Chapter 671: The Little Marshal Regains His Right to Breathe
In this game, Chen Yan once again delivered a heroic performance.
He scored 50 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block on 17 of 28 shooting, including 6 of 8 from 3 point range and 10 of 11 from the free throw line.
Curry also contributed 20 points and 6 assists.
Battier and Kenyon Martin each scored 11 points, while Al Harrington added 7.
The Knicks scoring mainly came from their starters.
The starting 5 accounted for 99 of the team's 110 points.
Boston's situation was similar.
Their starters also scored more than 80 percent of the team's points.
The main reason they could not win was that their key players firepower was not as strong as New York's.
Stoudemire had limited shot attempts tonight, scoring a solid 16 points.
Rose also scored 20 points, mostly through drives and free throws.
The real difference between the 2 sides was actually their 2 core players.
Although Durant scored 15 points in the 1st quarter, he did not have the major breakout fans expected.
He scored only 15 points over the next 3 quarters.
30 points in 1 game was not low, but compared with Chen Yan, the gap was clear.
Before Game 1 started, outsiders believed Boston was stronger and predicted that the Celtics would easily win.
Chen Yan slapped those people hard across the face.
Through his actions, he showed everyone that basketball was not decided by surface level strength or regular season ranking.
According to the schedule, Game 2 between the 2 teams would be played 2 days later.
For Durant, those 2 days were undoubtedly filled with pressure.
After this game, he did not open social media as usual.
Durant knew the internet would be full of insults directed at him, and he had to temporarily block out those voices so he could prepare for Game 2.
But in truth, Durant still could not prepare in peace.
He was naturally sensitive.
Although he did not read the comments from netizens during those 2 days, he had already imagined countless online insults and humiliations aimed at him.
The most absurd part was that Durant had even imagined how he would respond.
So during Boston's internal training over the next 2 days, Durant wore an expression as if someone owed him millions.
The assistant coach reminded Rivers, but Rivers did not think it was a bad thing.
Rivers said that sometimes players needed to play with anger, especially on a stage like the Playoffs.
There were no major upsets in the 1st round of the Playoffs, but another mild surprise occurred in the Eastern Conference.
The 5th ranked Nets defeated the 4th ranked Atlanta Hawks, 99 to 90.
The Nets situation shared many similarities with the Knicks.
Both teams had added superstar players in the middle to late portion of the season, so such teams could not be evaluated purely by their Playoff ranking.
The Nets victory was not due to tactical coordination.
In this game, Anthony scored a massive 36 points, while Deron contributed 29.
Relying on individual ability, the 2 of them tore apart Atlanta's defense.
If the Nets won this series, not many people would be surprised.
Their overall roster strength was superior to Atlanta's.
2 days later, Game 2 between the Knicks and Celtics began.
The location was still Boston's home court, the Boston North Shore Garden Arena.
During warmups, all the Celtics players looked serious.
This game was a must win battle for them.
If they lost both home games, every Boston player would truly want to bury himself.
The Knicks, on the other hand, looked relaxed.
They chatted and laughed during warmups, appearing calm and without pressure.
One might even mistake this for New York's home court.
In Game 2, the Knicks started a little too relaxed, while the Celtics attacked the paint from the very 1st minute.
It was as if Maxwell's words after Game 1 had awakened them.
In the 1st quarter, Boston played exceptionally tough, even somewhat savage, raising the intensity on both offense and defense.
At the end of the 1st quarter, Boston led by 6 points, 26 to 20.
Chen Yan continued to stay on the court in the 2nd quarter, wanting to replicate his Game 1 performance.
This time, Rivers adjusted in time, bringing Durant and Rose back onto the floor earlier.
Rose had excellent touch tonight.
Whether finishing at the rim or shooting from 3 point range, he was on fire.
Durant also did not lose his temper like he had in the previous game.
He controlled his desire to shoot and distributed scoring opportunities to teammates who were in better rhythm.
Stoudemire also received more chances to attack inside tonight.
This time, he played like a member of a Big 3, not like a blue collar worker as he had in the previous game.
Chen Yan played fiercely in the 2nd quarter, but he still could not outshine the combined firepower of Boston's Big 3.
When all 3 of them were in form, they were definitely the most explosive trio in the league.
Even Miami's Big 3 could not match their pure scoring firepower.
These 3 were natural offensive players.
At halftime, Boston had extended the lead to 10 points.
Curry's performance tonight was mediocre.
He repeatedly tried shots from beyond the arc but could not get them to fall, and his drives into the paint were also locked down by Boston's overall defense.
With New York's 2nd scoring option unable to get going, Boston naturally focused more defensive energy on Chen Yan.
Chen Yan had a very difficult 3rd quarter.
He had the ability to go 1 on 3, or even 1 on 5.
But he could not do that every possession.
Even if his skill allowed it, his stamina would not.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Chen Yan had already scored 48 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds.
Tonight, he focused more on scoring.
But as the final quarter progressed, Chen Yan's scoring continued to rise, while the gap between the 2 sides also grew larger.
Seeing that New York no longer had much hope of winning, Barkley began praising Chen Yan.
"Chen Yan is going for 60 in this game, but he is not getting enough help from his teammates. Basketball is not a 1 man game. Even the strongest individual player needs help."
Kenny nodded.
"Even the basketball god Jordan needed Pippen. But tonight, Chen Yan's Pippen, Stephen Curry, has not delivered the form New York expected. So far, he has only 9 points and is 1 of 5 from 3 point range. As the team's 2nd scoring option, he has to do more."
With the 2 commentators guiding the discussion, many fans watching the game began saying the same thing.
Chen Yan had done everything he could.
His teammates simply were not good enough tonight.
Chen Yan was substituted out midway through the 4th quarter.
In this game, both the situation and the momentum belonged to Boston.
Continuing to play would only make his personal numbers look better, and Chen Yan did not care about that.
Rather than doing that, it was better to save his energy for the home game.
Ultimately, the Knicks lost Game 2 on the road, 115 to 101.
The series was now tied, 1 to 1.
Chen Yan did not use a status enhancement card in this game.
His condition was still quite good, and the team's loss was not his fault.
Although they lost, it did not affect New York's morale.
Winning 1 of 2 road games had already accomplished their mission.
For Boston, winning Game 2 finally allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief.
Especially Durant.
He could finally go back on Twitter.
Tonight, Durant shot 9 of 16, including 3 of 6 from 3 point range and 7 of 10 from the free throw line.
He scored 28 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and handed out 5 assists.
With that performance, he had regained the right to speak.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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