Chapter 391: The Deadly Knot, Taking Down Germany
Chen Yan opened the game by burying a super long 3, and that kind of start was the last thing Germany needed.
Germany came right back and went exactly where you would expect. Everything flowed through Dirk Nowitzki.
Dirk caught at the arc, probed with a couple of measured dribbles, then rose for a 3, trying to answer in kind. Yi Jianlian stayed connected, chest square, hands high, never giving him clean air.
Clang.
The ball hit the front rim and kicked out.
Yao Ming secured the defensive rebound and flipped it to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan jogged it up, calm and patient, as if he had all night. Then, 2 full steps beyond the 3 point line, he dipped his knees and dropped his hips, selling the shot with just enough realism to make it dangerous.
Hamann panicked.
He had already watched 1 deep bomb fall. He was not about to stand there and let another one happen from the same zip code.
Hamann lunged like he had been launched.
Chen Yan froze for a beat, dribbled again, and slipped past him in 1 clean step.
It was the same trick he used in the NBA all the time, show the defender a picture he cannot ignore, then change the frame before he can recover. The fake only worked because everyone in the building believed the jumper was real.
Chen Yan went straight downhill. Nowitzki shaded over to help, and Kaman's eyes snapped to the ball as well.
Germany's shape bent out of place.
Chen Yan snapped a quick pass to the corner, right into Yi Jianlian's hands.
Yi took 1 dribble, gathered off 2 feet, and hammered it home.
0 to 5.
China's first 2 scores were pure momentum, and Germany could feel the arena tighten around them.
On the next trip, Germany passed side to side, searching for something clean. Nothing opened. With the shot clock bleeding, point guard Sochich forced a tough attempt in the final 2 seconds.
Miss.
Chen Yan turned, grabbed the rebound, and brought it up again, still under control.
Hamann stayed glued to him this time. Greene lurked on the other side, ready to trap. Germany's game plan was obvious, stop the initiator and pray the rest of the floor breaks.
Chen Yan did not force it.
Once he got to his spot, he lofted a soft entry pass to Yao Ming, who had sealed deep position.
Perfect touch.
Yao caught it, leaned into Kaman, powered through the contact, and finished for 2.
Kaman tried to answer on the other end, backing Yao down and turning into a hook.
It rolled off.
Kaman had made an All Star team, but against Yao Ming, the gap in size, strength, and polish showed immediately.
China kept leaning on the same formula, and after the opening surge turned into a 12 to 2 burst, Germany had no choice but to call timeout.
Germany looked rattled. Their efficiency was strangely low, like they were playing half a beat late on every read. China was not exactly scorching as a team either, their offense still ran mainly through their 2 engines, Chen Yan and Yao Ming.
The Olympic schedule was brutal, especially for players who were not used to dense, high intensity stretches. A CBA season at that time was only 30 regular season games, and the overall intensity did not compare. Fatigue was inevitable when the games stacked up like this.
At halftime, China led 36 to 28.
Chen Yan had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Yao Ming had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Together, they accounted for 28 of China's 36.
Chen Yan only had 2 assists, not because he refused to pass, but because the looks his teammates got were not falling. Great passes do not become assists if the shots do not go in.
From Germany's side, there was a strange mix of hope and dread.
The good news was that China was not shooting lights out as a team.
The bad news was Germany could not slow either Chen Yan or Yao Ming.
…
The second half started, and China stayed on the same track.
Chen and Yao ran pick and roll after pick and roll. If Germany switched, Chen attacked Kaman's feet with speed. If they did not switch, Chen rose into 3s whenever he found daylight, and his touch tonight was clearly better than it had been against Angola.
It felt like China was targeting Kaman on purpose, and in truth, they were. Kaman was skilled and versatile, but his biggest weakness was obvious.
Speed.
Germany could not simply sit him, though. If Kaman went to the bench, Dirk would be left to carry everything alone, and Germany's ceiling would drop immediately.
