One Guard

Yiyang rushed out of the three-point line and found that damn French guy Dior was still following him. He knew that he would never be able to catch another basketball today. Popovich had completely locked himself in!

So, Yiyang gestured to his French teammate Gobert. It's a gesture, but it's actually nothing complicated. Yiyang just pointed at Carter, that's all.

Gobert hesitated, but still passed the ball to No. 25, who had just come on. Prior to this, Carter took a total of three shots from beyond the three-point line and hit two goals.

Yiyang looked at Carter from a distance, he could do nothing more now. He still remembers that during the 20-second timeout, Carter said he trusted himself. And now, Yiyang also trusts Carter so much.

After Carter received the basketball, he ran to the corner he was most familiar with, the left corner without hesitation. Outside the three-point line, in the left corner, Carter once again took off from this familiar place.

Familiar because in Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals, he missed a fadeaway three-pointer in the exact same position. In the days that followed, this scene appeared again and again in Carter's dreams, bringing great joy to Carter. His painful memories.

In every training session since 2001, Carter would practice again at the position where he missed the shot. All along, he has been waiting, looking forward, and looking forward to the redemption opportunity.

I waited for this opportunity for 13 years. Carter knew that facing the Spurs, even if he made this buzzer-beating shot, he would not be able to undo the regrets of 13 years ago. But the hero still looks forward to being able to fulfill one of his wishes in his old age.

In order to avoid Ginobili's defense, Carter also made a fake shot. After Ginobili lost his center of gravity, the "Old Flying Man" took advantage of the time difference to officially take off.

Yiyang watched Carter leap high, leaning back slightly, and the basketball flew out of his fingertips. When the basketball was halfway through the air, the red light on the backboard was already on. Yiyang couldn't help but clenched his fists. It was the first time in so many years since he had been in the league that he was so nervous! This tension even surpassed the feeling when he first landed in the NBA!

Time seemed to slow down, and that damn basketball just refused to get closer to the basket. Yiyang saw that the stands of the American Airlines Center Arena were filled with blue. Everyone stood up and held their breath, waiting for the result.

For a long time, for a long time, Yiyang didn't even know how long it had been. That basketball, against the backdrop of the red light tube of the backboard, was in the expectant eyes of fans around the world. Didn't touch the basket and fell directly into the net!

"Beep!" The electronic buzzer sounded.

"Boom!" All the fans in the stands raised their arms,

The whole arena seemed to be shaking!

"In! In! Can you believe it!? Vince Carter! This is the moment for the Dallas Mavericks!" Mike Breen's roar became the perfect embellishment of the moment.

The blue sea water was boiling, and Carter, who made the winning shot, was like a transparent drop of water, but at this moment he was surprisingly calm. He closed his eyes and then raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

But Yiyang and his teammates couldn't calm down. The moment the ball scored, Yiyang rushed towards Carter as fast as he could. The fat guy from Cuban fell down when he fell down from the audience, but without thinking, he got up and continued to lean towards Carter.

Carter opened his eyes again, not smiling or roaring. He just stood there with his arms outstretched, that's all. This guy, he was finally relieved.

Yiyang jumped up suddenly and bumped chests with Carter in the air. Subsequently, Nowitzki, Iguodala, Gobert, Cuban, Tony Allen and all other Mavericks players present rushed over and hugged Carter tightly.

Behind him was a group of fans wearing blue T-shirts with their arms raised and roaring. In the American Airlines Center Arena, the cheers of the fans have not dissipated. Some old fans with gray hair roared until their faces turned red, but they still had no intention of stopping.

Carter was hugged by his teammates, but there was still no expression on his face. It’s just that he raised his right hand high and never put it down!

After Popovich saw this scene, he left without saying a word. Tony Parker looked back at the Mavericks players who were celebrating wildly. Unexpectedly, after locking up the number one, a guy who no one expected would step forward.

What about Ginobili? Duncan patted the bald man's head out of habit. Well, some fans even suspected that the hair on the top of Ginobili's head might have been rubbed away by Duncan in this way.

Under Duncan's "touch on the head", Ginobili could only shake his head helplessly and accept this fact.

In the last 1.7 seconds of the game, Tony Allen, who had a terrifying breakthrough, faced Gobert, who was 15 years younger than him, and successfully scored with a pull-up layup. This night should have belonged to Manu Ginobili. But that "half-man, half-god" guy seemed a little unconvinced.

"Hey." Manu sighed. After so many years, these old guys are still fighting each other on the court. Who would have thought that now in 2014, Ginobili and Carter could still dominate the game?

The Spurs and Mavericks, two old wines, have now added some flavor.

The Spurs players left the field silently. At this time, even Yiyang, the MVP, had to step aside on this field. Tonight, there is only one star in the American Airlines Center Arena, Vince Carter!

