Chapter 586: Your Highlights Are Just My Everyday Life
With only 11.8 seconds left, D'Antoni called a timeout to draw up the final play.
The Suns players gathered around him, and D'Antoni tapped his clipboard.
"Boris, you inbound the ball. Steve, curl out to the perimeter and draw attention. Chen, you come around from the other side. Amar'e, set the screen for him. Novak, stay in the right corner and be ready to shoot at any moment. Chen, shoot or pass depending on what the defense gives you."
At the last moment, D'Antoni substituted Novak into the game, adding a sharpshooter Boston could not ignore.
For the final possession, he did not intend to let Nash receive the inbound. Nash was brilliant, but his body was too slight for this kind of late game chaos. Years ago, Kobe's playoff game winner had come after Nash lost the ball in a similar moment. In the final seconds, referees often swallowed the whistle on borderline physical contact.
D'Antoni's play was steady, maybe even a little too conventional.
After the timeout, both teams returned to the floor.
Chen Yan tried to use Stoudemire's screen to get open. Humphries immediately switched onto him, and after Tony Allen fought around the screen, Humphries quickly recovered.
The Suns' final play was too standard.
Not only Boston, even ordinary fans could guess the ball was supposed to go to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan could not receive the ball right away, and Nash was being smothered by Rose. Diaw started to panic. The spacing on the court made the inbound pass extremely difficult.
Phoenix's plan was suddenly falling apart.
Fortunately, Novak did not foolishly remain planted in the right corner. Seeing that Diaw had no passing angle, he immediately relocated to the left corner.
Diaw was just about to force a risky pass when he saw Novak and decisively delivered the ball to him.
The moment Novak caught it, the clock started.
Durant knew Novak had no real ball handling ability and pressed him hard, trying to force a turnover through pressure.
The baseline angle was narrow, and with Durant closing in, every Suns fan held their breath.
Fortunately, Novak held firm. After steadying himself, he turned sideways, protected the ball, and passed it back to Diaw.
Then Novak immediately ran back toward the right corner.
His tactical discipline was excellent. He had not forgotten D'Antoni's instruction during the timeout.
When Diaw got the ball back, only 8 seconds remained.
Chen Yan accelerated forward, trying to receive a handoff. Tony Allen defended him with a death grip, using both arms and legs to stop him from breaking free.
Tony Allen's movements were aggressive, but he was not worried. He understood the referees' standard in this moment. They were not going to blow the whistle now.
Diaw did not force the pass. A turnover here would be fatal.
He chose the safer option, lobbing the ball to Nash farther away.
Nash caught it while moving sideways.
Only 5.2 seconds remained.
After catching the ball, Nash first faked left, then drove right.
Rose was too tense and bit on the fake.
Even so, he braced himself against the floor and recovered, showing off his explosive athleticism.
Durant, stationed near the corner, took 1 step back to cut off Nash's drive to the basket.
Time was running out, but Nash's mind remained ice cold.
The instant he saw Durant move, he passed the ball to Novak in the corner.
The play had not unfolded according to D'Antoni's design, but the opportunity had still appeared.
Novak caught the ball and fired immediately, full of confidence.
Last season, he had hit a similar game winner. Tonight, D'Antoni had put him on the floor in the final seconds for exactly this purpose.
Novak knew his job.
Unfortunately, luck was not on his side this time.
The ball rattled around the rim and popped out.
Just then, Kenny Smith shouted, "The Suns are still alive. Stoudemire is going for the putback. Oh, it got blocked."
Humphries came from behind and cleanly pinned Stoudemire's putback against the glass.
Boston's bench erupted.
Just when everyone thought the game was over, a dark figure suddenly flashed into the frame.
Chen Yan, standing 1 step inside the free throw line, somehow grabbed the loose rebound.
Without even raising the ball, Chen Yan pushed it out from his waist.
It was not a conventional shooting motion.
It was not pretty either. It looked a little like Marion's release, awkward but practical, especially with almost no time left.
And it worked.
The moment Chen Yan released the ball, the red light signaling the end of the game lit up.
The ball hit the front rim, bounced high, then dropped through the net.
Everything about it was dramatic, from the strange release to the final bounce.
The scoreboard quietly changed.
132 to 131.
TD Garden fell silent.
Every Boston player froze.
No one had processed what had just happened.
Chen Yan had hit many game winners in his career, but he had never ended an opponent in a way like this.
This was undoubtedly his strangest, most special, and most memorable game winner.
After the ball dropped, Chen Yan and Nash high fived. Novak, Stoudemire, and Diaw quickly surrounded him, celebrating right beside Tony Allen.
Tony Allen stood frozen in place, drowning in regret.
Just a few seconds earlier, he had made a fatal mistake.
He thought that preventing Chen Yan from catching the ball meant he had shut him down.
He had forgotten that Chen Yan could threaten a team at any second, from any angle, in any situation.
After the Suns celebrated for several seconds, the Boston players and fans finally came back to reality.
The camera swept across Durant's face. His expression was complicated, filled with frustration, helplessness, and disbelief.
The arena announcer could only call it a heartbreaking finish.
The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. No phrase fit this game better.
Barkley even joked that Boston had been only 1 second away from victory, and Chen Yan had stolen that second from them.
Kenny Smith and Barkley shouted over each other in the studio before launching into praise for Chen Yan. For the fans, the praise itself was familiar. The raw reaction right after the shot was what truly captured the moment.
Durant had given everything tonight, and his numbers proved it.
He finished with 50 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Those were spectacular numbers.
But next to Chen Yan, they still looked dim.
Chen Yan delivered a monster triple double of 61 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Most importantly, he hit the final shot that completely overturned the game.
His performance could only be described as terrifying.
At the post game press conference, Boston's main focus was naturally Durant.
He had just recorded the first 50 point game of his career, but Chen Yan's game winner had rendered that achievement meaningless.
"KD, what do you think was the main reason for the team's loss tonight?" a reporter asked.
Durant replied, "The opponent is very strong. They are a championship level team. Their execution is excellent, and they have a lot of experience. Those were all reasons we lost."
On the other side, Chen Yan appeared much more relaxed in his interview.
"This win belongs to the whole team," Chen Yan said. "Everyone stayed united and fought until the final moment. The process was difficult, but in the end, we got the win."
"You put up a 60 point triple double tonight. How do you maintain such great form when you supposedly do not train much during the offseason?" a reporter asked.
Chen Yan smiled.
"Who says I do not train? Training has many forms. There is mental training, physical training, and skill training. I admit I did not spend as much time on skill work this offseason, but I was definitely not slacking off. I never stopped training my body and mind."
The reporter listened and smiled without saying anything.
Your so called physical training is sleeping with Taylor Swift, and your so called mental training is making movies and writing songs, right?
"You hit another game winner tonight. Game winners have become one of your trademarks. How does it feel?" the reporter continued.
Chen Yan smiled again.
"Personally, I would rather finish the game in 3 quarters and clock out early."
"Let's talk about Kevin Durant's performance tonight. You 2 were college classmates, and you are very close friends."
"I think he was perfect tonight," Chen Yan replied. "He entered scoring mode. Throughout the game, I kept watching him shoot and make shots. Honestly, I was almost on the verge of collapsing."
"Did his performance put pressure on you?"
"Absolutely. A lot of pressure."
"But you still finished with 61 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists."
Chen Yan smiled faintly.
"I'm used to it."
Chen Yan's interview was broadcast very quickly.
When Durant saw that smile, he suddenly understood something.
His career highlight performance was just Chen Yan's everyday routine.
.....
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