Chapter 281: Duncan On a Poster Again as an Asian Star Takes Flight
After Chen Yan drilled the deep three, only 1.1 seconds remained in the half.
Duncan took the ball out. From the baseline, Oberto cocked it back and launched a one hand heave.
By the time the ball was halfway through the air, most of the Spurs were already walking toward the tunnel. The shot sailed nowhere near the rim, a pure souvenir for the back wall as the buzzer sounded and the ball flew straight out of bounds.
Halftime.
The score froze at 56 to 44. Phoenix went into the break with a double digit lead.
Chen Yan carried his Game 1 rhythm straight into Game 2. In the first half alone he put up 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Azubuike added 12 points, making him the Suns second leading scorer at the break and the engine of their second unit. His scoring bursts had propped up Phoenix whenever the starters sat.
On the walk back to the locker room, Chen went down the line high fiving teammates, then reached over and gave Azubuike a light smack on the head.
Players come in different types. Some need to be pushed, and the more you bark at them, the more fire they bring. Others need belief, and if you crush that, their game shrinks. Darko Milicic is the classic example, a number two pick who arrived in Detroit with sky high expectations and, under heavy pressure and criticism, watched his confidence evaporate.
Azubuike was much tougher mentally than Darko, but he was still the kind of player who grew with encouragement. Chen understood that.
To Azubuike, even though Chen was younger and had entered the league later, he felt like an older brother.
On the floor, Chen's constant trust and energy kept Azubuike attacking instead of hesitating. Off the floor, Chen's rising profile turned a spotlight on the whole roster. With Chen as the face of a growing Asian fan base and several companies pushing into the NBA, more and more brands started calling about Azubuike. There were even rumors that a major shoe brand was preparing to sign him. For a guy playing on a minimum contract, that kind of deal would be life changing.
It was not just Azubuike. Chen's presence raised the commercial value of everyone in a Suns jersey. His gravity extended beyond the three point line and into the business world, the way Yao Ming once did for teammates like Shane Battier and Chuck Hayes, who suddenly found themselves on billboards.
Despite the cushion at halftime, the Suns locker room did not relax.
They knew what they were dealing with. To put away a team like the Spurs, you stay locked in until the last horn.
…
The second half opened with San Antonio going full strength. Popovich sent Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan out together, aiming to crank up the offensive pressure.
If you cannot fully contain the other team, sometimes your only path is to outscore them.
Parker probed the paint, drew Nash, then dropped it off to Duncan. Duncan powered through for the layup, drew the whistle, and got the extra free throw.
He bounced the ball, took a breath, and let it go.
The ball hit the rim four times before finally dropping in.
The Spurs bench rose and clapped. An old school Duncan 2 plus 1, nothing flashy, all substance.
Suns ball.
On the next trip, Chen and Raja Bell had a misread on a pass. The ball floated just enough for Ginobili to pounce. He jumped the lane, stole it clean, and pushed it up the floor.
He slowed as he crossed half court, waited just long enough for Duncan to lumber into position, then, without a second thought, pulled a three right over the top.
Under most circumstances, Popovich would have chewed out anyone on his roster for a shot that early and that wild in the clock. But Manu was different. Manu had a special kind of freedom.
Swish.
Fifty six to fifty.
In one possession, Ginobili reminded everyone why Popovich let him break the rules.
The noise in America West Arena dipped. The crowd felt the momentum shift, and D'Antoni's jaw tightened on the sideline. Phoenix had expected a punch from San Antonio, but the Spurs had dragged the lead back to single digits in a hurry.
Diaw inbounded from the baseline.
Nash took the ball, motioned with his hand, and told everyone to slow it down.
The Suns had stumbled out of the locker room. Now was not the time to speed up and gamble. They needed a high percentage possession to steady themselves.
Nash crossed half court and swung it to Diaw at the elbow.
Then he sprinted toward him for a dribble handoff.
Diaw tried to clip Parker with his shoulder, but Parker slid around the screen along a curved line, refusing to die on the play.
Nash sold a move in one direction, then instantly cut the other way.
At his best, Nash played like a magician. His handle did not rely on street flair, but on sharp timing and subtle changes of pace. He shook Parker just enough to gain half a step and accelerated into the free throw line area.
Bowen slid over from the weak side to help. He respected Nash's jumper too much to give him an uncontested pull up.
The moment Bowen moved, Nash had already seen what he wanted.
Chen.
Nash dropped his elbow and snapped a pass out to the wing. For him, that kind of read was automatic.
From the corner, Ginobili abandoned Raja Bell and sprinted straight at Chen. Manu understood perfectly well whose shooting gravity was more dangerous.
Chen took a beat to read it, felt Manu commit in his direction, then whipped the ball sideways with a hard spin, carving out a massive pocket of space for Bell.
Raja Bell had time to set his feet, breathe, and line it up.
He rose and fired.
On most nights, a catch and shoot look like that for a pure three and D guard was as close to automatic as you could ask for. Nine makes out of ten would not be surprising.
This possession just happened to be the tenth.
Clang.
The ball hit the rim, and a groan rolled through the arena.
Under the basket, Duncan was ready. His positioning was textbook, body on Stoudemire, eyes on the ball, hands primed to grab what looked like a sure defensive rebound.
Then Chen came crashing in like a rocket.
From behind Duncan's shoulder, Chen exploded off two feet, swallowed the rebound with both hands, and detonated a putback dunk right over Duncan's head.
BOOM.
The building shook.
Ginobili, still recovering from his closeout, instantly realized his mistake. He had chased the shot and forgotten the body behind him. Manu was not Bowen on defense. He could not be everywhere at once, and that one missed box out turned into Chen's poster moment.
The crowd flipped in a heartbeat. One second they were groaning at a missed three, the next they were roaring so loud the sound seemed to bounce off the rafters.
On the big screen, the replay showed Chen hanging from the rim with one hand, legs spread in mid air, almost straddling Duncan's shoulders as he came down.
Barkley lost it. "Good grief, that boy just turned Tim Duncan into a climbing frame. That is a nasty putback. That is grown man stuff."
Kenny's voice cut in, half laughing, half analyzing. "Look at where he comes from. Weak side, no body on him, full runway. You cannot give an athlete with that kind of bounce a free run at the glass. That is on the guards. You have to hit somebody on the way in."
Fans piled on with their own reactions.
"Chen just went straight up through traffic."
"You do not see a putback dunk like that very often, especially in the playoffs."
"Who said Asian players cannot get up like that?"
"And hey, notice this, Duncan has been on the wrong end of a Chen highlight in both Game 1 and Game 2."
"Tim out here being the professional poster background again."
For years, a lazy stereotype had hung over Asian players, the idea that they could not be as explosive or as athletic as their peers. With every drive, every dunk, every sky high rebound, Chen Yan was tearing that idea apart in front of a packed arena and a global audience.
On this play, above the painted area and above Tim Duncan's outstretched arms, an Asian star proved once again that he could fly.
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