Chapter 808: An Iconic Image
James made all 3 free throws.
78 to 71.
Kenny Smith looked at the free throw numbers.
"Miami has definitely benefited from the whistle tonight. They have already attempted 25 free throws, while New York has only taken 13."
Barkley nodded.
"Some of that is home court advantage, and some of it is style. LeBron and Wade attack the basket constantly. But that is still a big difference."
New York came back on offense.
The Knicks attempted to run an elevator door action for Chen Yan.
Before the play could fully develop, James accelerated and crashed through DeAndre Jordan, who had just entered the game.
Whistle!
Offensive foul on James.
Miami's players were becoming increasingly emotional.
Chen had already scored so much that the Heat seemed almost obsessed with preventing him from getting another clean look.
DeAndre controlled himself.
He did not get up and confront James.
Chen and Curry walked over and helped him to his feet.
Play continued.
Battier prepared to inbound from the sideline.
Chen used a screen and started moving to get open.
Miami's defenders reacted wildly.
Several players shifted toward Chen at once, completely losing their normal assignments.
Battier immediately recognized it.
He passed to Curry instead.
Curry caught the ball and attacked the open lane.
No resistance.
Layup.
Good.
80 to 71.
Spoelstra immediately called timeout.
Miami's defense had become too consumed with Chen Yan.
The Heat were beginning to ignore the other Knicks completely.
That kind of obsession would eventually destroy their defensive structure.
After the timeout, Wade answered.
He used a crossover, pulled back, and buried a mid range jumper.
On the next possession, Wade came off a screen and attacked again.
Euro step.
Layup.
Good.
Chen's energy had been concentrated heavily on offense, and his defensive intensity had dropped slightly.
James also found success soon afterward.
He established position in the low post, powered into his defender, and knocked down a fadeaway jumper.
Miami's crowd grew louder with every basket.
Late in the 3rd quarter, the Heat finally appeared to be finding a rhythm.
After 3 quarters, New York's lead had been reduced to only 3.
95 to 92.
During the break, frustration spilled out on the Knicks bench.
Curry shook his head.
"They have hit me on 3 point shots multiple times tonight, and I cannot get a whistle."
David West looked even more irritated.
"At least 3 of my 5 fouls were barely fouls at all."
DeAndre added, "They are shoving people around in the paint and the officials act like they do not see anything."
Nelson spread his arms.
"Calm down, guys. Calm down."
He looked around the bench.
"We are still ahead. Stop acting like we already lost."
The players quieted somewhat.
The frustration remained.
Chen understood the danger immediately.
If everyone carried that anger onto the floor, Miami would have already won half the battle.
Negative emotions would destroy their concentration.
Before Nelson could begin drawing up the next play, Chen suddenly raised his voice.
"Rely on ourselves!"
Everyone turned toward him.
"We only rely on ourselves!"
Chen's voice grew louder.
"Forget the opponent. Forget the referees. Let all of them get lost. We win this game ourselves!"
The message was simple.
It worked.
The atmosphere around the Knicks bench immediately changed.
The 4th quarter began with the stars from both teams on the floor.
James and Wade were ready to fight.
Chen and Curry were equally prepared.
Neither side intended to hold anything back.
David West remained on the bench.
His 5 fouls had severely restricted New York's rotation.
Miami opened the quarter.
Chalmers brought the ball across half court.
Wade came up to receive it.
James circled toward the low post and called for the ball.
Miami had used this action frequently throughout the season.
Wade lobbed the entry pass.
James caught it, turned quickly, and attacked the basket.
Smack!
DeAndre met him at the rim.
Huge block.
The ball flew away.
Clean.
No whistle.
Even with the favorable calls Miami had received, there were limits to how much the officials could influence a nationally televised game.
Wade recovered the loose ball first.
He immediately accelerated toward the basket.
Chen had already begun running toward the other end after seeing DeAndre's block.
He was badly out of position.
The instant he saw Wade recover the ball, Chen changed direction and grabbed him.
Intentional foul.
Wade was too experienced to waste the opportunity.