Chen Yan smelled that problem and kept hunting the mismatch. He was a specialist at it, especially against bigs who could not change direction quickly.
The lead stretched into 10 plus, and late in the third, Germany finally sat Kaman to buy him a breather.
Then, in the fourth, they had to bring him back. They needed offense and size.
On Kaman's first defensive possession after returning, Chen Yan called for him again.
The pick and roll came, and Germany switched.
Now it was Chen Yan and Kaman in open space.
Chen Yan did not rush. He dragged Kaman out toward the 3 point line, letting the court widen until Kaman had nowhere to hide.
Bang. Bang.
Between the legs, steady rhythm, eyes up, reading every inch of Kaman's balance.
On the broadcast, Kenny Smith's voice cut through the noise.
"This is the problem," Kenny said. "If you switch that, you are asking a big man to guard in space. Chen is going to make you pay for it."
Chen Yan jabbed, sold a drive, then burst right.
The moment Kaman tried to retreat, Chen snapped a quick between the legs pull back. The inertia took Kaman sliding backward another 3 steps. He did not fall, but he was out of the play, drifting like he had been pushed by an invisible rope.
Chen Yan flowed into a step back beyond the arc.
Nowitzki tried to slide over from the wing to contest, but it was late. Dirk was still loading his feet when the ball was already in the air.
The shot hit the back rim, spun, and dropped.
The arena exploded.
Even Jonas clapped on the sideline.
It was not just a highlight, it was a solution. Every time Chen punished a mismatch, it took pressure off Yao Ming, saving legs and saving contact, especially with that injury still lingering.
Without Chen Yan, Yao would have been forced into constant battles every possession. That kind of workload would have punished his stamina, his foot, and his future.
Wukesong cheered for the made 3.
Kaman stared at Chen Yan's back, jaw tight, looking like he had personally offended fate.
He had no idea the real punishment was still coming.
…
About 2 possessions later, China turned it over, and the ball ended up in Nowitzki's hands. Dirk immediately fired a pass to start a fast break.
The instant possession flipped, Chen Yan exploded from beyond the arc, jumped the lane, and stole it clean.
The change of pace was violent.
Germany scrambled back, but only Kaman was still planted in the paint.
Chen Yan did not slow down.
He went straight at the rim and took off over Kaman.
Kaman's first instinct was survival. He tried to brace and sell an offensive foul, even bringing his hands down to protect himself.
Chen Yan had originally planned to glide past for a layup, but his runway was long and his jump was full, and the lift kept rising.
Higher.
Higher.
For a split second, it looked unreal, like he had paused in midair just to make sure the whole arena saw it.
Kaman blinked, then ducked his head at the last moment.
Chen Yan casually tapped the top of his head on the way up, then detonated the dunk.
Boom.
The rim shook.
The crowd did not just cheer, they roared like the building itself was breathing fire.
For about 3 seconds after Chen Yan landed, Kaman looked frozen, like his brain had not caught up to what just happened.
Then it hit him.
He had been jumped.
From the stands, people argued about comparisons. Was it as legendary as Vince Carter's famous poster from years ago. Maybe, maybe not.
For the fans in Beijing, it did not matter.
This one was theirs.
Germany called timeout immediately.
Their morale was gone.
Nowitzki hit 2 straight 3s after the break, a brief flash of pride, but it felt like a spark in the rain.
China stayed composed and closed it out.
Final score, 74 to 58.
China secured its third win of group play.
After the buzzer, Chen Yan and Dirk Nowitzki met near midcourt, embraced, and exchanged a few quiet words. As international NBA players, they had always gotten along.
The camera lingered on the scene, and Dirk's Olympic rings hairstyle stood out clearly under the lights. He had chosen it hoping it would bring Germany luck in Beijing.
It did not.
With this loss, Germany fell to 4 straight defeats, and their Olympic run effectively ended early.
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