The Mavericks players gradually dispersed from Carter's side, and Cuban was still yelling. He had decided to continue signing with Carter this summer! Yiyang has been reluctant to leave Carter. When he asked the question "Do you think we can win?" a few minutes ago, Yiyang never expected that Carter would answer him in this way.

Carlisle stood on the sidelines, stunned. In the last 1.7 seconds, he chose to trust Carter and brought Carter on the court as a backup attack point. Unexpectedly, Carter actually gave him such a generous reward.

"It's so crazy Darrell, this world is so damn crazy!" Carlisle's face turned pale and he was obviously frightened.

"Why don't you go up and celebrate with the players?" Carlisle's assistant joked.

"I do, Darrell. But for some reason, I can't fucking move right now!"

Carlisle stayed where he was, his body stiff. Maybe it would take an old guy like him more time to recover from the shock.

Carter is still not smiling, just like he was in the 2000 dunk contest. There is no joy on this guy's face, only fierceness!

While being interviewed by reporters, Carter threw his headband into the stands. At the age of 37, he still looks like the "demigod" who refuses to accept anyone, with a domineering spirit in his bones.

Yiyang refused to be interviewed by all reporters today. Although Carter completed the game, he scored 27+10, which is definitely one of the keys to the Mavericks' victory. Without Yiyang, Carter might not even have a chance to complete the winning goal.

But whenever reporters found Yiyang, Yiyang would wave his hand and point at Carter. "He is today's hero. If you have anything to ask, just ask him."

At the post-game press conference, Popovich also felt very helpless about the situation of falling behind 2-0. Having been defeated by the opponent's three-pointer in two consecutive games, Popovich has never encountered such unlucky things in his life.

"Ginobili's defense was very good, but Carter still made the shot. We couldn't help it, we must admit that Carter did a good job. Manu also did everything he could, but Carter still scored. ”

When facing reporters, Popovich's tone was full of helplessness. After being away from the court for half a year, he completed the winning goal as soon as he came back. Popovich could only sigh in his heart. Carter, Carter, you are so damn cruel!

On the other side, the atmosphere in the Mavericks was much more cheerful. Cuban, who was in a good mood, also attended the press conference today. The scene where he jumped to the ground and fell to the ground in order to rush into the court and hug Carter, has also become a topic of ridicule among many reporters.

But faced with this embarrassing scene, Cuban was not angry.

"All I thought about at the time was to push away all the guys in front of me and hug Carter! After falling down, I was even more convinced that I was not dreaming!"

"Coach Carlisle, Carter has since had his own winning moment in the playoffs. At the age of 37 years and 90 days, he has become the oldest person to complete a winning game in the playoffs since Rockets player Eddie Johnson in 1997. Players. What do you think about this? Did you deliberately arrange for Carter to catch the ball at the last moment?"

"I have to admit, the original plan was for the final shot. But the Spurs didn't let him get a chance, so we had to make a temporary change. You all saw what happened after that. To be honest, Vince deserved this. opportunity," Carlisle said. "A player like him deserves to have his own playoff moment to commemorate."

"What do you think of Carter's buzzer-beater? At that moment, I was watching a hero complete his performance." Yiyang, the MVP, also put down his attitude today. He didn't want to steal Carter's limelight.

Finally, reporters turned their attention to Carter. Everyone has finished asking, but Carter, the protagonist, has not yet spoken.

"Mr. Vince, what do you think of your performance in the last 1.7 seconds?"

After hearing the question, Carter smiled. How long has it been since he attended a press conference? Unexpectedly, this would become the focus.

"First of all, I have to thank my teammates, coaches and bosses. During the half-year period when I was injured, they could have abandoned me, but they didn't. After I came back, they could have let someone else take my place, but they didn't. In the last 1.7 seconds, they I could choose someone else to execute the shot, but no! I have to thank them for their trust in me! Thank them for being willing to believe in a 37-year-old and 90-day-old guy." Carter said, his eyes a little red, but He recovered quickly.

The Dallas Mavericks gave him far more than what he gave to the Mavericks.

"So, I am willing to help the team win in any way, in training, in the locker room, any way. But if the coach and teammates are willing to give you such an opportunity, I will naturally cherish it more."

"I'm not afraid of pressure shots, I'm not afraid of winning shots, I'm not even afraid of missing shots. This mental trait helped me and allowed me to finish this shot with confidence, and from then on I lived by it. There are always times. , you miss important shots, like I did in 2001, and you keep thinking about it until the opportunity for redemption comes along. I'm glad that after all these years, the opportunity finally came."

After saying that, Carter finally showed a long-lost smile.

Yes, exactly 4,724 days later, Carter used a perfect self-salvation to dispel the lingering nightmare...

And this veteran also played a big role on the road to the championship.

2-0, the Dallas Mavericks are far ahead in the Western Conference Finals. When this team will no longer be supported by Yiyang alone, it also means that their moment is coming!