The moment he felt Chen pulling him, he threw the ball toward the basket with 1 hand.
Whether the shot went in did not matter.
He wanted free throws.
Whistle!
The officials ruled that Wade had begun his shooting motion.
2 free throws.
Wade made 1 of 2.
95 to 93.
Only 2 points separated the teams.
1 possession.
New York immediately became more alert.
Miami had not played particularly well tonight.
The Knicks knew this was a valuable opportunity to steal another road victory.
And if they won?
The series would become 3 to 0.
For Miami, that would be devastating.
New York inbounded quickly.
Chen screened for Curry, then immediately cut toward the basket.
Curry did not force the direct pass.
That would have been too obvious.
Instead, he lobbed the ball toward DeAndre.
DeAndre caught it.
Then unexpectedly bounced the ball through the defense.
Chen appeared behind the play.
Catch.
Jump.
Reverse dunk!
Boom!
97 to 93.
Miami's defense had no chance to react.
The possession had been created entirely through teamwork.
And the most surprising part had come from DeAndre.
A delicate bounce pass.
Rare finesse from the Knicks center.
But DeAndre had played alongside Chen for years, first in Phoenix and now in New York.
Constantly playing beside a gifted passer had influenced him.
Every now and then, even DeAndre could produce something unexpected.
Wade was becoming increasingly frustrated.
Chen had already scored 50 points tonight.
Miami had tried defender after defender.
Wade.
James.
Chalmers.
Multiple traps.
Different help schemes.
Nothing had worked consistently.
And because Wade was still Chen's primary matchup, the media would inevitably compare the 2 after the game.
If Miami lost while Chen put up another enormous scoring night, Wade knew exactly how the headlines would look.
The pressure was mounting.
Miami returned to offense.
Wade received the ball and called for a screen.
New York immediately sent help.
No driving lane.
Wade stopped sharply, pulled the ball back, and passed toward James.
James had cut behind the defense after using a teammate's screen to move from the left baseline toward the right.
His jumper had been inconsistent tonight.
New York did not switch aggressively.
That gave him space.
James caught the ball.
Battier was 1 step late recovering.
Shot fake.
Battier reacted.
James immediately put the ball on the floor.
Drive.
He reached the edge of the restricted area and jumped.
DeAndre abandoned Gasol and rotated toward James.
James saw everything.
At the last moment, he slipped the ball toward the middle.
Gasol caught it.
Long arms extended.
Boom!
Dunk.
97 to 95.
New York came back down.
This time, Chalmers picked up Chen.
James and Wade had already spent enormous amounts of energy defending him.
Spoelstra did not necessarily believe Chalmers could stop Chen.
He simply needed Wade and James to conserve enough energy for offense.
Chen dribbled between his legs at the top of the arc.
Again.
Again.
Again.
That repetitive rhythm had become one of his trademarks.
Crowd him too aggressively and Chen would explode past you.
Give him too much room and the dribble itself seemed to hypnotize the defender until the attack suddenly came.
10 seconds remained on the shot clock.
Chen changed direction.
Chalmers barely stayed with him.
Chen did not bother changing direction again.
He did not need to.
His strength and speed were both superior.
He leaned into Chalmers.
Bump.
Then drove past him.
Miami's pocket defense immediately formed.
The Heat refused to let Chen reach the basket cleanly.
But Chen was not trying to reach the rim.
He wanted the simplest scoring opportunity available.
Near the free throw line, Chen gathered.
Sudden stop.
James rushed from 1 side.
Wade came from another.
Chalmers recovered from behind.
3 Miami defenders converged toward him.
All were just slightly too far away.
Chen rose from the mid range.
Pullup jumper.
Swish!
99 to 95.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Cameras fired from every direction.
Photographers surrounding the court captured the exact moment.
Chen suspended in the air.
The ball leaving his fingertips.
James, Wade, and Chalmers converging from 3 different angles.
3 defenders surrounding 1 scorer.
And still, the shot fell.
It was the kind of photograph that would live far beyond the game itself.
An instant classic.
....
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