Just as He Xi Meng thought the championship was within his grasp, Nash, in a moment of desperation, sprinted with all his might, rewriting history by improving his time by another 0.2 seconds, reaching 25.6 seconds!
Who would have thought! The inertia of history was so immense that, without He Xi Meng's notice, it forcefully turned the track back.
Nash's 0.1-second comeback defeated He Xi Meng!
He Xi Meng accepted the loss wholeheartedly!
The 2005 Skills Challenge champion was still Nash's!
"Damn it! You can mess up too?"
As He Xi Meng stepped off the court, he saw the "Apple Lord" (Qiao Bangzhu) laughing the loudest at the sidelines.
Compared to He Xi Meng winning the championship, He Xi Meng losing it was actually more newsworthy.
The "Apple Lord's" main goal was to increase the Celtics' influence among fans by having He Xi Meng participate in individual events.
Winning would be great, but even if he didn't, the "Apple Lord's" objective had been achieved.
After the Skills Challenge came the Three-Point Contest!
Carter's participation in the Three-Point Contest on behalf of He Xi Meng did not garner much attention from other contestants.
Carter's fame for his dunks overshadowed people's confidence in his three-point shooting consistency.
Kohl came out first, scoring a respectable 14 points.
Quentin Richardson was second, missing his first five shots, and ended with 14 points.
Carter was third. He made 2 out of 5 shots from the first spot, his touch was average. He made 3 out of 5 from the second spot, his touch started to improve. He made 4 out of 5 from the third spot, 3 out of 5 from the fourth spot, and 2 out of 5 from the fifth spot! Carter finished with 14 makes out of 25 shots, including 2 out of 5 from the money ball spots. His final score was 16 points!
This score wasn't exceptionally high, but for Carter, participating in the Three-Point Contest for the first time, it wasn't low either!
After Carter finished his preliminary round, He Xi Meng gave him a warm hug, congratulating him on "temporarily ranking first"!
Radmanovic, who went fourth, performed very poorly, making only 5 out of 25 shots, averaging just one make per spot! Fortunately, he made one money ball, otherwise, he would have tied the worst Three-Point Contest record set by the "Apple Lord" in 1990.
Well, when the live commentator unreservedly brought up this embarrassing anecdote of the "Apple Lord," he showed no shyness or awkwardness. Instead, he stood up fittingly and waved to the crowd under the spotlight!
"Yes! The person who set the lowest score record in the Three-Point Contest is this divine self!"
Those who truly understood how to create buzz never missed an opportunity to promote themselves, even if it involved their own embarrassing moments!
The "Apple Lord's" move had insiders exclaiming "six six six!" (meaning awesome).
Radmanovic quickly fled the scene, leaving the stage to the "Apple Lord."
Ray Allen was the fifth participant!
During the 2002 All-Star Weekend, He Xi Meng, who had already won three consecutive Three-Point Contests, declined the organizing committee's invitation. Ray Allen, getting his wish, was crowned the new Three-Point King!
Originally, Ray Allen wanted to follow He Xi Meng's example and retire after winning three consecutive titles.
However, in the 2003 Three-Point Contest, he lost to Peja.
In the 2004 Three-Point Contest, he lost to Mike Miller again.
Forget a three-peat; even a two-peat was incredibly difficult.
But having made the boast, Ray Allen, who vowed not to give up until he won three consecutive titles, had no choice but to press on!
This year, Ray Allen had been quite worried about whether he would participate if He Xi Meng had decided to join.
It was only after He Xi Meng confirmed his absence that Ray Allen felt relieved and competed with a lighter heart. Seeing how off the touch of the previous shooters was, Ray Allen had a premonition: his second Three-Point King trophy was coming!
As a result, when Ray Allen took the court, he kept clanging shots, and his final score was a mere 13 points!
With the defending champion Mike Miller yet to compete, Ray Allen had already missed out on the finals.
This outcome made Ray Allen very embarrassed. Although the Denver fans offered him comforting applause, Ray Allen left the court without looking back, completely ignoring the greetings from He Xi Meng and others.
"Alas, time waits for no one!"
If He Xi Meng remembered correctly, this year's Three-Point King should be Quentin Richardson, whose preliminary round score wasn't particularly impressive.
Ray Allen, who had no hope anyway, whether he made it to the finals or not was irrelevant.
Mike Miller, the last participant, shot a preliminary round-high of 17 points amidst the cheers of his home crowd!
This round saw a third-place tie.
Quentin Richardson and Kohl would have to have a shootout to determine who would advance to the finals as the third seed.
As expected, Quentin Richardson defeated Kohl in the tiebreaker and advanced to the finals.
In the finals, Quentin Richardson was the first to compete and posted the highest score so far with 19 points!
"If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the championship score!" He Xi Meng thought to himself. Facing Carter, who was about to compete, He Xi Meng, though not optimistic, felt that according to historical inertia, Carter was likely to lose to inertia.
However, when he high-fived Carter, He Xi Meng solemnly placed a clump of air into Carter's palm, hoping he would perform well!
Carter, looking bewildered, asked He Xi Meng, "What the hell is this?"
He Xi Meng smiled and replied, "This is my Three-Point King shooting touch package! I'm lending it to you temporarily!"
Carter had never heard of a shooting touch package before! While finding it novel, he decided to believe it rather than not. He solemnly clasped the air in his hand!
"I won't let your Three-Point King shooting touch package down!"
Carter, re-entering the court with He Xi Meng's shooting package, seemed divinely aided!
"19 points, 20 points, 22 points!"
In the final moments, Carter made 9 consecutive shots, pushing his score all the way up to 22 points!
He Xi Meng, standing at the sidelines, was also stunned!
"Could it be that shooting touch packages actually exist?"
Carter, as happy as a 200-pound child, hopped back to He Xi Meng, grabbed his hand, and exclaimed, "Xi Meng, your shooting touch package is too effective. Remember to lend it to me more often in the future..."
He Xi Meng said magnanimously, "No problem! We're all family, don't be polite!"
"But how should I return this touch package to you?"
He Xi Meng smiled mysteriously, "The borrowing period is over. The shooting touch package has returned to me, so there's no need to return it..."
Carter was left bewildered by He Xi Meng's words, unsure whether He Xi Meng was telling the truth or not.
And while the two were goofing around, the last contestant, the preliminary round's top seed, Leonard, took the stage!