ultra-deep buzzer-beater and delivered another victory!
"He is unbelievable!"
"That's right!"
Mike Breen's face had turned red with excitement as he shouted, "Tonight, the Mavericks produced one 'X-factor' after another, and Dirk took over down the stretch.
"But Blake...
"This 'Monster Rookie' answered with 52 points and an ultra-deep three at the buzzer!
"He single-handedly buried the Mavericks!"