25.6 seconds remained.
The Suns trailed by four.
Blake had raced against the clock and buried two deep threes to keep the Suns alive, cutting what had once been a nine-point deficit to four.
But even now, completing the comeback would be incredibly difficult.
Heat ball.
Bosh inbounded from the baseline to Wade, the steadier option to receive the pass.
The instant Wade caught it, Blake and George charged at him.
"Whoosh!"
Blake suddenly reached in, gambling for the steal.
But this was "Flash" Wade.
Blake's gamble failed.
As soon as George saw Wade trying to escape with the ball, he lunged at him too.
This time, he wasn't going for the ball.
He was going for Wade.
"Beep! Beep!"
The whistle sounded.
Another intentional foul by the Suns sent Wade back to the free-throw line.
21.8 seconds remained.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Both free throws dropped.
Wade was shooting 81.3 percent from the line in the playoffs. Solid, but hardly elite.
Yet at the most important moment of the season, he had gone four-for-four.
Nerves of steel.
He wasn't giving the Suns anything.
The lead was back to six.
Suns ball.
Curry prepared to inbound from the baseline.
After Blake had hit two consecutive deep threes, the Heat had clearly become wary of him. Even with a six-point lead, they chose to apply full-court pressure.
They weren't fouling.
They were simply trying to make every second as difficult as possible.
And Blake was their primary target.
LeBron and Wade stayed glued to him, determined not to let him touch the ball.
They were willing to let another Suns player receive the inbound pass. Even if the ball eventually found its way back to Blake, the extra passes would burn precious seconds.
The Suns hadn't expected the Heat to pressure them this aggressively with only 21.8 seconds left and a six-point lead.
Curry had been focused entirely on getting the ball to Blake.
When he suddenly realized there was no opening, panic set in.
The five-second count was nearly up.
"They can't get the ball in?!"
"Are the Suns about to turn it over?!"
Pippen stared wide-eyed.
Jordan's eyes widened as well.
Just before the five-second violation...
Curry threw the ball in.
He was still trying to find Blake.
But the pass was off target.
"Smack!"
LeBron got a hand on it first and knocked it away.
Was it going out of bounds?!
"Whoosh!"
Blake sprinted after the loose ball at full speed, then slammed on the brakes near the sideline at midcourt.
At the absolute limit of his reach, he managed to save it.
But his momentum was still carrying him toward the front-row seats.
And he couldn't simply throw the ball back onto the court.
LeBron and Wade were right behind him.
Any blind pass would be stolen.
Was the ball going out after all?!
At that critical moment, Blake twisted halfway around as he fell toward the crowd.
He held the ball in one hand.
With the other, he pointed toward the referee.
Timeout.
"Beep! Beep!"
The referee immediately granted it.
By the time Blake crashed into the seats and the ball went out of bounds, the timeout had already been called.
Suns possession.
"Great save!"
"Great timeout!"
On the bench, Nash and Carter, both already fouled out, clapped in approval before immediately rushing over to help Blake out of the stands.
"Blake! Keep going!"
Nearby, Mia Quinn called out softly.
Yoona raised a small fist in encouragement.
The two leaned toward each other as they cheered him on.
Blake looked over and smiled before giving them a small nod.
...
In the broadcast studio, Mike Breen was just as fired up.
"Great awareness from Blake! Calling that timeout saved the possession. If he hadn't done it, the Suns would've lost the ball and any realistic hope of winning.
"But there's a problem.
"That was Phoenix's final timeout."
That was right.
During the stretch when Blake had been off the court, Nash and Carter hadn't been the only ones doing everything they could to keep the Suns alive.
Coach Gentry had been working the clock too.
He had used his timeouts strategically, stretching the game out as much as possible and buying Blake every extra minute he could.
By the time Blake returned and Gentry called another timeout, the Suns had only one left.
Now that final timeout was gone.
Phoenix had none remaining.
That created two problems.
First, they could no longer stop play to draw up a set.
Second, after any future Heat score, the Suns would have to inbound from the baseline and bring the ball all the way up the floor themselves.
That would cost even more precious time.
For Phoenix, it was terrible news.
But Blake had needed that timeout to preserve possession.
There had been no other choice.
And he'd made the right play.
...
Back at the Suns' bench, Blake naturally understood that they had no timeouts left.
His expression didn't change.
There was nothing to do now except keep moving forward.
"Hey."
Blake looked around at his teammates.
"Guys, they're up six and they're still pressing us full court.
"That means they're worried.
"So stay confident.
"Better yet, trust me.
"We haven't lost yet. We still have a chance.
"They're going to do the same thing again. They'll pressure me full court and try to keep me from touching the ball.
"Don't panic.
"I don't care how many guys they put in front of me.
"Throw the ball over my head.
"Trust my height and my vertical. I'll go get it.
"Then I'll attack."
"Yeah!"
The Suns answered together.
They knew exactly what to do.
In truth, the Heat were a little uneasy.
No.
Uneasy wasn't quite the right word.
They were being cautious.
If they could force Phoenix to waste more time, their chances of winning would only improve.
Why wouldn't they?
Soon, the timeout ended.
The Suns, now completely out of timeouts, prepared to inbound.
The sequence from Curry's previous inbound to Blake's save and timeout had consumed 3.4 seconds.
That left 18.4 seconds.
And because Blake had saved the ball beyond midcourt before calling timeout, Phoenix would inbound from the sideline near half court.
George had the ball.
Just as Blake predicted, LeBron and Wade surrounded him.
Chalmers stayed with Curry.
Dragić and Frye were left almost completely unattended.
"Whoosh!"
Blake suddenly sprinted toward George and pointed upward.
George understood immediately.
He threw the pass high.
It didn't matter that LeBron and Wade were both there.
"Thud!"
Blake tracked the ball and exploded straight up from a standstill.
His vertical was on full display.
It looked almost like a jump ball.
"Smack!"
Blake snatched the pass over the heads of both LeBron and Wade.
"Whoosh!"
He didn't pause.
The moment he came down with the ball, he accelerated and burst past LeBron at his side.
Dragić stepped up to screen.
"Whoosh!"
Blake accelerated again.
He shook Wade loose and raced toward the right wing.
Both defenders were behind him now.
But Bosh stepped up.
"Screech!"
Blake slammed on the brakes.
There was no time for anything else.
He rose in front of "CB4" Bosh and appeared to launch another three.
Bosh knew how dangerous Blake had been from deep.
At this point in the game, he was certain Blake had to shoot.
He instinctively stepped forward and reached out to contest.
But Blake hadn't actually committed to the shot.
It was a pump fake.
The instant Bosh closed the distance, Blake went up again and deliberately leaned into the contact.
"Beep! Beep!"
The whistle blew.
Knocked off balance and pitching forward, Blake still managed to release the ball.
"Oh no!"
Bosh's heart sank.
All he could do was turn and watch.
The spinning ball sailed toward the rim.
Then, to his disbelief...
"Swish!"
It dropped straight through the net!
...
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