Chapter 659: The Final Battle Arrives Early
Kenny Smith shouted, "Great shot! If they had just given it to Chen earlier, that possession would have been solved right away."
Barkley nodded. "Chen knows exactly what he is doing. If you do not double him, he goes 1 on 1. If you double him, he hits the open man. Miami does not have a real answer for that."
On the other end, Wade once again created a mismatch after a screen from James, then made a cross court pass back to James.
Chen Yan gave James 1 step of space again.
This time, James missed the 3 pointer.
However, Pau Gasol used his height advantage to tip the rebound down, then put the ball back in with a high release.
56 to 50.
Miami's Big 3 had not played together for long, so their chemistry was not yet strong.
On offense, they often looked disconnected, each player doing his own thing.
However, all 3 were individually elite at their positions. Even if they played through isolation, they were still enough to give most teams a headache.
New York offense.
This time, Battier quickly inbounded the ball from the baseline directly to Chen Yan.
After crossing half court, Chen Yan saw that Miami's defense had not fully set up, so he lowered his body, pushed off, and accelerated toward the basket.
Wade's speed was also sharp. He lowered his center of gravity and stayed with Chen Yan.
When Chen Yan drove to the right elbow area, he suddenly rose.
He shot over Wade and hit the 2 pointer.
This shot was a pure display of individual ability.
Wade had defended him perfectly, sticking to him like glue.
Heat head coach Spoelstra frowned.
Chen Yan was completely on fire.
He was either scoring or assisting, and most of New York's points were related to him.
That was terrifying.
Miami's offense was also affected by Chen Yan.
On their next possession, they clearly became anxious. After a few simple passes, Wade missed a high post jumper.
Chen Yan grabbed the rebound and drove the ball all the way down the court.
The attention of 3 Miami players was drawn to him.
While moving, Chen Yan flicked the ball behind him.
A magical behind the back pass.
By the time the Heat players reacted, Curry had already hit an open 3 pointer.
61 to 50.
The Chen Yan and Curry connection had now become the Knicks biggest weapon.
Chen Yan controlled the entire half.
After 2 quarters, the Knicks led 70 to 59, an 11 point advantage.
Chen Yan's halftime stats were 25 points, 15 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Many players could record a double double in a half, but not many could produce such a huge one, especially through points and assists.
Previously with the Suns, Chen Yan had mainly played the role of scorer and attacker.
He would occasionally make brilliant passes, but most of the time, organizing was Nash's responsibility.
After coming to the Knicks, Chen Yan began to evolve into a combination of himself and Nash.
In addition to scoring, he now had to organize and connect the entire team.
This game was the best example.
During halftime, Chen Yan did not pay too much attention to his stats.
Neither points nor assists mattered more than winning the game.
After the 3rd quarter began, Miami suddenly surged.
They opened with an 8 to 0 run, forcing the Knicks to call timeout.
The gap was suddenly cut to 3 points.
During the timeout, Nelson glanced at Chen Yan, and a plan immediately formed in his mind.
After play resumed, Chen Yan activated his individual scoring mode.
To prevent Wade from spending too much energy on defense, Miami brought in James Jones.
James, who originally played small forward, was moved to power forward by the coach.
James Jones defending Chen Yan 1 on 1 produced a very consistent result.
He simply could not stop him.
Chen Yan not only scored by himself, but also kept reading the floor, continuing to connect with and lead his teammates.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Knicks led 91 to 77, a 14 point advantage.
Chen Yan's own stats had quietly climbed to 35 points, 19 assists, and 8 rebounds.
A triple double was already inevitable tonight.
There was even a strong chance it would become a massive triple double.
In the 4th quarter, Chen Yan and Curry both rested on the bench.
For Miami, Wade led the reserves into battle.
Wade had been frustrated through the first 3 quarters, scoring only 16 points and grabbing 4 rebounds while being outplayed by Chen Yan on defense.
At the start of the 4th quarter, he exploded.
First, he used a screen and a long drive to throw down a powerful dunk.
Then he scored a transition 2 plus 1, putting up 5 points in just 20 seconds.
On the next possession, he received a pass from a teammate and hit a 3 pointer, a shot that was not his specialty.
He scored 8 straight points, instantly cutting the gap to single digits.
The Knicks reserves responded to some extent.
Barea hit a 3 pointer, and Shawne Williams added 2 points on a putback.
However, the Knicks bench firepower was no match for Wade.
D Wade led Miami on a 14 to 5 run, suddenly cutting the deficit to only 5 points.
The score was now 96 to 91.
Wade's outburst disrupted Nelson's plan.
After calling timeout, Nelson had no choice but to bring Chen Yan and Curry back in.
Miami also brought James and Pau Gasol back onto the floor.
Dampier, who had once called himself the best center in the West, was subbed out again after playing less than 2 minutes.
In this game, he played less than 7 minutes in total, broken into short stretches.
He was too slow and lacked aggression.
Previously, when Dampier was with the Mavericks, the coach rarely let him play long whenever the team faced the Suns.
The reason was simple.
He could not keep up with the Suns pace.
When he was on the court, the team often played 4 on 5 defensively.
Now, more and more teams around the league were imitating the Suns run and gun offense, which had nearly pushed Dampier out of the league over the past 2 years.
And the culprit behind all of it was Chen Yan.
Dampier believed that Chen Yan helping the Suns win championships had led so many teams to embrace run and gun basketball.
So even though the 2 seemed to have no real interaction on the surface, Dampier gritted his teeth in hatred every time he saw Chen Yan.
Both teams had their starters on the court.
It seemed both sides intended to begin the final battle early.
On the very 1st possession, the Knicks ran a double screen.
This was a play Nelson had designed.
After the timeout, he wanted Chen Yan to attack with the ball, and Nelson also knew Miami would not let Chen Yan shoot easily.
Sure enough, Miami switched on every screen, denying Chen Yan space for an outside shot.
When Chen Yan moved laterally to the top of the arc, he suddenly took a step back.
A step back after a double screen.
It was almost inhuman.
Chen Yan instantly created space to shoot.
James Jones and Haslem lunged forward beside him, fully aware of Chen Yan's terrifying shooting ability.
Chen Yan was completely capable of shooting a 3 pointer over both of them, but he chose a smarter option.
He gathered the ball, then passed it through the narrow gap between James Jones and Haslem.
After Al Harrington received the ball, Pau Gasol closed out on him.
Al Harrington naturally passed inside.
Kenyon Martin was completely open.
Another powerful 2 handed dunk.
Kenyon Martin had received this kind of comfortable dunk opportunity more than once tonight.
After the dunk, Kenyon Martin first high fived Al Harrington, then pointed at Chen Yan.
Although this was not a direct assist from Chen Yan, he had orchestrated the entire play.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]