Chapter 304: The Devils Whisper, Chens Moment
"Another one. That is cold blooded from three," Kenny Smith shouted, his voice already turning hoarse.
Charles Barkley almost laughed from disbelief. "Man, that is not just a big heart. That is a giant heart right there."
Like the fans packed into US Airways Center, the two TNT commentators were completely fired up.
The miracle was getting closer with every shot.
On the Spurs side, Gregg Popovich signaled for another timeout.
For Phoenix, Chens last barrage from deep had set the entire arena on fire. For San Antonio, it felt like someone had driven an ice pick straight into their chest.
Even if the Spurs hit both free throws on the next trip, their lead would only be 3. If they split them, they would be one mistake away from losing to a last second shot.
The control of the game was no longer fully in their hands.
But that was still a few seconds away. Right now, their problem was simpler and more dangerous.
They had to get the ball in bounds.
After the break, Barkley leaned over the table and yelled into his mic, "Ladies and gentlemen, you ready for this? The roller coaster is at the craziest part of the ride."
Matt Bonner stepped to the sideline to inbound.
Manu Ginobili cut and twisted through a maze of Suns bodies, snaking his way open.
Bonner bounced the pass in, threading it perfectly into Ginobilis hands.
Manu wrapped both arms around the ball as soon as he caught it. There would be no careless turnover this time.
They had already lived through the T Mac moment once in franchise history. Nobody in black and silver wanted to be in that highlight package again.
Phoenix did not have time to gamble on a trap. Raja Bell stepped in and grabbed Ginobili around the waist, taking the foul and sending him to the line.
Ginobili was 9 for 9 on free throws so far.
It did not really matter. Even if he buried both, the lead would still only be 3. Phoenix would still have a chance to tie and force overtime.
Everything looked routine as Manu walked to the stripe, bouncing the ball and breathing deeply.
Then Chen Yan strolled over to him.
The broadcast camera punched in tight.
Viewers saw Chen lean in and quietly say a few words near Ginobilis ear.
Then he walked away.
The referee handed Manu the ball.
Swish.
The first was pure.
He reset, inhaled, exhaled, and took the second.
Clang.
The ball hit the iron and kicked out.
Spurs fans groaned. It was Ginobilis first miss at the line all night, and it came at the worst possible time.
"He missed!"
"What did Chen say just now?"
"That was the devils whisper right there."
"Classic moment!"
While fans and social media exploded, Chen crashed in and ripped down the rebound.
With that board, his line reached 54 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds.
A 50 plus triple double in the playoffs, unlocked.
He did not care.
Right now, there was only one thing in his field of vision. The rim.
With 5.9 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, Chen pushed the ball himself from the backcourt.
Near midcourt, Bruce Bowen slid into his path.
Chen hit him with a quick change of direction.
Bang.
One simple fake, and Bowens legs gave out.
Some of it was fatigue, some of it was the pressure of the moment, all of it was fatal.
Bowen stumbled backward and hit the floor. Chen blew past him and streaked toward the three point line.
Tony Parker and Ginobili were already waiting beyond the arc.
Everybody in the building knew what Chen was going for.
He was not thinking about anything else, either.
While he sized up both defenders, he still stole a glance at the game clock out of the corner of his eye.
If this shot missed, everything he had done in the last half minute would disappear into the box score. No one would talk about the 10 straight points.
One step behind the three point line, still moving forward, Chen rose up over both defenders.
He hung in the air and let it fly.
The difficulty was off the charts.
It was the exact same script as the last game, the same kind of shot, the same stage.
The difference was that this time he did not waver.
The ball rocketed toward the rim like a shell fired from a cannon.
Popovich and the Spurs bench could not look away.
Every line of their bodies said the same thing. They already felt what was coming.
Beep.
Swish.
As the buzzer sounded and the red light lit around the backboard, the ball snapped straight through the net.
100 to 101.
US Airways Center exploded.
"OHHHHHHHH! He hit it! Game winner!"
"This is unbelievable!"
"I just saw the eighth wonder of the world!"
Some fans were crying, some were jumping on chairs, others were screaming that they wanted to have Chens basketball baby. The noise swallowed the building.
In the middle of it all, Chen lost his hearing for a second.
By the time his senses came back, he was on the floor under a pile of orange jerseys, teammates tackling him in celebration.
A buzzer beater.
Chen Yan had created his own miracle.
On the other end of the floor, Bowen slammed his palm into the hardwood.
His slip had been the opening Chen needed to rise and fire.
The image of Bowen sitting in despair, framed behind the storm of celebrating Suns players, was caught perfectly by a baseline photographer. It was destined to become one of those immortal playoff photos.
"Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unbelievable," Barkley shouted, not even trying to find new words.
Kenny finally found his voice. "Where miracles happen. The Spurs just got hit right before sunrise."
That years league slogan was exactly that. Where miracles happen.
Chen had just given it a new poster.
After a while, Barkley eased back into his usual rhythm. "Tonight, Suns fans went through more ups and downs than a plane in heavy turbulence."
Kenny chuckled. "If Suns fans went through turbulence, Spurs fans felt like their plane went straight down at the end."
Back in the TNT studio, the replay kept looping.
"In the last 33 seconds, Chen dropped 13 points and absolutely took this game over," Kenny said, shaking his head. "That is right there with the T Mac moment, maybe even past it."
"Congrats to Chen. Congrats to the Suns. That is his moment," Barkley added. "You do not see that kind of refusal to quit very often."
Thirteen points in 33 seconds.
Every fan immediately thought of T Mac.
But there was a difference.
Tracy McGrady did it in the regular season. Chen had just done it in the pressure cooker of the playoffs, in Game 5 of a deadlocked series.
A true swing game, on the biggest stage.
The red light had been on for a long time, but the Spurs players still stood there in a daze.
They had been up by 10 less than a minute earlier.
First there was the T Mac miracle.
Now there was Chens moment.
From a fans perspective, there was no doubt.
Right now, the San Antonio Spurs had to be the unluckiest team in the world.
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