Chapter 380: Instant Chemistry, Then the Worst Timing
The gap had been cut to 5, and Coach K could not sit still anymore.
"Get back. Get set. Stay locked in," he barked from the sideline.
In his mind, the 3rd quarter was supposed to be the closing stretch, the part where Team USA separated and buried the game. Instead, China kept crawling back into it, possession by possession, refusing to fold.
…
Team USA slowed down for once.
Kidd brought it over calmly. Kobe came off a cut and Kidd hit him with a bounce pass. Kobe did not force anything. Through the entire 3rd, he had taken only 6 shots, spending most of his energy leaning into defense.
He swung it inside to Howard.
Howard tried to go chest to chest with Yao.
This time, Yao gave him everything. Wide base, heavy legs, perfect leverage. Howard still got a shot up, but the mechanics were ugly, the release twisted under contact.
Clank.
Off the glass and out.
Yi Jianlian sprang up and secured the rebound like it was gold, because right now, it was.
James and Kobe immediately swarmed, hunting the outlet, cutting off lanes, daring Yi to throw a risky pass.
Yi did not bite. He wrapped the ball with both hands and waited for Chen Yan to come get it.
That was veteran basketball. A careless outlet against this pressure could turn into an instant dunk the other way, and nothing killed momentum faster than gifting Team USA free points.
Chen took the handoff and started up.
Kobe pressed into him, hands active, body tight, trying to crowd every dribble. Chen used half turns and shoulder seals to protect the ball and cross half court without losing rhythm.
A couple steps beyond the arc, Chen called for Yao to come up.
Pick and roll.
Kobe wanted to fight Chen straight up, but Chen kept choosing the smarter path. He understood the math. If he got tangled with Kobe every trip, it would drain him. If Kobe got tired, Team USA could replace his workload with another star. If Chen's legs went, China's entire offense would collapse.
Yao set the screen. Chen drove left.
Howard stepped up hard with a strong hedge, just long enough to stall the attack and give Kobe time to recover.
The moment Kobe got back in front, Howard started to turn his feet to recover to Yao.
Chen read it instantly.
As Howard shifted, Chen fired the ball to Yao with 2 hands.
Yao caught it a step inside the free throw line.
Team USA tightened.
Letting Yao catch in that spot was danger, real danger.
But Yao did not force a turn. He snapped it back out to Chen on the perimeter.
In and out.
Howard and Kobe had just rotated inside, now they had to sprint back out.
Chen saw their feet and did not hesitate. He zipped it right back inside.
Back in again.
The 2 man game was spinning Team USA's defense like a compass in a blender.
Yao caught it with space this time, clean angle, clean balance.
Swish.
His signature hook dropped through.
66 to 63.
Chen and Yao pumped their fists at the same time, both of them lit up.
It was their first official game together, but the connection looked effortless. When 2 players with real basketball IQ play off each other, it felt less like running a set and more like speaking a shared language.
…
Team USA came right back.
LeBron took Kidd's pass and attacked downhill.
Yao stepped up to help, and LeBron drove straight into his body, the intention obvious.
Get Yao in foul trouble.
The whistle blew. LeBron earned 2 at the line.
Yao understood the plan. Take the Great Wall out of the game, and China's paint would crack.
But Yao had managed his fouls all night. Only 1 in the entire first half.
He turned and shouted toward the Team USA bench.
"I've got 3 more to play with you. Take your time."
FIBA rules. 5 fouls and you were done.
LeBron went to the line.
Swish.
Clank.
He split the pair.
The second miss kicked long, and Chen smelled transition immediately.
He sprinted the sideline. Yao grabbed the rebound and hit Sun Dasheng, and Sun threw the long pass ahead.
Chen caught it in stride, smooth.
Sun's ability was real. He was not in the league just because of size and chase down blocks. He could make the right pass at speed.
Chen went straight to the rim.
Kidd reached in as soon as Chen gathered, trying to disrupt the ball. Kidd was one of the best thieves the game had ever seen, and he lived for moments like that.
Chen made him pay.
The instant Kidd reached, Chen lifted the ball high, clearing the swipe, then glided past with sharp footwork, smooth like he was stepping around traffic.
Then Kobe and Anthony crashed from behind together, both of them hitting Chen's body hard.
Chen had never felt contact like that from 2 big wings at once.
He twisted in the air and fell out of bounds.
The whistle came immediately.
Anthony raised his hand and claimed the foul. That was the unspoken rule, if 2 guys foul you, the one who lifts his hand gets the call.
Chen got up furious, and he did not hide it.
"That's how you have to stop me?" he snapped at Kobe and Anthony.
He was yelling like Yao had been yelling, not just anger, but a release, a way to keep his own fire burning.
At the line, the contact still lingered in his body.
Clank.
Swish.
He hit 1 of 2.
67 to 64.
Still a 3 point game.
During the free throws, Coach K made a change. Kidd and Kobe came out. Wade and Chris Paul checked in.
Younger legs. More aggression.
Team USA had not been scoring cleanly in the half court during that stretch, and Coach K wanted to change the feel of the game.
It worked immediately.
Paul used Howard's screen and hit a mid range fadeaway, one of his signature shots.
69 to 64.
A small bucket, but it slowed China's surge.
…
China answered with the same Chen and Yao action.
Chen came off the screen, hit Yao, and Yao took a jumper with his foot near the arc.
Clank.
Even perfect actions missed sometimes. It was still basketball.
Anthony rose for the rebound, and then the arena exploded.
Yi Jianlian flew in from behind and, with 1 hand, tipped it back into the basket.
A violent putback, pure athletic timing.
Under NBA rules, that touch would have been illegal if the ball was still in the cylinder. In FIBA, once it hit the rim, it was live. Tip it in, tip it out, grab it, it all counted.
Anthony clearly was not fully adjusted to that reality. He hesitated for a fraction, and that fraction became Yi's runway.
Yi landed and roared at the camera.
He had been quiet in the first half. Now he was erupting.
If China wanted a miracle, they needed everyone to explode, not just Chen and Yao.
And for a moment, it felt like that might actually happen.
…
Then the worst timing hit.
On the next Team USA possession, Wade drove and got fouled, tumbling to the floor.
As he fell, he accidentally tangled Yao's legs as Yao rotated over to help.
Yao went down hard.
His face tightened with pain.
The arena went silent in the way only fear can create.
Every fan in China knew the story. The stress fracture earlier in the year. The season ending injury. The rushed return, with his career hanging in the balance just to play these Olympics at home.
Yao could not afford another injury.
The team doctor ran out immediately.
Jonas did not gamble. He subbed Yao out right away, sending in Da Zhi.
Yao tried to wave it off, but his limp gave him away.
"I'll be back soon," he said, forcing the words out as the doctor supported him.
And then he disappeared into the tunnel.
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