"What happened?!"
"What's going on?!"
"Blake... is Blake okay?!"
"Blake can't be hurt! He's the Suns' superhero. He can't go down at a moment like this!"
In the stands, Mia Quinn, Yoona, Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Messi, Federer, Iverson, and everyone else was worried.
All eyes were on Blake, whose face was twisted in pain.
If Blake had really been injured at this point in the game...
The Suns were in serious trouble.
...
On the court, the medical staff rushed over immediately, along with Nash, Curry, and the rest of the Suns players.
Blake's brow was tightly furrowed. Clutching his bleeding right pinky, he gritted his teeth and said, "My right pinky got crushed!"
At the same time, the arena's big screen showed a slow-motion replay of the play.
After Haslem fouled Blake and sent him off balance, Haslem backed into Frye behind him.
His foot got tangled up as well, causing him to fall toward the floor.
As he went down, half of Haslem's backside landed directly on the back of Blake's right hand, which was braced against the hardwood.
That was why Blake had suddenly recoiled in pain and yanked his hand away.
Haslem hadn't done it intentionally, but that didn't change what had happened.
A strong, heavy center had landed directly on Blake's hand.
The force involved was easy to imagine.
"Hiss!"
The fans who saw the replay sucked in a collective breath.
"This is bad!"
Yi Jianlian grabbed his head, his face filled with alarm. "That's Haslem's full weight coming down on Blake's hand. That's brutal.
"Blake has to be okay."
"He'll be fine."
Yao Ming was praying for the same thing.
But no matter how much they wanted to believe it, Blake's expression had already told everyone one thing.
It hurt badly.
After cleaning and bandaging the wound, examining the hand, and speaking with Blake, the team doctor gave an initial assessment.
"There's a small laceration and some abrasion around the right pinky.
"It doesn't look like a fracture, but we can't rule one out yet.
"The first question is whether you can even play through this level of pain. The second is whether this is simply a compression injury, or something involving the joint capsule, tendon, ligament, or even a fracture.
"We need to take you back for a more thorough examination. Blake, you have to leave the game for now and come back to the locker room with us."
The Suns players felt a chill run through them.
Everyone knew what Blake leaving the floor at this moment could mean.
Blake knew too.
But he also knew that his pinky genuinely hurt like hell. He needed further treatment, because in his current condition, even dribbling the ball would be difficult.
In other words, he really couldn't keep playing right now.
"Okay."
Blake remained silent for a long moment before nodding.
Then he added, "Let me take the two free throws first. After that, I'll go."
"All right."
The team doctor agreed.
Blake's teammates helped him to his feet. After a brief exchange with the officials, he stepped to the free-throw line.
The sight immediately lifted the Suns fans' spirits.
He could shoot free throws?
Did that mean he was all right?
Then they noticed which hand he was using.
Not his dominant right hand.
His left.
A powerful sense of unease swept through the arena.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Blake made both free throws left-handed, pushing the Suns' lead back to eight.
Then the moment every Suns fan had been dreading finally came.
After taking the free throws, Blake left the court with team staff and General Manager Lance and headed back to the locker room.
The Suns fans clutched their heads, their hearts sinking.
Some Heat fans in the arena immediately began booing in excitement.
Everyone understood what Blake's absence meant.
Without him, the Suns might no longer have what it took to win the championship.
At that moment, "King James" LeBron crossed both arms in front of his chest, forming an "X" toward that section of Heat fans.
The message was clear.
Stop.
But the Suns fans and players couldn't have cared less about the boos.
Their only concern was Blake, who had just left the court injured.
"It's over."
John Wall shook his head repeatedly. "Blake was incredible through the first six games of the Finals, and now, in the biggest game of all, Game 7...
"He gets hurt.
"This is awful."
Kobe shook his head and sighed. "Judging by the way he looked, it might be serious. We're already in the fourth quarter.
"If he can't come back...
"The Suns are in real trouble."
And that was exactly what happened.
Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Blake had helped the Suns build an eight-point lead, putting them in an excellent position to win the game.
But once he left with the injury, everything changed.
In just 3 minutes and 11 seconds, the Suns' play collapsed on both ends of the floor.
The Heat Big Three seized the opportunity and ripped off a 13-3 run, erasing the eight-point deficit and taking a two-point lead.
Without Blake, the Suns were falling apart.
"Beep! Beep!"
Gentry hurriedly called a timeout to stop the bleeding.
But with Blake gone, the rest of the Suns looked as though the ground had vanished beneath their feet.
Panic set in, and they completely lost their ability to create offense for themselves.
"It's over."
"The Suns are done."
In the stands, Pippen shook his head at the sight.
Jordan gave a slight shrug. "I believed the Suns would win, but...
"Without their 'superhero' Blake, what are they supposed to win with?"
Across the arena, Yi Jianlian looked crushed.
"How did it come to this? Blake..."
Yao Ming slowly shook his head as well, his heart heavy.
"If they simply lost the game, I could accept that.
"But to make it all the way to Game 7 of the Finals and then lose the game, lose the championship, because of an injury...
"That's such a shame.
"It's hard to watch."
"Blake, please be okay!"
"Blake, come back!"
In the front row, Mia Quinn and Yoona frowned anxiously.
Blake's sudden injury was something neither of them had expected and something neither had wanted to see.
But there was nothing they could do now.
All they could do was silently hope that he was all right and that he would return to the court.
"Fuck you, Haslem!!!"
"That bastard! I want to go down there and punch him myself!"
"What a scumbag! Can't win, so now he starts playing dirty?!"
After several minutes with no sign of Blake returning, and with the Suns' lead already gone, some of the more hot-tempered fans finally lost control and started cursing Haslem.
...
In the broadcast studio, Mike Breen nearly let a curse slip live on air.
He was furious with Haslem, but somehow managed to swallow it.
Van Gundy looked deeply concerned.
"There's still about half a quarter left, and the Suns are down by two. I just hope Blake can come back.
"Even if he doesn't attack.
"Just having him standing on the floor would make a difference, wouldn't it?"
Every fan supporting the Suns, and every fan rooting for Blake, felt miserable.
...
A little earlier, on the way back to the locker room, Blake had asked the medical staff, "What's the fastest you can get the examination results?"
"Fifteen minutes."
"That's too long. I can't wait that long."
Blake answered immediately.
At the same time, he was already gritting his teeth and flexing his right pinky, not because he expected it to get better, but because he wanted to get used to the pain.
"You really should get it checked. If it's fractured and you aggravate it during the game, the consequences could be serious.
"And with how much pain you're in right now, your performance would obviously be affected."
The medical staff member's advice left Lance deeply conflicted.
On one hand, he didn't want Blake's injury to get worse.
If this had been any ordinary game, there wouldn't even have been a discussion. He would have kept Blake out, had him examined, and let him recover properly.
But this wasn't an ordinary game.
This was Game 7 of the Finals.
And Lance knew perfectly well that without Blake, the Suns had almost no chance against the Heat Big Three.
This season, this exact moment, might be their best chance to win a championship.
So even though Blake was injured, part of him still wanted Blake back on the court, leading the team to victory and the title.
That was why Lance couldn't make up his mind.
"I... you... Blake..."
He stumbled over his words, unable to figure out what to say.
Blake thought quickly, then turned to the medical staff.
"Then start the examination immediately. Do everything as efficiently as possible."
"Understood!"
The medical staff member nodded firmly.
He clearly understood the Suns' situation and just how important Blake was to the team.
There wasn't a second to waste.
He practically sprinted toward the treatment room while contacting the staff inside so they could prepare everything in advance.
Blake quickened his pace as well.
Then he turned to Lance, who was still struggling with the decision.
"Manager, I have to play tonight. And I mean as soon as the examination is finished.
"Once I know exactly what's wrong, I'll know how far I can push it. Please let me go back out there."
Blake was completely serious.
