Chapter 378: Taking Down LeBron, Then Letting It Rain
Team USA went right back to work.
Deron Williams brought it across and swung to Dwyane Wade. Wade caught, jabbed, and tried to sell a move before attacking Chen Yan's right side.
Chen did not bite.
Wade's fakes were clean, but Chen understood the math. Wade was deadly in the mid range, so Chen stayed disciplined and refused to lean. In basketball, a triple threat only scares you if all 3 threats are real. Otherwise, it is just acting.
Wade leaned into Chen, tried to power his way downhill, and got a step inside the free throw line. Still, he could not separate. He immediately dumped it to Howard.
Wade could blow by most guards on China's roster. Against Chen Yan, the usual advantage was gone. Speed, explosion, Chen had answers for both.
Howard caught, went up strong, and finished for 2.
37 to 29.
Simple. Direct. Talent first.
…
China's possession, and Chen Yan still handled the bring up.
Wade picked him up full court again. He had just been embarrassed, so the pressure got heavier. Hands, body, the whole package.
Chen crossed, spun, and kept the ball protected while advancing.
Then Wade got impatient.
Slap.
He chopped down across Chen Yan's forearm.
The whistle came instantly.
Coach K used the foul to adjust. He subbed Kobe in for Bosh and slid LeBron to the 4.
Smaller. Faster. More legs on the floor. Coach K wanted pace.
When Kobe checked in, he pointed at Chen Yan. That assignment was his now.
On the inbound, Kobe denied Chen like a debt collector. Chen could feel the difference immediately. Wade was fierce, but Kobe's pressure came with a veteran's timing and a defender's obsession.
Yi Jianlian hesitated, then had to give it to Sun Dasheng instead.
Sun moved it to Wang Zhizhi on the right wing.
LeBron guarded him with a foot on the 3 point line. He had clearly studied the scouting report, he knew who could shoot and who could not.
Wang Zhizhi lifted the ball over his head and fed Yao Ming at the high post.
Yao caught outside to facilitate.
Chen curled baseline, trying to burst free.
Kobe stayed glued to him.
Wang Zhizhi stepped up to set the 1st screen.
Kobe braked, wrapped around it, and stayed attached.
Chen pushed through anyway, sprinted out beyond the arc, and finally got a clean catch.
Yao Ming handed it off, then immediately set a 2nd screen.
This time, Kobe could not recover.
Chen rose from deep.
Wade left Zhu Fangyu and flew over to help, but Chen was already in the air. The contest came late and light.
Swish.
37 to 32.
The building exploded.
"Chen Yan is unreal!"
"Catch and shoot, automatic!"
"Beautiful!"
Before the roar could even settle, Team USA was already running.
Howard inbounded quickly. Kobe brought it up and fired to Wade.
Wade hit the gas, pulled eyes, then tossed it high.
LeBron rose like he was on an elevator.
The Wade to LeBron connection.
The camera had barely finished celebrating Chen's 3 before it had to whip back to the other end for the dunk.
That was Team USA's rhythm. No breathing. No admiration. Just pressure.
If Kobe, Wade, LeBron, and Howard found a groove, nobody in the world could survive it.
…
China's next possession started with Sun Dasheng bringing it up.
Chen Yan's handle was steadier, but Jonas would not let him do it every trip. Too much load, too early.
After half court, Sun threw it to Chen in the corner.
Chen immediately moved it inside to Yao Ming.
Yao dribbled once with his back to the basket, ready to turn and punish Howard.
Howard was not foolish. He called for help early. He had already felt Yao's power in the NBA, he was not volunteering to relive it alone.
As Yao lifted the ball, Deron Williams arrived.
Utah had played Houston in the 1st round the last 2 years. Deron knew Yao's habits. He did not get the steal, but he did disrupt the rhythm.
Yao had to adjust mid air and kick the ball out, a small guard decision from a 7 footer, and a difficult one.
He lost balance and went down.
It was not his 1st fall tonight. Yao Ming was paying for every possession with his body.
He popped right back up anyway, swallowed the pain, and fought for position again.
He wedged Howard under the rim, and Sun delivered the entry at the earliest opening.
Yao backed down once, then flipped his signature soft hook.
Swish.
39 to 34.
Howard had no answer. He had seen that exact shot too many times in the NBA.
…
Team USA could not get a clean break on the next trip, so Deron steadied them.
China dropped into a 2 to 3 zone.
