The Final Shot

Chapter 10: Lone Scorer

By the time it was halftime, the Braves had fought back bravely and had a five-point lead. It was 52-47 and the Arrows were struggling with Frank scoring less. 15 points were from free-throws for the Arrows and 10 came from Frank. When the second half started, the Arrows went small. They replaced Ben with Don and were also ready. They were looking vicious, like a bunch of big elephants ready to decimate some tiny ants. Just after 2 minutes, it was already tied again, at 52-52. Don had made a three-pointer and then he had stolen the ball on the next possession to give Frank the alley-oop. Since the Braves were double-teaming Frank, Don was sometimes left open to score. The Braves weren't at their best, it was kind of hard. Right now, though, it was kind of a see-saw game where no lead was larger than 5 points. With 2 minutes left in regulation, the Braves called a time-out. Coach Auerbach told them to set up a new strategy.

"Alright, guys, we're in a close game right now and we have to get this win. Right? Let's set up a full court press. Give them pressure the moment they get the ball and I'll be able to light up my cigar."

They started a full-court press but had to give up on fastbreaks even if they could initiate them, since they didn't have the energy to do so. With 22 seconds remaining, it was still only 102-100, Braves with the lead and Arrows with the possession. It was very possible that the Arrows made a three-pointer and overtook the lead to win the game. The Arrows let Don take the ball, and Jake tried his best to steal it but wasn't successful. Don passed to Frank, and then Frank moved with a sidestep for the three pointer. Then, it went in. 103-102, with only 13.2 seconds left. Coach Auerbach used their last timeout and told King to take the shot. Of everyone in the team, King had the best 1-on-1 skills but not exactly number one overall. To fake it though, Jake took the ball, passed it to Michael, who faked-shot and then passed to King. King drove into the lane, and got past the defenders to score. 104-103. There was only 0.2 seconds left and the Arrows just dribbled it out. Though the Braves had won, they had to admit that this was a really tough game. They were both mentally and physically exhausted. Right now, though, the Braves were 8-1. The next game was to be a back-to-back, so the Braves had to take a road trip the next morning and have less than 3 hours to take a break.