The Suns wanted the championship.
The fans wanted Blake to win it.
And Blake himself wanted it just as badly.
If they had lost to the Grizzlies in the first round, the Lakers in the second, or Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals during his legendary run, he could have accepted it.
Even if the Heat Big Three had swept them in the Finals, he could have lived with that too.
There was always next year.
Blake was still young. He had plenty of time.
But that wasn't the situation now.
They had already fought their way to Game 7 of the Finals.
And in the fourth quarter, they had held an eight-point lead.
The championship was already within reach.
All they had to do was survive the remaining minutes, and the trophy would be theirs.
The Suns would be champions.
How could he give up now?
How could he stop because of an injured pinky?
He couldn't.
Blake simply couldn't do it.
No matter how badly it hurt, his mind was made up.
Even if it took a little longer, he was going back into the game.
There was only one problem.
Blake was the Suns' undisputed centerpiece, their strongest player, Phoenix's "superhero."
If he returned, he had to be able to contribute.
"All right."
Seeing how determined Blake was, Lance finally stopped hesitating.
"We'll wait for the results. If you still think you can play once you know what's wrong, then we'll do it your way."
"Thanks, Manager."
Blake nodded.
Immediately afterward, he asked for painkillers.
While taking them, he quietly swallowed the last [Injury Reduction Candy] he still had after giving one to Yao Ming.
Yes.
The [Injury Reduction Candy] could reduce injury value by 10 points. It had even been enough to heal most of the career-threatening foot injury Yao Ming had suffered.
Blake's current injury might recover in a day or two, or a week at most.
Using the candy on something like this was an enormous waste.
But it hurt.
It hurt badly enough that for the next half hour, maybe even the next hour, he wouldn't be able to handle the ball properly, attack, or keep playing.
And he only had about ten minutes of game time left.
Even with fouls, free throws, timeouts, and all the other stoppages, that probably meant no more than half an hour in real time.
If he simply waited until the pain faded naturally, it would already be too late.
The championship would be gone.
So with his desire to return to the game and win the title overwhelming everything else, Blake stopped caring about whether it was wasteful.
He swallowed the [Injury Reduction Candy] without hesitation.
The [Injury Reduction Candy] could heal 10 points of injury over the course of a month.
Blake's current injury might not even amount to a single full injury point.
But the candy still needed some time to take effect.
That was also one of the reasons Blake, after thinking it through, was willing to wait fifteen minutes.
But fifteen minutes was the absolute limit.
After that, Blake was going back onto the court.
Lance also informed the Suns players in advance.
For the moment, at least, it gave them something to hold on to.
...
Back in the present, the Suns had called timeout.
They trailed by two with 7:04 remaining.
Without Blake, the Heat Big Three had erased an eight-point deficit and gone ahead, and the Suns players were on the verge of mentally unraveling.
Fortunately, they had now received word that Blake would definitely return in fifteen minutes.
More precisely, Blake's examination had already been underway for three minutes by the time the message reached them.
That meant they needed to survive another twelve minutes of real time while only seven minutes remained on the game clock.
They had to use every stoppage they could, keep the deficit as small as possible, and most importantly, make sure those seven minutes didn't disappear before Blake got back.
Without Blake, the Suns felt as though everything had fallen apart.
Their confidence was almost gone.
Even Coach Gentry's reassurance wasn't enough.
Only after Blake was truly gone did everyone understand just how much his presence meant to this team.
"Is it over?"
"It's over."
Curry and George muttered the words almost like a call and response.
And in truth, that was almost exactly how the entire Suns roster felt.
Against the overwhelmingly powerful Heat Big Three, the Suns without their "superhero" Blake seemed to have no chance.
But why only "seemed"?
Because two players still hadn't given up.
At the very least, until Blake returned, they were determined to keep fighting.
For the team.
For the championship they had spent their careers chasing.
Those two players were none other than "Captain Canada" Steve Nash and "Half Man, Half Amazing" Vince Carter.
...
...
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