Chapter 505: Old Ginger Is Spicier
After Sloan called timeout, he made no substitutions and drew up no special play. He only stressed one thing to his players: stay locked in. Treat this as a fight, not just a basketball game.
As a veteran coach, Sloan understood better than anyone that a game at this stage was no longer just about tactics. It was about nerves, willpower, and who could stay composed when everything got ugly.
His words were clearly aimed at Boozer as well.
Over the previous few possessions, Boozer had obviously lost some focus on defense. His attention seemed fixed on one thing only, padding his numbers.
Tonight, he had a real chance to put up a 20 point, 20 rebound game, and everyone knew he held a player option for the summer.
If he posted monster numbers in the Playoffs, it would only strengthen his case for another massive contract.
Boozer had never been a player defined by loyalty. The reason he joined Utah in the first place was simple: they paid more.
Back in the summer of 2004, Boozer had reportedly reached a verbal agreement with Cleveland on a 6 year, 41 million dollar deal. Then, 5 days later, he changed course and accepted Utah's 6 year, 68 million dollar offer instead.
He was the kind of player who followed the money, not sentiment.
Of course, Boozer still wanted to win. He was a professional, and competitors always want to win. But his hunger for numbers and his next deal was every bit as strong.
Play resumed, and the Jazz crowd was roaring again. To them, a 3 point deficit was nothing. Not in this building.
Deron called for a double screen, then came off it hard and drove into the lane. Boozer rolled with him again, but this time Deron trusted himself.
He floated the ball up over Stoudemire. It brushed Amar'e's fingertips and still dropped cleanly through the net.
And 1.
Stoudemire had clipped him before he landed, and the whistle came immediately.
Deron popped up in celebration and chest bumped his teammates. By then, he was running purely on adrenaline.
He converted the free throw, and the game was tied again.
Phoenix came back down. Chen Yan caught the ball near the elbow, turned his back briefly, then faced up right away.
He had barely used the post in this series. Backing defenders down took too much energy, and he had no size edge over Brewer or Kirilenko. In situations like this, he preferred attacking from the front, where every one of his skills became a weapon.
He jabbed once.
Then again.
Then a third time.
Deron stood on the wing, ready to bring a second defender at any moment.
After one more jab step, Chen Yan rose right over Kirilenko.
Swish.
2 more.
94 to 92.
At a moment like that, hesitation killed possessions. Chen Yan took the cleanest answer available and buried it.
Utah came back and ran another set through Deron and Boozer. Deron turned the corner, then slipped the ball to Millsap a step inside the arc.
Millsap had that shot, but in a moment this tense, he hesitated. He simply did not trust it.
Deron immediately came back to the ball. Nash pressured him hard, and Millsap nearly lost it before managing the handoff.
At that stage, neither team had anything left in reserve. Every closeout was harder. Every bump was stronger. Every dribble felt contested.
Deron got it back and drove straight at Nash. Nash had established good position and took away the easy lane, so Deron spun near the edge of the paint and kicked the ball to Kirilenko.
Kirilenko did not dare shoot either. With only 3 seconds left on the clock, he swung the ball to Boozer, who had no time to do anything but launch a contested jumper from the foul line.
It hit the front rim, bounced high, clipped the glass, and dropped.
94 all.
That possession belonged more to luck than execution, but at this point nobody cared how the points came.
Phoenix answered right away.
Nash worked a screen with Azubuike and got the switch he wanted. He bounced the ball to Azubuike and let him attack Deron in space.
Chen Yan was stationed on the opposite wing, and Utah did not dare leave him. That meant Azubuike had the whole side to himself.
He did not back down.
He thought exactly what every scorer should think in that moment. What am I scared of?
If the coach put him on the floor, it was because he trusted him to attack.
Azubuike put the ball on the deck once to the right, crossed it back to his left, dipped his left shoulder, then exploded back to his right.
The move was sharp and fluid.
Training with Chen Yan every day had changed him. His handle was tighter now, his footwork cleaner, and his confidence much higher than it had been 2 seasons ago.
Deron recovered and stayed attached, but there was still a size gap between them. Azubuike leaned into him, took the contact, and finished the layup.
96 to 94.
A huge basket.
Utah did not gamble with help because Chen Yan and Nash were still stretching the floor.
On the next possession, the Jazz answered with beautiful team basketball.
It began with the standard Deron and Boozer pick and roll, then flowed into weak side cuts from Kirilenko and Millsap, with quick reversals and sharp timing all over the floor.
Boozer got the finish.
96 all.
Then Phoenix answered with its own precision.
Diaw and Chen Yan worked together on the strong side. Chen Yan drew the attention, kicked it back, and Diaw drilled the 3.
99 to 96.
A killer shot.
Utah still refused to break.
This time, Deron and Boozer used the pick and roll as a starting point, then had Kirilenko and Millsap slash from different angles toward the rim. The action was clean, connected, and dangerous.
Boozer muscled the ball in again.
99 to 98.
At that point, Chen Yan stopped trying to organize anyone.
He shifted fully into isolation mode.
He called for the screen, forced the switch, and got Deron on the baseline.
Phoenix cleared the side.
Chen Yan settled into the post and backed him down.
Deron was strong, but Chen Yan had the height advantage. Deron could not press too recklessly because he still had to respect the fadeaway.
Utah hesitated for just a fraction of a second on the double team.
That was enough.
By the time Kirilenko came over, Chen Yan had already turned.
No fake.
No wasted motion.
He simply rose and fired over Deron.
The fadeaway made it completely untouchable. Even without it, Deron would have had no chance. Chen Yan was still elevating like it was the first quarter, not the closing minute of a brutal playoff game.
The shot hit the back rim and dropped.
101 to 98.
That was the kind of shot that broke teams.
It was not just 2 points. It told Utah that even after all the contact, all the noise, and all the fatigue, Chen Yan could still manufacture offense from nothing.
Utah called timeout with 37 seconds left, down 3.
Immediately, every broadcast crew started guessing what Sloan would draw up.
Barkley believed the moment called for Deron to take the hero shot himself.
Kenny Smith disagreed. He thought Deron looked drained and that Utah would play for a quick 2 instead of gambling on a 3.
During the timeout, D'Antoni called for straight man to man coverage. With the game in its final seconds, anyone on Utah's side could become the shooter.
Play resumed.
Utah inbounded from the side in the frontcourt.
Deron curled out to receive it. Just as everyone expected, the ball began in his hands.
He signaled for space.
Then, in the next instant, he whipped the ball to the corner.
Korver caught it, turned, and shot immediately with no extra motion.
Chen Yan had been screened under the basket by Boozer.
Stoudemire's closeout came late.
Nobody had expected Utah to fire the 3 that quickly, but that was exactly what Sloan had wanted. While everyone was bracing for a drawn out possession through Deron, the Jazz went the other direction and struck instantly.
Swish.
101 to 101.
EnergySolutions Arena exploded.
The broadcast cut straight to Sloan on the sideline, and the message was obvious.
Old ginger really was spicier.
.....
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