Chapter 845: We Are the Champions!!!
After getting the stop, San Antonio immediately pushed into transition.
Parker carried the ball inside the 3 point line, saw nothing available, and pulled it back to reset.
Then, without warning,
Bounce pass.
Duncan was trailing the play.
Catch.
1 step.
2 steps.
Takeoff.
Yi Jianlian instinctively moved aside.
Nothing stood between Duncan and the rim.
At least, nothing in front of him.
A figure suddenly appeared from behind.
Chen Yan.
1 explosive step.
Chen went from trailing Duncan to flying beside him almost instantly.
Leap.
Smack!
He slapped the ball cleanly out of Duncan's hands.
Duncan completed the motion and grabbed the rim, only to realize the basketball was no longer there.
The chase down block had come completely out of nowhere.
Duncan did not have eyes in the back of his head.
All he had seen was an open lane.
He never knew Chen was coming.
Curry reacted immediately, collected the loose ball, and sprinted the other way.
Layup.
Good.
Chen passed Duncan and spoke directly into his ear.
"I got you."
His face remained completely blank.
Short sentence.
Annoying tone.
Pure Duncan style trash talk.
Most players had no idea how to respond when Duncan spoke like that.
Chen did.
Fight magic with magic.
Duncan looked at him without changing expression.
"Good job, kid."
San Antonio came back down.
Duncan fought for position inside, but Chen immediately collapsed toward the paint.
The help arrived so quickly that Duncan nearly lost the chance to pass.
He barely managed to fling the ball back outside.
Leonard caught it.
Shot.
Miss.
Curry grabbed the rebound and pushed.
San Antonio recovered quickly enough to prevent the fast break.
Curry slowed down near the top and began organizing the offense.
Duncan glanced toward Chen.
So this guy was really going to answer every bit of trash talk?
Fine.
Duncan had already realized his psychological attack was useless.
If he continued, there was a chance Chen would annoy him instead.
No need.
The game mattered too much.
During the break before the 4th quarter, Nelson gathered his players.
"Do not give them easy points in the paint."
His voice was firm.
"Remember that."
He looked around the huddle.
"The 4th quarter is going to come down to toughness."
"Whoever can grit his teeth and hold on until the end is going to win."
There was no complicated tactical speech.
At this stage, both experienced coaches understood the same thing.
Most of the adjustments had already been made.
Everyone knew the opponent's plays.
Everyone knew the matchups.
The final quarter would be decided by execution, stamina, nerve, and willpower.
Popovich delivered much the same message on the other side.
Then the 4th quarter began.
Chen remained on the floor.
There was never much doubt about that.
Playing through enormous minutes had become part of his identity.
San Antonio handled things differently.
Duncan and Ginóbili went to the bench for brief rests.
Parker stayed on the floor.
The Spurs' veteran trio could not match Chen's stamina.
Forcing all 3 to play without rest would only reduce their efficiency and increase the risk of injury.
Short rotations were still necessary.
New York had the first possession.
Curry crossed half court.
Chen came up to screen.
Curry moved laterally.
Then suddenly rose while drifting.
3 pointer.
Clang!
Too strong.
Miss.
Kenyon Martin fought underneath and slapped the rebound outward with both hands.
The ball flew all the way toward the logo.
Straight to Chen.
Chen's first instinct after Curry missed had been to retreat on defense and prevent Parker from running.
Instead, the loose ball had delivered an unexpected shooting opportunity directly to him.
Chen caught it.
No dribble.
Rise from the logo.
San Antonio barely reacted.
The shot had come too suddenly.
By the time the defenders turned toward him, the basketball was already high in the air.
Perfect arc.
Swish!
78 to 79.
The AT&T Center went silent.
Another brutal deep 3 pointer.
The kind of shot that seemed to squeeze the air out of the building.
Only 1 point separated the teams.
New York's bench exploded.
Thousands of miles away, Knicks fans packed into bars across New York erupted as well.
"That's it, Chen!"
"Bring the trophy home!"
"Finish them!"
On the San Antonio bench, Duncan and Ginóbili were already shifting restlessly in their seats.
The lead suddenly felt far too fragile.
Parker came down and called for Diaw.
Pick and roll.
Parker drove first, forcing New York's defense to collapse.
Then he passed.
Diaw received the ball on the move.
No hesitation.
Straight toward the rim.
Layup.
Good.
78 to 81.
The broadcast booth praised the effort.
"Diaw is throwing everything into that drive. At this point, you worry about the landing after you make the play."
"Nobody is saving energy anymore. Effort is the minimum requirement if you want this championship."
New York returned to offense.
Gary Neal denied Chen aggressively.
Hands.
Body contact.
Constant pressure.
Neal was not concerned about foul trouble.
As a fringe rotation player, being disqualified hardly mattered compared with preventing Chen from receiving the ball.
Yi Jianlian came toward the top and received the pass.
Curry ran past him as though they were about to execute a handoff.
Fake.
Yi kept the ball.
1 dribble.
Drive.
This was one of his familiar attacks.
Diaw stayed attached.
No opening.
Yi completed his steps and found himself trapped without a clean path to the rim.
He twisted in midair and tried to pass.
Slap!
Parker read it perfectly.
Steal.
The moment he secured the ball, Parker sprinted ahead.
Open floor.
Layup.
Chen was racing after him.
Parker jumped.
Chen jumped almost simultaneously.
Chen hammered the ball hard against the backboard.
