TL: 100PS
Chapter 346: The Lakers Drenched to the Bone, Besieged by Kobe
Phoenix opened the half with the ball.
Nash came off a screen and hit Diaw at the high post. Diaw rose for the jumper and missed.
The Suns started the third quarter with 2 straight empty trips, still searching for their rhythm.
Garnett secured the rebound and fired it to Fisher.
Fisher did what he had done all night, brought it over half court, handed it to Kobe, then drifted to the weak side corner and stayed out of the way.
Kobe held at the top and called Garnett up for a pick and roll.
Garnett screened, Kobe turned the corner, and near the free throw line he slipped a bounce pass through a window that barely existed, threading it between Diaw and Raja Bell before either could react.
Garnett caught it in stride and went straight up.
Stoudemire jumped to contest, but Garnett powered through the contact and hammered it down anyway.
Beep.
The whistle came with it.
And 1.
Garnett threw his head back and let out his signature roar, the Wolf King barking at the ceiling.
Kobe walked over and patted him on the head.
Phil Jackson nodded, pleased, seeing the same kind of leadership and command he had once seen from Jordan.
On the other sideline, D'Antoni was furious. He waved his arms so hard his orange tie lifted and flapped.
"Double him. Turn it up. Don't give him that much space," he shouted.
He was not happy with Phoenix's defense to start the half. Kobe was getting too comfortable with the ball in his hands.
Garnett went to the line.
Swish.
57 to 66.
The deficit was down to 9.
Phoenix came right back.
Stoudemire demanded the ball near the free throw line. Garnett had just hit him with a 3 point play, and Stoudemire took it personally.
He faced up, showed the ball, pumped once, pumped again, then drove hard.
Garnett met him, but Stoudemire finished off the glass and drew the foul.
Now the building woke up again.
Stoudemire pounded his chest toward the baseline camera, feeding off the roar of the crowd. Offensively, he could match Garnett, maybe even top him in pure scoring bursts.
The difference was everything else. Garnett's defense and versatility lived in a different class.
Stoudemire hit the free throw.
57 to 69.
Los Angeles tried to respond.
Kobe pulled up for a deep 3 just past half court, feeling like his touch was waking up.
It was not.
Clang.
Chen Yan flew in and grabbed the rebound.
He pushed immediately, accelerating and changing direction, slicing past 2 defenders as if they were cones.
Garnett stepped over to stop the coast to coast run.
Chen Yan dropped his shoulder, hit a second burst, forced Garnett to commit, then flicked a pass to the wing.
Raja Bell.
Bell caught it beyond the arc and fired instantly, no extra dribble, no hesitation.
That shot was pure D'Antoni, if you are open, you shoot. Fast break or half court, the green light stays on.
Swish.
57 to 72.
On the TNT call, Charles Barkley groaned.
"That's the killer," Charles said. "You miss a long 3, and Phoenix turns it into a clean 3 the other way. That's 6 points swinging like that."
Kenny nodded.
"And Chen Yan created it," Kenny said. "He forced the help, then made the simple pass. That's what turns a fast break into a great shot."
Bell and Chen Yan slapped hands.
Bell was still celebrating, but Chen Yan was already thinking ahead.
Under his breath, he told Bell, "Kobe's going to try to take over again. Next time, we trap him."
Bell nodded.
"Got it."
Los Angeles came back down.
Fisher held at the top as Kobe ran a baseline action, using Garnett's off ball screen to pop free.
Even with the knee screaming, Kobe did not cut corners. He ran hard, demanded the ball, and kept moving like pain was just background noise.
Diaw switched onto him.
Kobe dribbled twice, then leaned into a drive, confident he could beat a bigger defender.
Phoenix had relaxed on him early in the half, and Kobe smelled opportunity.
He attacked.
The moment he turned the corner, Bell left his man and came flying in.
A hard trap.
Kobe stopped and tried to dribble laterally to escape.
Just like Chen Yan predicted, Kobe decided to go alone.
He tried to slide toward the corner for space, but Chen Yan abandoned his assignment and sprinted into the play without hesitation.
Now it was 3 on 1.
They surrounded him.
Kobe looked toward his teammates, but he still did not pass immediately. Holding the ball that long against 3 bodies made everything harder.
The trap tightened, brutal and suffocating.
Then Chen Yan struck.
Slap.
He timed it perfectly and poked the ball free, clean, precise, and sharp.
Kobe shouted as he went down, looking for a whistle.
The referee waved it off.
All he saw was the steal.
He did not see the extra contact.
In the chaos, Bell clipped Kobe's knee in the blind spot, a small retaliation after a series full of hits and elbows.
Kobe lost his balance and crashed to the floor awkwardly.
The crowd reacted in a split second. Some groaned. Some cheered. Some shouted at the refs.
On the TNT call, Charles sounded torn.
"Man," Charles said. "That's rough. They sent 3 people at him and took his lunch money."
Kenny stayed measured.
"That's playoff basketball," Kenny said. "They're making him give it up. The question is, can the Lakers punish the trap. If they can't, Kobe's going to see that all night."
Chen Yan secured the ball and launched the outlet to Nash.
He and Bell sprinted up the floor without it.
Only Posey and Fisher got back.
A 3 on 2.
Nash glided between the defenders and whipped a behind the back pass to the trailer.
Chen Yan.
Wide open.
He caught, set his feet just outside the 3 point line, and let it fly.
The arena DJ stretched the moment.
"For threeeeee"
Swish.
57 to 75.
Instead of climbing back, the Lakers slipped further.
And then it got worse.
Next possession, the Lakers tried a Fisher and Garnett pick and roll, but it fell apart. The ball ended up in Diaw's hands.
Diaw instantly hit Chen Yan, and Phoenix ran again.
Chen Yan threw the long pass ahead to Nash.
Nash took 1 dribble, read the floor, and rose into another open transition 3.
Swish.
Nothing but net.
57 to 78.
Nash loved that shot. Open, in rhythm, no hesitation.
Charles Barkley laughed, half angry, half impressed.
"They're shooting like it's a layup line," Charles said. "This is raining in Phoenix."
Kenny followed.
"That's 3 straight transition 3s," he said. "And that is how a 9 point game turns into a 21 point game before you blink."
Phil Jackson shook his head.
At this point, there was only 1 move left.
Timeout.
Phoenix's 3 point flood had hit too fast, too hard, and in a matter of seconds, the Lakers were soaked to the bone.
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