Chapter 150: A Showdown Between Two Men with Extraordinary Waists!
"Wow! He hit a three right off the bat. He looks locked in tonight!" Kenny's voice was filled with excitement in the TNT booth.
Charles followed up immediately. "Yeah, Chen Yan seems to have carried his form straight from the last game. Now the question is—how will Kobe respond?"
Almost on cue, Kobe used a Garnett screen, pulled up for one of his signature mid-range jumpers, and drained it effortlessly. Smooth, confident, no wasted motion.
Kobe didn't celebrate. He simply jogged back on defense, eyes sharp. He wasn't about to let Chen Yan run wild in transition.
Nash saw the fast break wasn't there, so he pulled the ball back into a set. The Lakers' defense was already locked in. With Kobe and Garnett, they had one of the most dangerous perimeter-interior defensive duos in the league.
Even Kwame Brown, often mocked for his butterfingers and lack of post moves, had some defensive chops. That's why Phil Jackson still trusted him to start—he could at least protect the paint.
At the top of the arc, Nash called for a screen—not from Stoudemire, but from Chen Yan.
"This is interesting," Barkley chuckled from the TNT studio. "A direct pick-and-roll between the point guard and the shooting guard. Not something you see every day."
Kenny Smith pulled out a stat sheet. "According to the numbers, Chen and Steve are actually Phoenix's most efficient scoring duo. Their two-man game is even deadlier than Nash and Amare."
"Then it makes perfect sense," Barkley nodded.
Back on the court, Fisher body-checked Chen Yan hard as he slid over to set the pick. Chen Yan felt it in his chest—Fisher wasn't the quickest, but the man was built like a tank. Even LeBron had trouble dislodging him.
Nash used the screen, forcing a switch. Kobe slid onto Nash, and Fisher was left in front of Chen Yan.
Mismatch.
Chen Yan caught the ball at the elbow. Fisher braced himself, expecting a speed burst. Instead, Chen Yan posted him up, calmly switched the ball from left to right, and used one strong shoulder shake to throw Fisher off balance. One step, rise, release—mid-range jumper, clean as silk.
"Swish!"
5–4, Suns.
D'Antoni clapped on the sidelines. For years, his Suns had been criticized for struggling in halfcourt sets. With Chen Yan, that weakness no longer existed.
Then came Kobe.
His scoring average had dipped this season with Garnett now beside him, but tonight he wasn't looking to defer. Not on Christmas. Not against Chen Yan.
He lowered his shoulder, bullied Raja Bell into the lane. Stoudemire and Diaw collapsed, but Kobe didn't care. Three defenders, no problem. He soared between them, twisted in mid-air, and scooped the ball off the glass and in.
The crowd gasped.
Kobe didn't celebrate—just barked at the ref about an and-one, then sprinted back. No whistle. Suns' home-court advantage.
The Lakers' defense was airtight in transition, forcing Phoenix back into another set.
This time, Nash swung it to Chen Yan on the left wing. Chen raised his right fist. Clear-out. One-on-one.
Kobe locked in. No more help, no distractions. Just him and the rookie.
Chen started with a series of crossovers, smooth and low. Kobe didn't bite, sliding step for step. Chen then crossed baseline left, forcing a quick rotation from the Lakers' bigs. Garnett, Walton, even Kwame Brown closed the paint.
No lane.
Chen slammed the brakes. Everyone thought he'd pull up. Instead, he spun back hard to his right, exploding baseline again. Kobe lunged, trailing behind. He knew he was beaten, but veterans never give up the chase—they know sometimes even being late is enough to contest.
Not this time.
Chen Yan planted, launched off one foot, and floated past the rim for an outrageous pull-up, body stretched, waist twisting, gliding for what felt like forever.
Bucket.
The arena erupted. The move mirrored Kobe's earlier acrobatics, only Chen's glide seemed to last even longer.
On CCTV5, Coach Zhang almost jumped out of his chair. "That's unbelievable! What a finish!"
In living rooms across the world, fans were losing it.
"This is insane! Three defenders one way, four the other—are we watching a duel of freakish waists right now?"
"Forget basketball IQ, this is pure flexibility!"
"Vanessa and Taylor Swift must be too damn happy tonight!"
It was only the opening minutes, but the Christmas game had already turned into a heavyweight showdown.
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