The 24-second shot clock expired.
But the basketball stubbornly continued to climb, and the spectators' eyes continued to follow it upward.
Gradually, the basketball seemed like a plane climbing out of thick clouds, soaring above them and seeing the rising sun on the horizon.
Then, like a dolphin leaping through the air, it began to fall, passing through the thick clouds again.
At last, after a long flight, it landed.
Only this landing was incredibly heavy.
Bang!
It slammed hard into the inside of the right side of the rim.
Swish!
White flames erupted from the hoop!
Three-pointer made!
123:122, the Lakers took a one-point lead.
And there were still three seconds left in the game.
At that moment, the entire arena fell silent.
The Pistons fans were stunned.
Just three seconds earlier, they had all seemed to be in heaven. But now, they had seemingly fallen into hell.
They could not accept such a reversal.
Meanwhile, the Lakers fans had never expected the ball to go into the basket in such a way.
Pistons Head Coach Billups held his head in both hands, shaking it repeatedly in disbelief before hurriedly signaling for a timeout.
"Good... damn it, an Alley-oop three-pointer! That guy actually hit an Alley-oop three-pointer! Damn it!"
Billups cursed incoherently.
The Assistant Coaches beside him also kept shaking their heads, their faces full of disbelief.
Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson clenched his fist and swung it fiercely, shouting, "Yes! Damn it, yes!"
In fact, even Billups had fallen into despair just now. When Wang Yi had thrown up that airball and bent over clutching his calf, Phil Jackson had also despaired.
Yet no one could have imagined that, in the final moment, with the shot clock about to expire, Wang Yi had miraculously endured the agonizing pain