Chapter 443: He's Doing What the Basketball God Does
The Lakers came up in the half court.
Kobe and Garnett ran a pick and roll. Kobe turned the corner and snapped a right handed kick out to Derek Fisher. Fisher took one look and saw Nash crowding his space, no clean jumper, no daylight.
So he dumped it inside to Camby.
Fisher hated forced shots unless the clock was dying and the moment demanded it.
Camby caught it, backed into Stoudemire once, turned through contact, and flipped a short hook.
Miss.
Marcus Camby's rough touch around the rim showed itself in full.
…
Phoenix came back and Nash slowed it down just enough to get them organized. With the Suns struggling to score all night, there was only 1 option that felt reliable.
Give it to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan did not wave everyone away for another straight isolation. He called Stoudemire up, used the screen, and switched the matchup onto Camby.
A center on an island with Chen Yan, the crowd perked up immediately.
He backed out 2 steps, rocking the ball between his legs and behind his back, letting the spacing breathe.
The fans were already rising, waiting for the next highlight.
Chen Yan settled at the right wing, just outside the arc, and snapped a between the legs dribble.
Camby did not bite. He stayed at a cautious distance, guarding the drive and the shot at the same time. His length, wingspan, and mobility meant he could still contest if Chen Yan pulled up.
Chen Yan did not fire right away. The man in front of him was a Defensive Player of the Year, and that deserved at least a little respect.
He went between the legs again, then flashed a hard fake right, stopped on a dime, and snapped back left with another between the legs change.
Then he paused again.
Camby's feet started to feel the stress. Chen Yan's rhythm was not smooth, it was stuttering and jerky, like a tape skipping, constantly breaking the defender's timing.
Bigs like Camby were not scared of contact. They were not scared of power drives. They were not even scared of someone rising up and shooting over them.
What they hated was unpredictability.
Chen Yan knew exactly how to punish a mobile center. There was a reason people called him a giant killer.
Camby shifted his weight to react.
Chen Yan was already gone.
Camby had to twist his hips and turn his whole body to stay in front, just to defend the drive. Chen Yan exploded left, then suddenly stepped back.
Camby raised his hand to contest, his mobility saving him from being completely stranded. A slower big would have been dead after that burst and retreat.
But Chen Yan was not finished.
He hit a fake move, sold another fake, switched the ball to his right, and blew by Camby in 1 step.
Garnett rotated into the restricted area, but Chen Yan gave him nothing to take away. He floated it softly, smooth and simple, and dropped it over the help.
The Lakers answered with their triangle again.
Garnett drew contact on Diaw and went to the line, making 1 of 2.
For a moment, the Lakers looked patient, moving the ball, sharing touches. Then Kobe could not hold it in.
Chen Yan kept scoring.
Kobe's personality would not let him watch the other star take over without responding.
He jabbed Raja Bell with a triple threat, rose into a mid range jumper.
Miss.
But Kobe knew the shot was off the second it left his hand.
He sprinted into the paint anyway, fought for the rebound, and banked in the put back.
If the jumper won't fall, then take the rim with your hands.
…
On the next Phoenix possession, Chen Yan backed Ariza down with force, then snapped into a quick spin.
Ariza stayed attached, sliding and recovering, his athleticism letting him survive the initial move.
Chen Yan stopped just outside the paint, then unfolded a clean right side up and under, slipping past Ariza and laying it in.
The building erupted.
"Chen is blazing right now," Kenny Smith said. "He looks like a completely different player in this 3rd quarter."
Barkley nodded. "The Lakers ain't playing the Suns right now. They're playing Chen Yan. Everybody else been bricking, and he still dragged them into the lead and kept them there."
Kobe's frustration boiled.
He attacked through 3 bodies, forced a tough layup.
Miss again.
The ball hit the glass, kissed the rim, and flew out.
Kobe slapped his wrist the moment he landed, demanding the foul. The officials gave him nothing.
He looked like a lone wolf crashing into a crowd on that drive. The truth was, nobody had a perfect angle. Referees were not high definition cameras, a lot of calls came down to what they felt in real time.
Chen Yan secured the rebound and took off.
Stoudemire and Raja Bell set back to back screens above the arc. Chen Yan took 2 quick dribbles left, shook Ariza clean, and when Kobe and Camby stepped up to trap, Chen Yan did not even hesitate.
He rose from a step and a half beyond the 3 point line.
That was his range. He liked it out there. Farther shot, looser contest.
"Swish!"
The net snapped again.
Chen Yan was on fire.
The crowd had already forgotten his ugly first half. Now they fed him the loudest roar they had.
And fan energy mattered. It let a player sink fully into the game, the adrenaline turning every possession into fuel.
With Chen Yan hitting from deep, the Lakers' biggest advantage, that wall of Garnett and Camby near the rim, started to lose its teeth.
Chen Yan detonated in the 3rd quarter for 30 points.
Not his highest scoring quarter ever, but doing it after a brutal first half made it feel even heavier.
And he did it without using any status boost card.
He liked having tools, but he refused to depend on them. If he spent honor points every time his shot went cold, he would have emptied the bank months ago.
Kenny Smith leaned into the moment. "Chen is putting on a show. This reminds me of that classic Christmas Day game, Bulls versus Knicks back in 1992. Charles, you remember?"
Barkley shrugged. "I don't remember the details, but I know Michael must've been crazy."
Kenny laughed. "That's the safe bet."
Then he continued, voice turning serious. "Pat Riley went with an iron defense that gave Phil Jackson headaches. The Knicks played rough, physical, almost barbaric. It messed with dribbles, passes, shots, everything. The Bulls were missing, getting out rebounded, and they were down big in the first half."
He pointed toward the floor. "Then Jordan flipped the whole game in the second half. Fadeaways, reverse layups, fast break dunks. He looked like a different man and he dragged them back."
Kenny nodded toward Chen Yan. "What Chen is doing right now, that's basketball god work."
Phoenix responded like the city could hear him.
Reports said more than 60% of Phoenix residents had the game on that day, a ridiculous number. Winning a title had raised the sport's heartbeat in the city, and Chen Yan's 3rd quarter explosion pushed it into something close to madness.
In the arena, Suns number 0 jerseys filled the stands like a uniform.
Fans started shouting love confessions toward the court.
The funny part was that a lot of them were guys.
Chen Yan's performance had long ago conquered Phoenix. To them, he was not just a star, he was a city hero.
Taylor Swift watched the crowd screaming for him and did not look jealous. If anything, she looked quietly pleased.
Popularity like this was not borrowed.
It was earned.
.....
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