Chapter 379: Two Bottles of Poison
At halftime, China trailed by only 1.
Nobody saw that coming.
Before tipoff, most fans at home were mentally preparing for damage control. If China kept it respectable, that would count as a win. So walking into the break down a single point felt like stumbling into a miracle.
Chen Yan's first half line was monstrous, 19 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds. In FIBA play, stuffing the stat sheet like that was even harder than in the NBA. Quarters were only 10 minutes, and the scoring table was stingier, especially with assists. In FIBA, it often had to be a clean catch and immediate shot. If the scorer took a dribble first, the pass usually did not get rewarded.
In China's locker room, Jonas looked at his team with a mix of pride and urgency. He praised the effort, the toughness, the composure.
Then his tone sharpened.
"Do not get comfortable. Stay locked in. Execute the plan. The second half is going to be harder."
He knew the trap. A good half could make players feel like the job was done. Against Team USA, that kind of joy was poison.
On the other side, Coach K stayed calm and surgical.
The score was not what he expected, but he did not panic. Team USA's talent was obvious, and beyond talent, they had a clear advantage in stamina. If they followed the structure, he believed the separation would come.
Under the eyes of hundreds of millions, the 2nd half began.
China adjusted the starting group.
Sun Dasheng, Chen Yan, Zhu Fangyu, Yi Jianlian, Yao Ming.
Liu Wei sat. He had not made much impact in the 1st half, and Jonas wanted cleaner ball control.
Team USA stayed with its original starting 5.
Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard.
That was their most balanced look, shooting, speed, rebounding, rim protection, all of it.
…
Team USA opened the half with LeBron as the engine.
Anthony screened, and LeBron switched onto Yi Jianlian.
Yi held his ground well. For a moment, LeBron had no direct lane.
Then LeBron waved his left hand and called Howard up.
That was what guarding LeBron felt like. Screen after screen, 100 of them if you let him. The Olympics did not change that habit.
Howard set it, LeBron finally found daylight, and he drove into the paint.
China's defense collapsed instantly. LeBron's rim pressure forced the entire floor to shrink.
LeBron spun halfway and kicked it out.
Kobe caught on the perimeter and squared like he was going to shoot. Sun Dasheng sprinted out. Kobe gave him a slight pump fake, stepped inside, and attacked.
A step into the lane, and Kobe rose for a 1 handed dunk.
55 to 52.
It looked easy. That was the difference. China had to wrestle for every look. Team USA found points with a simple decision.
After the dunk, Kobe set the ball down gently with both hands.
There was no showboating. Kobe respected China and the crowd. His fan base here was massive, and every trip to China felt like a parade. He had even called it his second home.
…
China answered.
Chen brought it across and found Sun Dasheng.
This lineup had no fixed point guard. Sun and Chen alternated based on the possession.
Yao stepped to the high post to screen for Sun, but Sun did not use it. Instead, he hit Zhu Fangyu cutting to the rim.
Zhu could have gone up right away, but his experience warned him, danger behind.
He faked once.
Then twice.
Then a 3rd time, almost ghostlike.
LeBron did not flinch.
LeBron's block timing was cruel. He waited for the jump, then met you at the top. No amount of fakes could change that.
On the 4th fake, Zhu finally shot.
LeBron rose anyway, reached the peak first.
Slap.
A vicious rejection, swatted out of bounds with 1 hand.
Howard also exploded upward behind the play. Even if LeBron did not get it, Dwight was there to erase it.
The crowd groaned again at the physical gap. The score was close, but the difficulty was not. China's offense looked like work. Team USA's defense looked like a storm.
China inbounded again.
This time, Kobe read the route, flew into the passing lane, and stole it clean.
Team USA sprinted into transition.
Kobe, Kidd, LeBron, Howard, all past half court in a blink. Lightning was not an exaggeration.
Only Chen Yan could match that speed on the Chinese side.
But 1 defender was not enough.
Kobe bounced it ahead, and LeBron finished with a powerful dunk on the right lane.
