Chapter 593: Get the Ball, Then Crush the Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers attacked again, and the Suns' defense collapsed toward the paint, their primary focus locked inside.
Garnett turned into a hook shot, but it missed.
The Suns were an offense heavy, defense light team, but that did not mean they would lose focus on every possession.
Diaw grabbed the defensive rebound and immediately fired an outlet pass.
The ball sailed over White Chocolate Williams and landed directly in Chen Yan's hands.
Chen Yan caught it near mid court, used his momentum to take 1 dribble, then rose straight into a shot without warning.
Ariza did not even lift his hands. He simply failed to react.
He knew Chen Yan could shoot from absurd range, but he never imagined Chen Yan would actually pull up from there in rhythm. It looked more like the kind of desperation shot a player took when the shot clock was about to expire.
The basketball drew a high arc.
"Swish!"
66 to 71.
Everyone watched as Chen Yan's super long range 3 pointer dropped cleanly through the net.
Chen Yan placed 3 fingers of his left hand against his right, making a gun cocking celebration.
The arena lost its mind.
"Unbelievable!" Kenny Smith shouted, sounding more like a fan than a commentator.
"That is 2 mid court 3 pointers," Charles Barkley said, stunned. "When I was a kid, if somebody told me a player would use that shot as a regular weapon, I would have called him crazy and offered him some dog food. But now, somebody is actually doing it."
On the Suns' bench, even the usually calm Grant Hill was waving his towel.
"Chen is playing like a god tonight," Kenny said. "I have never seen a professional player shoot the ball like this. If he keeps doing this, people are going to start calling him the God of Basketball."
"The Lakers still have not called a timeout," Barkley said. "Let us see how they respond."
Chen Yan's 2 deep 3 pointers had clearly shaken Kobe's rhythm. He was no longer playing with the same patience and discipline he showed in the 1st half.
After receiving the ball, Kobe went to work himself.
He dribbled continuously, created space, and hit a fadeaway from the area between the 3 point line and the free throw line.
Raja Bell's defense was as tight as possible. He was right in Kobe's face.
68 to 71.
Although Kobe answered with a basket, the atmosphere inside the arena remained feverish. The aftershock from Chen Yan's 2 super long range 3 pointers was simply too strong.
On the Suns' next possession, Chen Yan circled 2 steps beyond the 3 point line and received a handoff from White Chocolate.
He had not even made a move yet, and the crowd erupted again.
From that distance, every fan in the building wanted to see him attempt a 3rd super long range 3 pointer.
Chen Yan calmly dribbled to his right.
"Bang!"
A violent dribble, then a sudden step back.
Ariza panicked. He could not allow Chen Yan to hit 3 straight shots from that range. If that happened, he would become a permanent punchline.
Ariza lunged without hesitation.
Chen Yan could have shot over him. He had the athletic tools to do it. But there was no need.
"Bang!"
With a sharp change of direction, Chen Yan blew cleanly past Ariza.
Fisher immediately abandoned White Chocolate and rushed toward Chen Yan.
From that distance, if nobody slowed Chen Yan down, he really could take flight and dunk on Camby and Garnett.
At the same time, Ariza sprinted back as fast as he could.
Facing the collapsing defense, Chen Yan made the simple play and kicked the ball out.
White Chocolate caught it wide open beyond the arc.
3 pointer.
Good.
68 to 74.
White Chocolate's 3 point shooting had been painful to watch early in his career, but after years of training, his outside shot had stabilized. His current 3 point percentage was 38 percent, not elite, but absolutely respectable.
Chen Yan and White Chocolate high fived as they ran back. Chen Yan was pleased to see his teammate cash in the assist.
That shot looked ordinary, but it was important. After Chen Yan's 2 absurd long range bombs, the Lakers' defense was bound to stretch out and commit extra attention to him. If his teammates could punish those openings, it would be a massive boost for both Chen Yan and the team.
The Lakers attacked again.
Kobe aggressively posted up and demanded the ball.
Fisher delivered it comfortably.
Kobe backed Raja Bell down on the low block.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Body against body.
Muscle against muscle.
Raja Bell fought hard, but he still could not quite contain Kobe.
Kobe was considered a powerful guard for a reason. There was a time when people even called him Little Malone.
After forcing Bell backward, Kobe turned and shot.
The Suns did not double team him on that possession. For Kobe, that kind of look was almost like being open.
The ball went in.
70 to 74.
The broadcast cut to D'Antoni on the sideline. Kobe was scoring on consecutive possessions, but D'Antoni showed no intention of making a substitution. Nobody on the Suns understood Kobe better than Raja Bell. Putting anyone else on him would only make things worse.
The Suns came back down.
Chen Yan took the ball again.
Stoudemire came up to run the pick and roll.
After the screen, the Lakers chose to double team Chen Yan.
Chen Yan threaded the ball neatly through the gap.
Stoudemire caught it and immediately attacked the rim.
Garnett rotated across and stopped him with a foul.
It was a necessary foul. Sending Stoudemire to the free throw line was better than letting him dunk.
Stoudemire made both free throws.
70 to 76.
"Keep playing at our pace!" Phil Jackson shouted from the sideline, reminding the Lakers not to rush.
On the next possession, Kobe demanded another isolation.
The Suns finally changed their coverage. Diaw and Raja Bell came over to double team him.
Kobe forced the shot anyway.
Miss.
Chen Yan grabbed the rebound and immediately pushed the ball himself.
Tonight, he had everything: scoring, assists, rebounds. Lakers fans watching his performance probably wanted to call the police and accuse him of doping.
2 steps beyond the 3 point line, Chen Yan slowed down.
His plan was clear. If Ariza gave him space, he would shoot the 3. If Ariza crowded him, he would improvise.
Ariza chose to crowd him.
Chen Yan changed direction, leaned into Ariza, and drove inside.
Kobe came over from the wing to double team.
Chen Yan passed to Raja Bell, who missed the 3 pointer.
But the Suns' possession did not end there.
Diaw secured the offensive rebound.
After grabbing it, Diaw dribbled out 1 step, pretending to look for a teammate on the perimeter. Instead, he slipped the ball under his arm to Chen Yan, who was cutting without the ball.
Chen Yan caught it, burst into the paint, and rose like a helicopter for a 2 handed dunk.
70 to 78.
A thunderous chant of "MVP" erupted from the crowd.
Phil Jackson called timeout before the Suns could build even more momentum.
After the timeout, the Lakers temporarily steadied themselves.
Chen Yan and Raja Bell double teamed Kobe on the ball. This time, Kobe calmed down and passed to Ariza.
Ariza cut into the paint, drew help, and passed to Camby, who finished with a 2 handed dunk.
72 to 78.
On the Suns' next possession, the Lakers began denying Chen Yan off the ball.
Stoudemire and Diaw both set screens for him, helping him receive the ball smoothly.
This style of play was physically draining, but Chen Yan no longer cared.
At that moment, only 1 thought filled his mind.
Get the ball, then crush the Los Angeles Lakers.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]