LeBron flashed to the high post like he was about to screen, but Deron ignored it. He hit an in and out dribble and went the other way.
Sun Dasheng bit, lost his angle.
Deron accelerated into the paint and rose straight up at Yao Ming, like he wanted a poster.
Young Deron had that kind of nerve.
Yao Ming corrected him immediately.
Bang.
A violent block, swatting Deron down hard.
As long as Yao stood there, China's paint had a backbone.
The ball ricocheted out. Chen Yan collected it just inside the arc and exploded into transition.
He covered the floor like it was downhill.
Only LeBron had a chance to chase.
Before takeoff, Chen glanced back and saw him.
Chen had battled LeBron in the NBA Finals just weeks ago. He knew exactly what LeBron wanted.
A chase down.
A statement.
But Chen Yan had made it clear in the NBA, he was not getting erased from behind. On the FIBA stage, he was even less interested.
Boom.
A 2 handed dunk, finished clean, with LeBron's block missing by inches.
39 to 36.
The crowd roared again. Chen had just scored on Team USA using Team USA's favorite weapon.
Fast. Ruthless. No hesitation.
If you can do it, so can I.
LeBron's face tightened. He could not remember ever successfully chasing Chen down. Somehow, Chen always found a way out.
…
Team USA tried to answer.
Deron crossed and fed LeBron.
LeBron wanted to catch China sleeping again, but Chen Yan read it early and cut off the lane.
LeBron had to pull it out beyond the arc.
Chen spread his arms and barked at him.
"Shoot it. I'm giving it to you."
It was a familiar tactic from the NBA. Chen knew LeBron's weakness from deep and liked to put the doubt in his head.
This time, LeBron rose anyway.
Not because he had suddenly turned into a sniper, but because the international 3 was shorter. This was closer to an NBA long 2, a range LeBron trusted more.
The instant LeBron lifted, Chen lunged.
LeBron got startled, but his feet were already off the floor, so he had to force it.
Clang.
The contest worked.
Chen turned and smiled at him, calm and sharp.
Competition was not polite. It was not fair. It was just real.
LeBron could only shake his head. Offense and defense, NBA or FIBA, Chen Yan was in his space again.
…
Then China went cold.
Yi missed a tough mid range fadeaway.
Yao missed.
Chen missed.
The efficiency dipped in the middle of the 2nd quarter.
Team USA pounced with a 10 to 1 run and stretched the lead to 12.
Sun Dasheng tried to respond by attacking off a screen, but LeBron slid over and pinned the layup to the backboard.
The block felt personal, like LeBron was saying, I may not catch Chen, but I can catch you.
LeBron secured the rebound and pushed.
Just over mid court, he hit Deron.
Deron saw Wade streaking and tossed it up.
The Dream Team bench rose together, ready to celebrate an alley oop.
They forgot Chen Yan was standing between the pass and the finish.
Chen tracked the ball, took 2 steps back, then launched.
At the peak, he snatched it clean into his arms.
A backward interception.
Wade froze, eyes wide.
"How did he get that high?"
On the bench, the celebration died instantly. Everyone sat back down like nothing happened.
Chen pushed the other way.
Team USA sprinted back.
2 steps beyond the 3 point line, Chen pulled up anyway.
Deron and Wade closed late. The scouting report had warned them about these transition bombs, but even perfect plans have cracks.
Chen released before they could touch him.
Swish.
The arena went silent for 1 beat, then erupted harder than it had all night.
That spot was about 1 step beyond the NBA line, nothing scary for Chen, but for fans seeing him live, it felt like a magic trick.
"What a shot," the broadcast cried. "That 3 just lit the whole building on fire."
"That's Chen Yan," the analyst said. "Any angle, any distance inside half court, he can pull it."
That make changed the temperature.
China's shooters caught the heat.
Wang Zhizhi drilled an open corner 3.
Zhu Fangyu caught and stepped back behind the line, then hit a miracle.
Even Yao Ming, off a Chen Yan assist, knocked down a 3.
Wukesong flipped into a storm.
A rain of 3s.
By halftime, the scoreboard read 53 to 52.
China was down only 1.
If the 1st quarter was survival through grit, the 2nd quarter was survival through firepower, 6 made 3s in a single period to keep Team USA from running away with it.
As they headed into the tunnel, the Dream Team's early smiles were gone.
This game was not supposed to feel like this.
And now it did.
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