Team USA opened the half with back to back dunks, a warning written in capital letters.
Just as Coach K predicted, China's legs dipped quickly in the 3rd.
Team USA ripped off a 9 to 2 run, fueled by fast breaks, and the lead jumped into double digits.
Jonas called timeout immediately.
"Calm down. Slow your mind down, slow the game down. Do not let them pull you around. We play our basketball."
Then he pointed straight at the answer.
"Give it to Chen. Chen initiates. Yao screens. If it is there, shoot. If not, move it. We need efficiency right now."
When the game got hard, stars had to carry. Jonas had an inside out pair that could scare anyone, and now was the time to lean on them.
Chen and Yao both nodded.
…
Out of the timeout, Zhu inbounded directly to Chen.
Kobe crouched, clapping his hands, trying to bait him.
"Come on. Come on."
Chen ignored it and ran the set.
Yao moved to the high post. Chen lowered his shoulders and attacked. He used Yao's screen to shake Kobe.
Howard switched onto him, as planned. Team USA wanted to switch everything involving Chen. If they were late closing, Chen could burn them instantly.
Chen did not stop because it was a center. He kept driving, leaning into Howard.
A step inside the free throw line, Chen stopped hard.
Reverse between the legs, pullback.
Howard's momentum carried him forward. Chen's stepback created space, nearly 2 full steps.
But Howard was a monster. Even so, he recovered and lunged back in front.
LeBron also left his man and crashed over.
Chen rose through both contests.
Clang.
Then swish.
It hit the back iron and dropped.
64 to 56.
Finally, a bucket to stop the bleeding.
Even with Chen having burned a status boost card, nothing came easy. Basketball was still 5 on 5, and the gap between China and a roster of 12 All Stars was real.
…
Team USA answered with crisp execution.
Kidd crossed and fed LeBron.
Even though Kidd was the point guard, LeBron was the commander.
The team trusted him because he played unselfishly enough to deserve it.
LeBron used a screen and attacked. With Yao contesting, LeBron hung, flipped a scoop, then kicked it out to Kidd.
Kidd did not hold it. He snapped a perfect return pass to LeBron inside.
LeBron, without hesitation, whipped a behind the back pass to Anthony cutting.
Anthony banked it in.
66 to 56.
By the 3rd quarter, Team USA had rhythm. Now the talent had structure.
…
Chen went right back to the Yao screen.
Howard switched again and waited.
Chen accelerated, then hit the same reverse between the legs pullback look as before.
Howard did not panic this time. He stepped forward immediately to crowd the space.
The moment Howard pressed up, Chen pushed the ball forward.
Classic small on big.
A timing change, and Chen blew right past him.
It was not Howard's fault. Chen's offense responded to your movement. If Howard stayed back, Chen would rise for the mid range. If Howard stepped up, Chen would slice through.
Chen hop stepped into the paint, absorbed Anthony's help contact, and finished a scoop layup.
The whistle blew with the ball.
And 1.
The crowd detonated.
Chen hit the free throw.
66 to 59.
He was dragging China back with pure skill and decision making.
On the next Team USA trip, Anthony missed a high post jumper. Chen secured the rebound and brought it up with control.
Yao moved up again, ready to screen.
Same action. Same threat.
This time, Kobe fought hard to get around the screen quickly, while Howard still stayed in front.
A double team look.
Team USA did not want Chen scoring off the same button over and over.
Chen stayed patient. He made the right play and hit Yao immediately.
Yao caught, set his feet, and shot from the high post.
Swish.
66 to 61.
That was inside Yao's comfort zone. Give him that look and he would punish you.
Chen and Yao slapped hands.
Team USA did not want to leave Yao open.
They also could not let Chen breathe.
That was the problem.
Pick your poison.
There were 2 bottles on the table, and neither one came with an antidote.
[TL: I'm honestly surprised the reader stats dropped so much when the Olympics arc started. Is there a reason some readers dislike Chen Yan representing his country? 😔]
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