Chapter 416: The Obstacle to a High Score Was Me
Before tipoff, Chen Yan pulled Nash aside for a quick word.
He did not bother dancing around it.
"I'm feeling it again," Chen Yan said. "I need you to feed me. Good passes, early passes. If I'm going to chase another big one, your support matters."
Nash smiled like he had heard this request a thousand times.
"You just run," he said. "The moment there's a window, the ball will be there."
That answer settled Chen Yan instantly.
Nash had always been a connector first. As long as the Suns won, he did not care if he finished a game with only a few shots. If Chen Yan needed extra touches, Nash would happily slide the spotlight over without blinking.
Sometimes Chen Yan genuinely felt lucky. Not just because his teammates were good, but because they fit him. If his career had started next to an offensive alpha like Kobe or Wade, the arc of his story would have looked very different.
While the Suns went through their shooting routine, the Bucks were still laughing and chatting, completely unaware that a storm was warming up at the other end.
This game was not carried on a major national broadcast in the United States. The gap between the Suns and the Bucks was not considered "must see" on the schedule. Overseas, though, plenty of people were locked in, especially the fans back home who refused to miss a single Chen Yan appearance.
On the broadcast, Kenny Smith set the table.
"Back to back tonight," Kenny said. "Chen just dropped 72, a new career high. The question is simple, does he have anything left in the tank?"
Charles Barkley chuckled.
"If he's got legs, he's got points. The real question is whether Milwaukee survives the first punch."
Kenny nodded.
"And 72 is the second highest single game total among active players, behind Kobe's 81. Kobe's game came years ago, and he's evolved since then. He picks his moments now. Chen is more like young Kobe, eyes on the rim, hungry every possession, and skilled enough to make it look easy."
Barkley leaned forward.
"Let's see if he treats the Bucks like a rest day."
…
At the opening tip, Stoudemire out jumped Bogut and tapped the ball cleanly to Chen Yan.
Nash waved him forward.
Bring it up yourself.
Chen Yan dribbled to the left side, about 1 step beyond the 3 point line, and rose immediately.
Swish.
The Bucks had not even fully registered the matchup before the first shot was already through the net.
3 to 0.
It looked unreasonable to most teams. For Chen Yan, it was a normal weapon, and the Suns coaching staff encouraged that kind of confidence. D'Antoni's system was built on freedom, and their success was tied directly to it.
Milwaukee answered with Ridnour probing high, then swinging to Michael Redd curling into space near the wing.
Redd caught and fired right away.
The look was there, but the shot had a bit too much juice.
Clang.
The rebound kicked long and landed right in Nash's hands.
Older or not, Nash's instincts were still razor sharp. The moment he secured it, he turned and pushed, like fast breaks were hardwired into his nervous system.
Chen Yan sprinted the lane, Nash hit him in stride, and Chen Yan attacked the rim without slowing.
Luke Richard Mbah a Moute chopped down across his forearm.
"Ah!"
Chen Yan sold it with a dramatic shout, then flipped the ball up with a wild, juggling motion.
It kissed the top of the backboard, rattled twice, and rolled in.
And 1.
The call came with the finish, and the broadcast booth lit up.
Kenny laughed. "That was ridiculous."
Barkley barked out a short laugh. "He makes circus shots look like layups."
Chen Yan straightened his jersey and stepped to the line.
Swish.
6 straight points to start the night, all his.
He glanced toward the sideline. D'Antoni met his eyes and gave him a small nod.
Exactly as planned.
In the stands, Bucks fans had already started to feel uneasy. It was a back to back. People expected Chen Yan to play a little conservative.
Instead, he came out firing like he had been saving ammo.
Milwaukee tried the same action again for Redd, this time drifting him toward the top.
Catch, rise, shoot.
Swish.
Redd let his eyes flick to Chen Yan afterward. Not a provocation, but a response. A reminder that he was not going to fold quietly.
Phoenix came right back with a handoff between Chen Yan and Nash. On the exchange, Nash leaned into Redd just enough to force a switch, and Ridnour ended up in front of Chen Yan.
Chen Yan gave him a fake, then drove left.
Ridnour did not bite. He stayed attached.
Chen Yan did not care. He lowered his shoulder, powered through the contact, then gathered into a Euro step and lofted a soft floater.
Good.
8 to 3.
Ridnour was a calm guard with range, but he was undersized and not built to absorb repeated force. Chen Yan's contact left him stuck to the floor, unable to elevate or contest.
Milwaukee went back to Redd.
This time he did not shoot on the catch. He paused, used a screen, and drove toward the paint.
