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DeMarcus jerked his head over his shoulder. “Take a seat.”
Barron’s lips parted. “What?”
DeMarcus looked around. “Rick, you’re in.”
Barron’s eyes widened. “You’re replacing me with Rick? You should replace Jamal.”
DeMarcus spared the team captain a glance. “This isn’t a democracy.” He spoke quickly to Warrick. “I don’t know what kind of mental blo
ck you’re working through. I don’t care. You’ve brought the heat in practice. This is just like practice, but a zillion times more important.”
Fear flashed in Warrick’s eyes. “Coach, you need to keep Bling in the game.”
Barron interjected. “That’s right.”
From the corner of DeMarcus’s eye, he saw Oscar pull the angry point guard to the bench. “This is a time-out. Not halftime. I don’t have all day. You get the looks, take the shot. No hesitations. Be aggressive. But, for the love of God, don’t foul out. Jamal’s already carrying four fouls.” He grabbed the veteran’s arm. “Do you have this?”
Warrick’s shoulders straightened. His eyes focused. “I’ve got this.”
DeMarcus commanded the other man’s gaze. “Don’t be afraid to lose.”
The buzzer sounded. The starters hustled back on court.
Anthony inbounded the ball to Vincent. The Monarchs’ center took the ball to the paint, gesturing his teammates into position. The Knicks’ Timofey Mosgov shadowed him. Warrick and Serge had the perimeter, defended by Amare Stoudemire and Danilo Gallinari, respectively. Anthony stood at post with New York’s Wilson Chandler. Jamal covered Bill Walker in the paint.
Vincent passed the ball to Warrick. The shooting guard pick-and-rolled to the post with a blind pass to Anthony. The Monarchs’ forward grabbed the ball and slammed it into the net for two points. DeMarcus pumped a fist. Monarchs closed in on the lead, 86 to 75. Forty-nine seconds remained in the third quarter. Shot clock reset to twenty-four seconds.
New York’s Chandler grabbed the ball, passing it to his teammate Mosgov. Mosgov hustled back down the court. The Monarchs set up their triangle defense. Mosgov flung the ball to Stoudemire. Warrick smacked it away. Jamal caught the loose ball and charged unchallenged back up the court. Monarchs fans went wild.
Jamal’s feet left the ground. The guard soared toward the basket. He slammed the ball through the net: 86, 77, Knicks. The Garden rocked as Monarchs faithful thundered their approval. Thirty-eight seconds to go in the third quarter.
DeMarcus clapped his players on as they raced to defend their basket. “Keep up the pressure. Get on your man. Talk to each other.”
The Knicks’ Chandler took possession of the ball, passing it to Mosgov. Knicks looked to slow the pace. Monarchs circled like vultures waiting to feed. Thirty seconds in the third quarter, seventeen seconds on the shot clock.
Mosgov passed the ball to the Knicks’ Stoudemire. Warrick leaped into the passing lane and grabbed the ball from the air. He sprinted to the Monarchs’ basket, pulling up at the perimeter for an uncontested three-point shot: 86, 80, Knicks. Another basket from Serge and a three-point shot from Anthony brought the Monarchs to within one, 86 to 85.
DeMarcus remained tense. The Monarchs had taken the Knicks for twelve unanswered points. Could they keep up the pace?
Twenty-two seconds remained in the third quarter. With the Knicks’ lead draining, their head coach called for a twenty-second time-out. The Monarchs walked off the court.
DeMarcus met them at the sideline. “Keep up the pace. You can’t slow down. Stay strong on the defense.” DeMarcus claimed Warrick’s attention. “Good start. Now turn up the heat.”
DeMarcus saw the fire in Warrick’s eyes. The shooting guard was winning the mental game.
They’d barely begun to discuss their defense when the buzzer sounded.
The Knicks’ Walker inbounded the ball to Mosgov. The Knicks’ center snaked his way to the basket. When he came up against Jamal near the post, the rookie gave him a hard hit with his right shoulder. The whistle sounded. Jamal earned his fifth foul with twelve seconds left to the third quarter. One more foul and he’d be out of the game.
Mosgov made both free throws, lifting the score to 88 to 85. DeMarcus paced the sideline.
Serge grabbed the ball. He bounced it to Vincent. Vincent drove the ball past midcourt. Warrick signaled for the pass. The center flung it to him. Warrick danced back as the Knicks’ defense charged forward. Shooting redemption from his fingertips, Warrick scored a three-point basket. The Monarchs tied the score with the Knicks at 88. The buzzer sounded, heralding the fourth and final quarter.
Win or go home.
With fire in his eyes and salvation in his hands, Warrick dragged his team through the back-and-forth brawl to redeem their season. The lead changed five times in fourteen minutes. DeMarcus watched the veteran transform before him. Warrick played like an athlete possessed. He grabbed rebounds, hurled passes and shot three-pointers like fire from his fingers.
The game clock wound down to sixteen seconds. Stoudemire’s shot punched the Knicks to the lead, 100 to 98.
