[Ding! Random mission triggered: Defeat a team currently ranked first in real-time conference standings to receive the reward: [Eagle Spear.]
Blake Su's heart skipped when he heard the System notification.
"[Eagle Spear]? Isn't that the steal skill from Kuroko's Basketball?"
In his previous life, as a basketball fan, he had watched his fair share of basketball anime—Slam Dunk, Kuroko's Basketball, and the like.
"Right. Even if it's not a Miracle Generation-level ability, a skill from that kind of fantasy basketball world, once applied in reality and added to me, would massively boost my steal ability.
But beating the team ranked first in the conference—and it has to be the real-time leader. In other words, on the night the Suns face them, that team must be sitting at No.1 in either the East or West.
Right now, the East is led by the Heat, and the West by the Spurs.
The Heat have their 'Big Three.' The Spurs have 'GDP.' Neither is easy to deal with. Winning even one game against them won't be simple.
And recently, we don't even seem scheduled to face either team. Completing this high-reward random mission won't be easy."
Even so, Blake Su quietly set his sights on the Spurs and the Heat. The moment the opportunity came, he would seize it and claim [Eagle Spear].
...
The Mavericks and the Suns were set to face off the following night.
5 p.m.
The Suns flew to Dallas, checking into a hotel near the American Airlines Center in advance.
That evening, instead of the media and fans hyping up the upcoming Mavericks-Suns showdown, the spotlight was stolen by another game—Bulls vs. Nuggets.
What happened?
A matchup between the East's second seed and the West's sixth seed was already compelling on paper.
Led by Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets held the lead through the first three quarters. Early in the fourth, they even went on an 8–2 run, stretching the margin to 13 points.
Everything pointed to a Nuggets win.
Then…
After a timeout, Rose took over.
Drive after drive, he slashed into the paint like a blade, attacking relentlessly and finishing again and again.
With 37 seconds left—
Swish!
Rose drilled a three from beyond the arc.
He had been just 1-for-4 from three all night. That was his only make.
But it tied the game.
And it showcased his clutch gene in full.
"Melo" brought the ball up, isolated one-on-one against Luol Deng. He waved his teammates away, drained the clock down to 10 seconds, then attacked.
He rose for a pull-up jumper after creating space.
The shot was cleanly separated from Deng—but it came up just short.
The ball hit the rim and bounced out.
Noah secured the rebound and immediately handed it to Rose without hesitation.
Final possession.
Rose stood at the top of the arc, guarded by Anthony.
His expression was calm and supremely confident—the kind of confidence only a player with absolute belief in himself could show.
7.3 seconds left.
He dribbled with his right hand. The instant he lowered his body, he exploded forward—quick as lightning, each step threatening to rip through Anthony's defense.
Anthony, one of the elite from the '03 draft class, slid laterally and stayed in front.
But Rose suddenly stopped.
Step-back.
He rose into a leaning three.
Anthony leapt to contest with everything he had—
Too late.
The spinning ball arced through the air and dropped straight through the net.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
The buzzer sounded as the ball went in.
Rose buried the Nuggets with a game-winning three, igniting the arena and cementing once again the power of the "Heir to Jordan," the "Windy City Rose."
"MVP!"
"MVP!!"
"MVP!!!"
The game ended, but the chants continued to echo through the building.
With that win, the Bulls improved to 16–5, matching the Heat's record.
Earlier in the season, the Bulls had defeated the Heat.
So despite identical records—
The Bulls rose to No.1 in the Eastern Conference.
...
The next day.
When Blake Su heard the news, he was thrilled.
The System mission required defeating a conference leader. After the Mavericks game, the Suns' next opponent would be the Bulls.
Which meant—
If they beat the Bulls, he would complete the mission.
The sudden stroke of luck left Blake Su in high spirits. Beating the Bulls wouldn't be easy, but at least now there was a real opportunity.
"Perfect."
"Still, first things first—the Mavericks. Nowitzki's one-legged fadeaway is no joke. This is the year Dirk reaches his peak."
...
9 p.m.
American Airlines Center.
The highly anticipated Mavericks vs. Suns showdown was underway.
After warm-ups, the starters took the floor.
Dallas Mavericks starting lineup: Jason Kidd at point guard, Jason Terry at shooting guard, Caron Butler at small forward, Dirk Nowitzki at power forward, and Tyson Chandler at center.
Phoenix Suns starting lineup: Steve Nash at point guard, Stephen Curry at shooting guard, Vince Carter at shooting guard, Channing Frye at power forward, and Blake Su at center.
"Jump ball!"
Blake Su faced off against Chandler, who was slightly taller. Unfazed, Blake Su exploded straight up and cleanly tipped the ball away.
He had yet to lose a single tip-off.
Curry secured the ball and pushed it up quickly. In the frontcourt, he found Nash, who steadied the pace and swung it to Carter in the left corner.
Carter rose for three—
Clang.
No good.
Chandler tipped the rebound outward. Just as Kidd reached for it at the left high post, Blake Su sprang up first, grabbed the board, and immediately went up with a jumper.
Swish.
Smooth and steady.
Mavericks (0) — (2) Suns.
Kidd brought the ball up the floor, surveying the defense at the top of the arc. He lofted a high entry pass to Nowitzki on the right elbow, then drifted left to clear space.
Carter pressed up to defend.
Nowitzki backed him down with his hips, took a half turn, raised the ball high, lifted one leg—
And faded away.
The release was effortless.
Swish.
"There it is—the one-legged fadeaway!"
The commentator shouted excitedly.
"That's Nowitzki's signature move. Carter has absolutely no answer for it. None at all."
...
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