Chapter 62: The last stretch

The timeout ended as Jason stood up and looked at Kyle, Udonis, Matt, and Nick. They all smiled and fist bumped him as they stepped back on to the hardwood.

Danilo was surprised to see Jason back in the game "Well if it ain't chopsticks. Not gonna lie I'm a little surprised to see you back in the game.

Then again it makes sense that your team would want to close out the game with their best player. What happened to Roid Rage? You took him out so you could have the two white boys play?"

Jason smirked as he looked Danilo "I would be more concerned about your own teammates my guy.

You know you ain't got anyone that can defend me and that might prove to be a bit of a problem considering that we're in the last minute of the game."

Danilo was somewhat right. As much as Jason wanted to put Trell in and have him play out the game to reward him for giving into the gameplan and doing what was best for the team.

Jason just couldn't do it. Trell's lack of shooting could prove to be very detrimental in this last stretch of the game.

Considering that the spacing was already tight as it was with Kyle and Udonis clogging up the paint.

Having Nick and Matt on the floor at the same time provided more shooting. Even if it meant lowing their defense on the perimeter Jason could minimize that with his great defensive coaching.

Kyle recieved the ball from the referee and he began to scan the court as he looked to pass the ball to Jason.

Jason was surprised as Verde Gardens had switched from using Alex to defend him to now using Danilo.

Danilo was sticking close to Jason and trying to deny him any clear angles to recieve the inbound pass.

Kyle was running out of time. If he didn't inbound the ball soon then it would result in a turnover. Kyle threw the inbound pass to Matt.

Danilo was trying his best to keep Jason from getting the ball. He was using his long arms and his big frame to deny the ball.

Jason faked a cut to the right but then spun left. He looked like a football player (American football) juking his defender on the field.

Matt saw Jason open so he passed him the ball. Jason caught the ball as he was cutting toward the paint.

Verde Gardens' defense collapsed as their players closed in on the paint to stop Jason. Their coach was going red in the face as he yelled his lungs out.

"What the hell are you doing!? Don't leave the perimeter open! It's better to give up a two than a three!"

But it was too late. Jason was able to see the floor clearly with just a quick glance. He saw Matt open on the wing and Nick open in the corner.

Jason's head was telling him to pass the ball to Nick because corner threes are the shortest three-pointers and are the easiest to make.

But something was telling him to pass it to Matt. Jason wasn't sure if it was his insticts or his heart talking to him but he decided to trust it.

Jason was in the paint going head to head with Verde Gardens' Center when he turned his back to him and threw a bullet pass to Matt.

The explosive pass was aimed right at Matt's shooting pocket. The pass was so quick that Matt didn't have time to think.

His body moved on it's own as he automatically went into his shooting motion. By the time that he knew what was happening the ball had already left his hand.

The gym seemingly went silent as everyone held their breathes and watched the ball fly through the air.

And just as sudden as the silence had appeared, the cheers and celebrations from the home section was the same.

The crowd errupted into a frenzy so great that the building felt like it was rocking once they saw the ball fall through the net.

Jefferson quickly went back on defense as Verde Gardens inbounded the ball. With only fifty seconds left on the clock they were up 68-62.

Alex brought the ball up the court and called out a play. Their team quickly began moving as Danilo went onto the left side and started posting up Jason on the elbow.

The rest of his teammates moved to the perimeter and to the side in order to give him ample space to operate.

Danilo did a couple fakes that Jason didn't bite on before starting to drive toward the paint. Except that instead of going toward the basket the drive was actually targeted at the perimeter.

Jason saw that two of Verde Gardens' players were lining up for the double scree. But even with his heads up awareness he could only dodge it by so much.

Jason didn't get hit hard by the screens but it was enough to give Danilo a bit of seperation. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to close out on time Jason did the only thing that he could do as he pushed Nick toward Danilo.

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Nick wasn't expecting the push as he stumbled a bit but it still helped to get him in Danilo's proximity. Nick raised his hand to contest the shot as Danilo shot the three.

Wheter it be becaue Nick's close out wasn't enough, Danilo had great luck, or because of his ability to make tough shots Danilo was still able to make the three.