Catching and shooting on the move was his signature, but he could handle the ball well enough to punish overplays. Scouts once called his shooting the weak point coming into the league, which sounded absurd now, but his early numbers had backed it up. Then he trained, learned, refined the mechanics, and turned himself into a real perimeter threat. After Ray Allen left, Redd became the face of Milwaukee by default.
He finished the drive with a running floater.
8 to 5.
Redd kept answering.
Chen Yan kept smiling.
By the end of the 1st quarter, Chen Yan already had 20 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. Assists, 0. He had essentially deleted the pass button tonight.
Phoenix led 32 to 22.
…
D'Antoni kept Chen Yan on the floor to open the 2nd, letting him lead the second unit.
It had been a while since Chen Yan ran that group, and the Bucks were not ready for it.
In less than 4 minutes, Phoenix ripped off a 12 to 2 burst and stretched the lead to 20.
Officially it was a team run.
In reality, Chen Yan was the engine. He scored 9 of the 12, and tossed in 1 assist when the defense finally overcommitted.
Then, just as he was enjoying the rhythm, he realized the problem.
Milwaukee was already wobbling, and the 2nd quarter was not even over.
At this rate, he would be clocking out early again.
His grin vanished.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath. "The obstacle to a big score is me."
The Bucks called timeout. They had no intention of surrendering in the 1st half, not with the building still full.
Redd checked back in and steadied things, his scattershot scoring helping cut the gap to around 15.
On the next dead ball, Phoenix brought the starters back too.
For a few minutes, it turned into a back and forth exchange.
Then the reality returned.
Milwaukee could not keep up with Phoenix's pace. Their offense was too simple, either Redd shooting, or Bogut trying to pound the paint. Against a team built to run, it was not enough.
With 1:44 left in the 2nd quarter, the lead had ballooned to 22 again.
The loudest moment came in the final minute before halftime.
Stoudemire missed a jumper, Bogut grabbed the rebound and immediately looked for Redd to start the break.
But Bogut was too obvious. For about 2 seconds, his eyes were locked on the target, broadcasting the pass before he even threw it.
Chen Yan read it like a sign in bright lights.
The instant Bogut released the ball, Chen Yan exploded, snatched it clean, and went straight to the rim.
Bogut's toes barely left the hardwood before Chen Yan was already in the air.
Boom.
The impact sent Bogut crashing backward. His head hit the floor hard.
Whistle.
Even though the fall looked brutal, the call still went against Bogut for the defensive foul.
Chen Yan landed, then stepped over Bogut's head as the crowd reacted in stunned waves.
On screens, fans erupted.
"That was a horror movie poster dunk."
"Bogut is going to see that in his sleep."
"Chen needs to do the dunk contest."
The dunk contest chatter had been swirling since last season. The league had already put Chen Yan's name into the pool for this year's event. Whether he actually showed up would still be his decision.
While the debate exploded, Milwaukee's medical staff rushed out with a stretcher.
Bogut looked dizzy and disoriented. The initial read was concussion symptoms.
He was carried off covering his face, clearly miserable.
If Bogut had to name 1 player he never wanted to see again, Chen Yan would be the easy answer. Last time, he went down against him. Now it happened again.
At halftime, Chen Yan had poured all his hunger into the game.
33 points.
…
The 2nd half only got uglier for Milwaukee.
They were already outmatched, and now they were missing their anchor in the paint. Everything funneled toward Michael Redd.
Then Redd went cold.
He missed several shots in a row. Part of it was Bogut's absence, which let Phoenix shade extra attention toward him. Part of it was simply who Redd was as a scorer. When his touch was there, he looked unstoppable. When it vanished, his offense could disappear for stretches.
4.5 minutes into the 3rd quarter, Milwaukee was down by more than 30.
The Bucks called timeout and pulled the starters.
Chen Yan's line was sealed.
42 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals.
It was not that he did not want more. The Bucks just surrendered too fast.
And Chen Yan was not going to chase points in garbage time. He had refused to do it even in the 72 point game, so there was no chance he would do it here.
The rest became practice for Phoenix.
By the end of the 3rd, fans were already streaming out. When the 4th began, the arena looked hollow, with empty seats everywhere and only about a third of the crowd still hanging around.
Final score, Suns 111, Bucks 84.
Phoenix improved to 6 and 0, their 6th straight win to start the season.
Only 2 teams remained unbeaten.
The Suns, and the Lakers.
And Chen Yan walked off the floor with the same thought circling his head, half amused, half irritated.
If he wanted another monster number, he might need the opponent to fight back.
Because right now, the biggest barrier to a huge score was not a defender.
It was the blowout.
.....
[Check Out My Patreon For Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]