Chapter 3 Opportunity at the Third Spot

Tang Tian picked up the ball at his third spot, using the same shooting posture.

The ball swished through the net, not even grazing it.

Every player has their hot spots and cold spots. For a shooter of Tang Tian's caliber, the accuracy varied slightly between spots. The arc was his most accurate.

The second ball hit the net and dropped.

The third ball hit the net and dropped.

The fourth ball hit the net and dropped.

After the fifth ball went in clean again, the fans in the arena were dumbfounded.

Holy crap… is he cheating?!

"Are you kidding me?!"

Barkley's eyes were wide.

Miller was also shocked. He knew what those clean shots meant. This was real accuracy!

Kenny Smith burst out laughing. He knew something was off before. Tang Tian had saved all his accuracy for the finals.

"Fxck!"

Winslow jumped out of his seat!

But his voice was quickly drowned out by the cheers of the crowd.

A superstar beating a rookie, even with off-court drama, wouldn't excite people too much.

But a rookie beating a superstar, and seemingly dominating him, was incredibly exciting, to the point of trembling.

Durant's face was dark. Sixteen points from three spots. Tang Tian's performance in the finals was explosive.

There were still two spots left.

Tang Tian couldn't keep shooting that accurately.

That was his instinctive thought.

Tang Tian arrived at the fourth spot.

His rhythm was good. He still had over 20 seconds left, so there was no rush.

He picked up the ball and shot.

"Clang!"

This shot was a little off.

After increasing his shooting speed, his open shot accuracy was slightly lower than during his NCAA days.

Durant breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't possibly keep making them all. It was just later than it had been in the preliminary round.

"Swish!"

But just as that thought crossed his mind, Tang Tian made his next shot.

The third ball went in again.

The fourth ball went in as well.

The fifth money ball spun through the air, drawing an arc before going in!

Another 4 out of 5!

Tang Tian's score was already at 21!

With one spot left, Tang Tian had already matched Durant's score from the preliminary round!

And with one spot left, he might even break the 25-point record set by Kapono in the 2009 finals!

The fans were ecstatic, and Barkley in the commentary booth was excited as well. He even forgot to make fun of Smith because they were likely witnessing history!

The last spot.

Tang Tian took the ball, shot, and scored.

He took it out again, shot again, and scored again.

His rhythm and feel were incredibly smooth, so smooth that just watching him shoot was exhilarating.

All four regular balls went in, bringing his score to 25 points, tying Kapono's three-point record!

One money ball left, four seconds left. He had a chance to set a new three-point record.

The noise and cheers died down. They were afraid of affecting Tang Tian's performance.

Opportunities to break records like this were rare.

Tang Tian released the money ball, which spun through the air, drawing a beautiful arc as it fell straight towards the basket.

The trajectory was perfect.

"Swish!"

A clean sound. Tang Tian's last money ball went in!

Twenty-seven points!

Tang Tian set a new scoring record for the three-point contest!

The moment the last ball went in, the arena erupted in cheers.

Parker rushed onto the court and hugged Tang Tian. The Frenchman was shouting excitedly for the first time.

Not only Parker, but Wade also jumped out of his seat to congratulate Tang Tian.

James looked a little awkward.

He had told the media that he admired Tang Tian, but because the Heat's decision back then was related to him, the better Tang Tian performed, the more embarrassed he felt.

Winslow was jumping up and down, doing hip-hop dances.

Tang Tian smiled at Durant.

Nowitzki's performance in the contest fluctuated because his mental fortitude wasn't good enough. The 8 out of 10 at the beginning was Nowitzki's normal level.

He wasn't Nowitzki. His heart was calm.

As for his performance in the preliminary round, he was acting.

He was the last one to go anyway. He just needed to make it to the finals.

There was a saying that to destroy your opponent, you must first make them go crazy. The feeling of killing your opponent in one round wasn't as satisfying as making them despair now.

After the preliminary round, you thought you had a good chance?

Sorry, but in the finals, I'm telling you clearly that it was just your illusion!

And it was an illusion that I gave you!

"Charles, who did you say he was like again?"

Smith was laughing as he looked at Barkley, who had said Tang Tian was another Nowitzki.

"Reggie Miller, he's the next Reggie Miller."

Barkley said quickly.

Breen burst out laughing.

Miller was also shaking his head with a smile.

That was Barkley's linguistic art. Having a thick skin allowed him to not lose face, and he even flattered Miller next to him.

And Miller wouldn't say he couldn't do it to save Barkley's face, killing three birds with one stone.

"Godfather! Godfather!"

Many of the fans in the arena were fans of "Godfather" (Tang Tian's nickname), and after they started shouting, they got the people around them to join in.

Soon, a unified shout rang out in the arena.

This kind of treatment was generally only enjoyed by superstars, but Tang Tian had once again broken the rules.

And Tang Tian was as handsome as Parsons before, also a rich and handsome man, and his performance was even more explosive!

The cheers died down when Durant prepared to take the stage.

Many people realized that the finals had just begun, and Durant and Jones hadn't shot yet.

But at this time, everyone's feelings were different. Durant's chances of beating Tang Tian were too small.

Kenny Smith's words were verified. Tang Tian's 27-point performance was like building a Mount Everest in front of Durant and Jones.

Durant adjusted his breathing. From his expression, it could be seen that he didn't intend to give up.

At the first spot, Durant had a good touch, making 3 of 5 for 4 points.

At the second spot, he still made 3 of 5 for 3 points.

Seven points from two spots. Not bad.

But at the third spot, he only made 1 of 5.

This was clearly not his normal level, but a fluctuation in his mentality.

Twenty-seven points was a level of only missing 2-3 balls out of 25!

After shooting 2 spots, he had already lost his chance.

The three-point contest was a quick-fire event within a minute. After the mentality fluctuated, the change in accuracy would be very obvious.

In the next few spots, Durant seemed to dream back to the previous competition, only making 3 of 15 balls. In the end, his individual score was fixed at 10 points.

This was not just a loss, but a complete defeat!