Chapter 442: The Show Is Here, the Fans Misread It
"Swish!"
Kobe calmly knocked down the free throw.
53 to 49.
Phoenix inbounded immediately, pushing the tempo before the Lakers could get set. This possession, Chen Yan went without the ball. He could feel the touch coming back, so he started hunting space beyond the arc with constant movement.
He darted around teammates like they were moving walls, brushing shoulders, cutting tight angles. Kobe chased him like a shadow, refusing to give him a clean breath. For a few seconds, it looked less like basketball and more like a game of hide and seek played at full speed.
Chen Yan finally broke free, slicing from the corner to the top of the arc. Diaw flipped him a handoff.
Catch, rise, fire.
Kobe's intensity spiked. He tried to knife around Diaw's body to contest from the side, but he came in too hot. He could not stop in time and smashed straight into Chen Yan's hip, sending him down.
Chen Yan was falling as he released it.
"Beep!"
The whistle sounded. Chen Yan stayed on the floor, eyes tracking the ball, the same way Kobe had stared down his own shot a possession earlier.
"Swish!"
The net snapped and the building erupted.
A 4 point play.
Fans watching at home nearly jumped off their couches. This was the duel they wanted, punch for punch, make for make, no polite pauses.
Kobe had answered with an and one.
Chen Yan answered with a 3 plus 1.
He sat up on the hardwood, roared once, then stared straight at Kobe like he was signing the receipt.
The Suns bench exploded, towels waving, guys hopping like it was the playoffs. When the stars went at each other like this, it infected the whole team.
Kobe had made a rare mistake there. He chased too aggressively and collided, the kind of overcommitment rookies make when they are desperate to prove something. But nobody on the Lakers was about to lecture Kobe Bryant, not on Christmas, not on this stage.
"Kobe."
Phil Jackson called him over while Chen Yan stepped to the line.
"Kobe, you're spending too much energy chasing him," Jackson said, voice low and flat. "Let somebody else take that matchup. We need you on offense."
Kobe nodded. He understood the math. He already had 3 fouls. If he kept burning himself out on defense and picked up another cheap one, this entire Christmas showcase could end early for the Lakers.
As Jackson talked, Chen Yan finished the job.
"Swish!"
53 to 53.
"4 points in 1 trip," Kenny Smith said. "Chen's scoring in the last few minutes has already cleared what he had earlier."
Barkley leaned forward. "Ain't nobody stopping him like this. You might have to send help."
The US Airways Center caught the moment and ran with it.
"Beat LA!"
"Beat LA!"
"Beat LA!"
The chant rolled in waves as the Lakers brought it up.
Kobe's eyes burned. You could tell just by his face, he wanted the next shot.
Everybody knew Kobe lived to score. It was the purest part of him. Last season, with Garnett arriving, he had scaled it back a little. He took fewer shots, leaned into the system, tried to win the long way, the right way, the championship way.
But watching Chen Yan win while still scoring like a storm had shifted something in him again.
Kobe decided he would win by doing what he did best.
Fisher crossed half court. Kobe caught it, gave 1 quick pump fake, then rose into a tough fadeaway.
Miss.
The timing was awful, a shot taken because he wanted it, not because it was there. Raja Bell was right in his airspace, hand up, body tight.
Garnett ripped down the offensive rebound. Diaw was on his back, leaning, boxing, making every inch miserable. Garnett dribbled once and went to his own fade.
That was a bread and butter look for him.
Miss again.
The rim spat it out.
Diaw snapped around, secured the rebound, and immediately launched the outlet.
Nash didn't even bring it down. He caught and fired in 1 motion, slinging it toward midcourt where Chen Yan was already taking off.
Chen Yan gathered, took 1 dribble, and blew through the middle like a lightning strike. Ariza could not match the speed. Fisher was even farther behind, heavy footed and reaching for air.
Chen Yan rose at the rim and hammered a 2 handed dunk.
53 to 55.
Phoenix finally had the lead.