The spirit of the homecrowd seemed to have been sucked away by Danilo's shot as they instantly became quiet. The small number in the away section instantly began making some noise.

The referee handed Kyle the ball to inbound again. He began scanning the floor looking for a person to pass the ball to. He was surprised to see that Verde Gardens' was guarding everyone tight as the tried to deny any open passing lanes.

Not just that. Verde Gardens' Center was standing in front of Kyle as he jumped up and down while waving his arms nonstop. This was the first time that Kyle was experiencing this and he wasn't sure on how to handle it.

Time began winding down so he hurriedly passed the ball to Matt as soon as he saw an opening. As soon as Matt caught the ball another Verde Gardens' player left his assignment to swarm him.

Matt was surrounded and pressured by the double team. They kept trying to rip the ball out of his hands. Matt panicked and tossed the ball to the closest Jefferson jersey that he could find. Unfortunately that was Kyle.

Kyle was surprised but he managed to catch the ball. As soon as Verde Gardens saw that Kyle was the one with the ball they fouled him intentionally. The ref blew his whistle and called for Jefferson to get two free throws.

Matt instantly knew that he had messed up. He apologized to everyone "Sorry. I panicked, I thought that they were about to rip the ball out of my hands."

Jason patted him on the shoulder "It's okay Matt. Don't look so down. It's not like we lost the possession. Kyle just has to shoot some free throws.

And even if he misses both of them that still doesn't mean that we lost. They would still have to score a three to tie things up. So everyone push any negative thoughts out your head and focus on this last stretch of the game."

Everyone nodded as they got into place for the free throws before they could get a technical for slowing the process of the game.

Kyle stood at the free throw line. He wiped his hands on his shorts to get rid of the sweat before taking the ball from the referee.

Jason looked on as Kyle stood at the free throw line 'He doesn't look nervous like Matt was but instead it looks like he's over complicating things.

He looks like he's thinking about a million different things right now. Just empty out your head and focus on your shots bro.'

Kyle dribbled the ball and held it in his hands 'You gotta make this. You can guarantee the win Kyle. Right here right now. All you need to do is make these free throws.'

Kyle awkwardly shot his first free throw. His shooting motion was mechanical and was made up of 2 motions. There was a hitch in his shot as the ball reached the top before flying out of his hands.

Kyle's first shot was short as it barely hit the front of the rim. The away section had been booing Kyle as he was shooting while the home section tried to drown them out with their cheers.

The gym went quiet after Kyle missed his first free throw. Kyle bit his lip in frustration 'Come on man! How could you miss that!?'

He took a deep breath as he took the ball from the referee for his second and last free throw.

'Please just make this one. God if you're listening I promise to cut down on my anime to just 3 hours a week if you help me make this.'

Kyle focused on the basket as he dribbled the ball once again before shooting it. Maybe it was a result from his last free throw but Kyle seemed to have strong armed this one.

The ball smashed into the backboard before falling to the floor. Kyle's mouth twitched as he looked down in disappointment.

Jason patted him on the shoulder before making their way back on defense. Jason was focused on every player on the floor as they got ready to defend this last possession.

Alex called another play as the Verde Gardens' players began moving. Jason chased Danilo around two screens as he cut to the basket.

Jason then saw a double screen being set to get Danilo open on the wing. Jason was about to fight through the screens when his legs buckled.

'Shit! What kind of dollar tree bootleg tape did Coach Swendel use?' Jason's moves on offense combined with Chasing Danilo around the court seemed to have been to much for the tape as they gave out while Jason was fighting through the double screen.

Jason couldn't let his teammates know about his situation because then the opposing team might hear and take advantage of the situation.

Jason pushed Kyle forward as they switched assignments on the screen. Jason did his best to stay standing as he followed Verde Gardens' Center to the other side of the perimeter.

Danilo smiled as he began to get into rhythm with his dribbling. Kyle was left alone on an island as he now had to defend Danilo on the isolation.

With only 25 seconds left on the clock this possession could decide the fate of the game.

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