Beep!
Whistle.
Foul on Chen.
Chen's mouth formed a perfect circle in disbelief.
He collected the ball after the whistle and ran another 5 or 6 steps before finally stopping.
That was his way of releasing the frustration.
No screaming at the official.
No throwing the ball.
No wild gestures.
Just run it off.
Parker stepped to the line.
First free throw.
Good.
Second.
Good.
78 to 83.
"Defense!"
"Defense!"
The AT&T Center had found its voice again.
The crowd roared on every beat.
For many players, that kind of noise created pressure.
For Chen, it did the opposite.
It made him more excited.
He subtly created separation from Neal and circled toward the 3 point line.
Neal exaggerated the contact and threw himself backward.
He wanted an offensive foul.
The acting was not convincing enough.
No whistle.
Neal immediately regained his balance and rushed back toward Chen.
Chen waited.
Just for a moment.
The instant Neal reached him, Chen accelerated.
Timing.
That was all it took.
Jump step.
Into the paint.
Tiago Splitter rotated.
Chen launched himself directly toward the 211 centimeter big man.
Contact in the air.
Chen initially shaped his body for a reverse layup along the baseline.
Then he stopped the motion halfway.
Diaw had rotated underneath.
Chen adjusted again.
1 fake in the air.
Then another.
Finally, glass.
Good.
80 to 83.
Knicks fans watching from home went wild.
Another absurd Chen Yan finish.
Another possession where he seemed to hesitate in midair longer than everyone else could remain airborne.
After only 2 possessions, Duncan and Ginóbili returned.
San Antonio continued protecting its lead behind the energy of the home crowd.
But the margin never became comfortable.
Their defense against Chen grew increasingly physical.
Grabs.
Bumps.
Hard fouls.
Every legal and borderline method available.
Short of outright taking him out of the game, San Antonio tried everything.
New York answered with equal physicality.
No one was backing down.
As the final minutes approached, the officials noticeably loosened the whistle.
The message was clear.
Play through it.
Decide the championship on the floor.
With 1 minute and 51 seconds remaining, Chen finally broke free with the help of a double screen.
Catch.
Pause.
He changed rhythm while surveying the floor.
Then suddenly leaned forward.
Drive.
Hard.
San Antonio collapsed.
2 defenders.
Then 3.
Chen entered the paint and kicked the ball out.
Curry was alone.
Mid range jumper.
Swish!
109 to 107.
New York led by 2.
The next 1 and a half minutes became pure survival.
No baskets.
Bodies collided.
Shots missed.
Rebounds were fought over as though each one decided the season.
Both teams had reached their physical limits.
San Antonio had 1 final offensive opportunity.
During the previous timeout, Popovich had drawn up a play for a 3 pointer.
Duncan moved into position.
Diaw joined him.
Double screen.
Ginóbili sprinted through the wall of bodies and raced toward the left baseline.
Leonard delivered the pass.
The broadcast booth was almost shouting now.
"This could be the final possession of the season!"
"This is where everything gets tested. Execution. Composure. Willpower."
Ginóbili caught the ball.
He did not hold it.
There was still enough time that San Antonio could foul if the shot missed.
Turn.
Jump.
Release.
Then Ginóbili crashed to the floor.
Whistle!
The AT&T Center exploded.
Spurs fans immediately assumed the same thing.
3 free throws.
But the referee pointed the other way.
New York ball.
The cheers died instantly.
Confusion spread throughout the arena.
"What happened?"
The replay appeared.
Ginóbili had stepped on the sideline just as he released the shot.
Out of bounds.
The broadcast booth reacted in disbelief.
"What a turn of events."
There was no way for the officials to overlook it.
New York's bench was positioned directly beside the play.
The Knicks reserves had seen Ginóbili's foot touch the line immediately.
San Antonio was stunned.
Ginóbili looked devastated.
He muttered repeatedly to himself as he walked away.
He had scored 32 points tonight.
He had played his best game of the series.
And after everything he had done to keep San Antonio alive, his final mistake might have ended their season.
Manu had helped build San Antonio's chances tonight.
Now Manu might have broken them.
New York prepared to inbound.
Chen received the ball.
Leonard and Ginóbili immediately wrapped him up.
Intentional foul.
Chen went to the line.
First free throw.
Swish.
Second.
Swish.
111 to 107.
San Antonio called its final timeout.
7.3 seconds remained.
The Spurs returned with another action designed for Ginóbili.
Popovich still trusted him.
A screen freed Manu.
But this time Chen anticipated it.
He stepped directly into Ginóbili's path and prevented him from receiving the ball cleanly.
Leonard had no choice.
Pass to Parker.
Parker caught it.
3 pointer.
Miss.
The ball came off the rim.
Players from both teams lunged after it.
Seconds disappeared.
Then,
Beep!
The final buzzer.
For a fraction of a second, everything seemed frozen.
Then New York's bench emptied.
Players sprinted onto the court.
DeAndre Jordan and David West charged down from the stands.
They had been suspended from playing.
Nothing was going to stop them from joining this celebration.
Everyone converged around Chen.
Hands grabbed him.
Teammates lifted him off the floor.
The AT&T Center, so loud all night, now belonged to the visiting team.
The New York Knicks had done it.
After every injury.
Every suspension.
Every hard foul.
Every double team.
Every comeback.
Every desperate possession.
It was over.
The New York Knicks were the 2011 to 2012 NBA champions.
…..
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