TL: 300PS
Chapter 275: Sorry, with cheats you can do whatever you want
The starters were the same as Game 1, no surprises on either side.
Phoenix opened with Steve Nash, Chen Yan, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Amar e Stoudemire.
San Antonio countered with Tony Parker, Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen, Tim Duncan, and Fabricio Oberto.
Playoff rotations rarely change early in a series. A lineup swap does not just shift minutes, it shakes chemistry and timing that teams have built all season. Unless a matchup is truly broken, coaches usually ride what got them here.
Stoudemire outjumped Duncan at center court, and Phoenix claimed the first possession.
Once they settled into half court, Nash swung it to Chen Yan. That first touch had become routine for Phoenix all year, let the young gun set the tone.
Chen Yan did not force a solo look. He raised a hand and called for a pick and roll with Stoudemire. As the screen hit, Chen Yan turned the corner and drove.
Duncan switched onto him, Bowen trailed from behind, and San Antonio tried to pinch him at the free throw line to bait a turnover. But Chen Yan was locked in. He read the trap before it fully formed.
Instead of hesitating, he tossed the ball high out front, a soft lob that looked casual, but came from a clean scan of the floor. Stoudemire had already slipped into space behind the defense.
Bang.
Not even 10 seconds into the game, Chen Yan fed Stoudemire for a thunderous alley oop. Two hands, no mercy.
2 to 0.
The building was already hot, and that first dunk poured gasoline on it.
Stoudemire landed roaring at the baseline camera, then charged over for a high five. "Great pass! Keep feeding me, Chen!"
Chen Yan grinned. "Go for it, Amar e. These rims are bolted down, do your worst."
With Stoudemire's vertical, assists were easy money. All Chen Yan had to do was put the ball in the air at the right time and let Amar e handle the violence.
San Antonio answered.
Parker walked it over half court, and the Spurs ran their own pick and roll. Duncan stepped up and planted a hard screen that wiped Raja Bell off Parker's hip. Parker came off clean into space, lifted from mid range, and drilled it.
Swish.
2 to 2.
A calm response to a loud start.
Phoenix came back, and Stoudemire, still buzzing from the oop, wanted one for himself. He faced up, probed, and fired a confident mid range jumper.
Bang off the rim.
A good shot, just early game cold hands.
San Antonio went right back to the two man game, but this time Duncan was the focal point. After screening, he slipped into the lane, caught Parker's pass, and banked it in.
4 to 2.
Give a legend like Duncan that kind of pocket, and you are basically handing him points.
Chen Yan grabbed the ball on the baseline and fired a quick inbound, trying to push tempo and stack speed. He crossed half court and found Bell.
Bell did not have a downhill attack like Chen Yan, so he paused for an instant, then swung it back to Nash and cut hard toward the paint. Nash read it, bounced a pass through, and Bell went up in stride.
Finley contested. The attempt flared wide.
From the booth, Barkley winced. "Man, that was right there. You gotta finish those in a playoff game."
Kenny added, "Bell is tough and smart, but that play needs more explosion. Chen Yan probably dunks that same look, that's just the athletic gap."
Finley secured the rebound, then slowed it down instead of sprinting into Phoenix's track meet. Twelve years in the league had taught him that feeding the Suns pace was feeding them oxygen.
Parker crossed half court, knifed into the paint, and Duncan was already posted and waiting. The pass hit him on time.
Duncan backed in and turned into his signature left side 45 degree bank shot. The angle, the touch, the soft kiss off glass, all of it was automatic.
6 to 2.
No celebration, no reaction. Duncan just jogged back like a stone statue.
Popovich had clearly told him to be aggressive early. On the road, San Antonio needed more than steady, they needed Duncan to put pressure on Phoenix from the jump.
Phoenix stumbled through their next possession. A timing mismatch between Nash and Diaw led to a wasted trip.
San Antonio came right back. Parker found Duncan at the high post. Duncan surveyed, then whipped the ball to Finley cutting along the baseline.
Swish.
9 to 2.
In his prime, Finley could fly and finish. Late career Finley had turned into a reliable shooter, and that was still a weapon.
D Antoni had seen enough.
Timeout.
Phoenix could not let San Antonio build an early cushion, not against a team that lived off rhythm and control.
Back in the huddle, D Antoni tapped the board, sharp and direct. "Shoot with conviction. Push in transition when it's there. Attack off screens. And stop making extra passes that only invite turnovers."
He was not calling out one guy. He was calling out the whole group. Phoenix looked a little tight to start, like they were trying not to make mistakes instead of trying to win.
Out of the timeout, Chen Yan went straight to work.
He used a teammate's screen, drifted two steps beyond the top of the arc, caught the ball, and fired a three in rhythm.
Swish.
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