Los Angeles came right back, and Kobe tried to answer again. He worked into the low post, and Chen Yan shaded over to trap. Kobe still forced a shot over 2 bodies.
It spun around the rim.
Then fell off.
Stoudemire pulled the rebound clean. Phoenix pushed, and another mismatch formed in transition. Stoudemire hit Chen Yan in stride.
Chen Yan accelerated at Fisher, ready to detonate at the rim again, but the veteran made the smartest ugly play in basketball. He fouled early and killed the highlight.
Fisher would rather give up 2 free throws than let a dunk punch the crowd in the mouth.
Chen Yan stepped to the line.
"Swish."
"Swish."
53 to 57.
On the sideline, Phil Jackson said nothing. With stars like Kobe and Garnett, sometimes the best coaching was letting them find their own way out.
Kobe missed again, and the cold stretch from the first quarter started creeping back into his fingertips. Still, Phoenix did not relax. When Kobe drove toward the free throw line, Nash and Raja Bell both collapsed on him.
Kobe flicked a pass out to Fisher.
Open 3.
Miss.
Chen Yan grabbed the rebound and turned it into a sprint. Camby could not run with a track meet, and if Phoenix was quick enough, they would create numbers.
Chen Yan pushed into a 3 on 2.
A step inside the free throw line, he snapped his head left and right, eyes wide, selling the pass.
Then he went for something flashy.
He whipped a behind the back motion toward Nash. At the last instant, he raised his left elbow and let the ball kiss it, changing direction mid flight.
An elbow pass.
The bench erupted. Jason Williams sprang up like someone had hit a button. White Chocolate had shown Chen Yan that move in practice a while back. He assumed it was just for laughs, not something anyone would dare to try in a real game, and definitely not on Christmas with the whole country watching.
Even Chen Yan surprised himself. It was pure instinct, a highlight born from adrenaline.
Raja Bell caught it, but he was too caught up in the moment. He rushed the finish, tried a flying layup, and sent it long.
The fans had already stood up to celebrate.
Then the arena went quiet in 1 awkward, collective pause.
Ariza spun back and secured the ball. Somewhere across the Pacific, plenty of people were cursing at their screens. The pass was art, and the finish had betrayed it.
Chen Yan immediately pressed Ariza, not gambling for the steal, just smothering the outlets. If Ariza passed cleanly, the Lakers would have numbers the other way.
Ariza hesitated. His handle and decision making were not built for panic. He clamped the ball with both hands, backed into Chen Yan, and waited for help.
The break died.
Fisher jogged it into the half court, and the Lakers flowed into their triangle.
Fisher fed Garnett, then cut to the corner, forming the triangle with Kobe and Garnett. Garnett faced up and went to work.
2 dribbles.
Pivot on the left foot.
A step toward the baseline as a fake, then a hard turn and a big step to the middle.
Diaw reached, but the height and wingspan gap made it pointless. Garnett had created a clean window.
The shot was nearly uncontested.
"Clang."
Front rim, backboard, then a soft roll down.
It was ugly, but it counted.
55 to 57.
Phoenix came back. Chen Yan caught at the right wing, just outside the 3 point line, and hit a quick crossover. He shook Ariza by half a step, but Kobe was already sliding over to cut him off.
Ariza recovered. The Lakers showed a hard double.
Chen Yan stayed composed. He pulled the ball back between his legs, retreated to a safe pocket, and kept his dribble alive with complete control.
Even the Suns crowd could feel how clean that was. No panic. No loose handle. No wasted motion.
He swung it to a wide open Raja Bell. Garnett rotated. Bell passed up the shot and moved it along.
Diaw caught it on the baseline and took the open mid range jumper.
"Clank."
Wide open, time to set his feet, even a small pause to adjust, and still a miss.
Phoenix had scored in a burst, and the crowd started to believe the whole team was warming up.
But the truth was simpler.
Only Chen Yan had found his rhythm again.
Everyone else was still bricking.
.....
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