Chapter 376: The Stronger the Belief, the Stronger the Power
As Chen Yan and Kobe exchanged words, Carmelo Anthony had already fired a quick inbound from the baseline.
Jason Kidd caught it and instantly launched a long outlet.
LeBron James secured the pass near mid court and pushed hard. Before China could get organized, he blew past Liu Wei, attacked Yi Jianlian at the rim, and finished the layup.
Yi's athleticism was elite for China, but against LeBron's burst and strength, it was still a step short.
9 to 10.
Team USA kept leaning on raw talent, and the gap shrank to 1 in the blink of an eye. Even the crowd could feel it. A team like this did not need time to build momentum. If they decided to hit the gas, they could erase a lead or flip the scoreboard whenever they wanted.
…
China's possession.
Liu Wei brought it up calmly and swung it to Yi Jianlian on the right wing near the 3 point line.
Yi's official position was power forward, but his game lived on the perimeter. Outside of easy dunks, he loved mid range pull ups and step through finishes after a jab.
As Yi caught, Chen Yan cut along the baseline and Yao Ming set an off ball screen to free him.
Yi delivered the pass immediately.
Chen Yan did not have a clean look. Kobe fought through the screen and appeared on his back shoulder like a shadow.
A Kobe who poured everything into defense was terrifying.
Chen Yan kept his back to the basket and went right into a post up, just like the last possession.
The instant he turned, Kidd stepped up for a double team.
The timing was perfect. Against a slower ball handler, Kidd could strip it clean or force a panic turnover.
But Chen Yan was not a big man. His feet were quick, his balance steady.
Before the trap fully closed, he kicked the ball out to the perimeter.
Liu Wei caught, saw daylight, and took the 3.
Clang.
The look was good, the shot was not. On a night like this, that mattered.
On the broadcast, the analyst's voice rose anyway.
"The decision is right. That is the correct read."
"The opportunity was there, but China did not cash it in."
Then came the familiar truth, spoken with equal parts admiration and pain.
"How a guard handles double teams separates good from great. Chen Yan stays calm every time, and the rest of China's guards need to study that."
Across the country, millions of fans went silent for a moment.
Study it? Sure.
Learn it? That was a different story.
…
On the floor, Anthony secured the rebound and Team USA ran.
LeBron attacked downhill and snapped a sharp pass.
Dwight Howard caught and powered up through Zhu Fangyu.
The whistle blew as the ball hit the glass and dropped.
And 1.
Zhu could only exhale. Howard's strength was cartoonish. There was no polite way to guard it.
Yao Ming shouted from the lane while Howard walked to the line.
"No shot. No shot. He has no shot."
Howard lined it up.
Clang.
The free throw rattled out, right on cue.
Anthony and Kobe crashed in for the rebound. Bodies collided in a tight knot with Yao, Yi, Anthony, and Kobe jammed together.
In the chaos, Yi managed to tip the ball outward.
It was about to sail out of bounds, but Yao launched and snatched it in mid air, saving it back toward the court.
He could not stop his momentum.
He crashed into the advertising board and fell hard.
The arena roared.
That kind of save barely existed in NBA games. Yao would only do something that reckless, that willing to flirt with injury, wearing the national jersey. For a 7 footer, it was madness.
Liu Wei collected the saved ball and threw a diagonal long pass ahead to Chen Yan near the mid court line.
That was all Chen needed.
The fire in his chest flared, and the moment the ball hit his hands, he punched the accelerator.
He blew by Kidd with speed, then hit a back spin into a between the legs dribble, weaving through traffic in a tight slalom.
He looked like a red Ferrari changing lanes in a packed highway, not slowing, not asking permission.
He cut straight into the paint and finished with a flying layup.
Swish.
Wukesong detonated.
"So smooth."
"A one man push, breaking Team USA's defense by himself."
"That is exactly Chen Yan's game."
"When he gets rolling, he is impossible to stop."
The roar had an edge of disbelief, too. China did not run like this. Their guards usually could not. The speed, the control, the courage, it was something the crowd had rarely seen in a red jersey.
In the front row, a teenager with a youthful face and a Northeastern accent jumped up, shouting himself hoarse.
"Chen Yan is insane. I want to play like that one day."
His name was Allen, a youth prospect from Liaoning. He had come to the game specifically to watch his idol. His uncle, Guo Shiqiang, was on the national team staff, so a front row ticket was not hard to arrange.
…
Team USA responded immediately.
They were not afraid of track meet basketball. If anything, they welcomed it. Speed was their native language.
Kidd hit Kobe on the advance.
Kobe pushed past the arc and, without breaking stride, flicked a low pass to the right.
LeBron was already flying in from the other side.
He caught and took off in one motion.
Inside the restricted area, Yao had just peeled himself off the board and rushed back. He planted, squared, and covered up, trying to draw the charge.
LeBron did not even consider braking.
How does a train at full speed stop on a dime?
Bang.
It was like the building shook, a violent collision that turned heads in every row.
Yao went flying, knocked back nearly a full meter.
LeBron's power was unreal. Even Yao, famous for his stable base, could not absorb it.
The whistle sounded as LeBron released the ball.
Blocking foul.
The shot rolled around the rim and fell.
And 1.
LeBron pumped his fist, roaring.
Yao stayed on the floor for a beat, looking toward the referee with helpless frustration.
The crowd booed hard. Jonas cursed on the sideline.
From the stands, it looked like Yao had set his feet early. The call went the other way anyway.
Chen Yan and Yi stepped in and pulled Yao up.
Yao swallowed the argument. Complaining would not change the call, and he had to think bigger than 1 possession.
LeBron missed the free throw.
Team USA's shooting at the line was shaky tonight.
Yi secured the rebound and immediately found Chen Yan.
Chen signaled a set and slowed the pace. Against Team USA, steady was smarter. Run with them too long and you ended up playing their game.
After several passes, Yi took a high post jumper.
Clang.
Miss.
But Chen Yan's instincts were sharp. He read the bounce, rose, and grabbed the offensive rebound clean.
He kicked it out to Liu Wei cutting into the lane.
Liu took 1 step and went up.
Bang.
LeBron met it at the top and swatted it away.
The pass was correct, the timing was fine, but the physical gap was brutal.
Yao fought for position, got to the loose ball first, and flipped in a putback.
If talent was not enough, then you paid with effort.
Team USA looked irritated by China's second chances. They were used to erasing mistakes with athleticism, not getting punished on the glass.
With 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter, Chen Yan checked out for Sun Dasheng, a standard rotation move.
When the quarter ended, the scoreboard read 24 to 24.
A dead even 1st quarter.
For China, it was the perfect start.
Team USA had talent.
China had belief, toughness, and a willingness to scrap for every inch.
That was the game's truth so far, simple and loud.
Chen Yan finished the 1st with 8 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds, spending most of his minutes connecting everyone and keeping the offense alive.
To truly threaten Team USA, he had to manage his gas tank.
China's games often broke open in the second half, when legs got heavy and execution slipped.
If Chen Yan wanted a chance to take over later, he had to make sure he still had something left when the real fight arrived.
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