Chapter 554: Stoudemire Struggles, Suns Trail at the Half
Chen Yan's dazzling footwork did more than ignite the crowd. It lit a fire under his teammates as well.
The entire Suns bench jumped to its feet, towels whipping through the air. On the floor, Stoudemire looked fired up too. He had always wanted to challenge Chen Yan for Finals MVP, and seeing Chen Yan put on a show only pushed his competitive spirit higher.
That kind of competitiveness does not only appear against opponents. Sometimes it shows up between teammates too.
Over the next few possessions, Stoudemire began forcing the issue.
His hurried shots, combined with a friendly whistle for Orlando, helped the Magic close the first quarter with a 28 to 23 lead.
Lewis knocked down 3 triples in the quarter. Turkoglu added 5 points and 3 assists. Alston chipped in 6 points as well. The whistle helped, but that was not the whole story. If you cannot put the ball in the basket, no one is coming to save you.
When the second quarter began, both teams went to their benches.
Phoenix clearly had the deeper second unit. It was not just about talent. They also had more big game experience. Barea and Azubuike might have still been in their early 20s, but both already had a championship run behind them and had played on the biggest stage.
The Suns bench quickly flipped the game. The gap between Orlando's starters and reserves was obvious, and even a favorable whistle could not stop the lead from slipping.
On the sideline, D'Antoni pulled his starters together and quickly went over a few details. He knew Orlando was about to bring the main group back.
A minute later, Van Gundy used a dead ball to do exactly that.
With the score at 45 to 41, Orlando had fallen behind by 4.
The Magic went right back to their core.
Alston crossed half court and immediately fed Howard in the paint.
Even though Orlando's first quarter lead had come from its perimeter players, Howard was still the center of everything. Once he found a rhythm inside, the floor would open for everyone else. And with the officiating leaning their way tonight, attacking the rim was an easy bet.
Howard caught it, turned, leaned into Stoudemire, took one strong step into the lane, and powered home a hook.
45 to 43.
That kind of face up power move was one of Stoudemire's favorite ways to score, which only made the possession sting more.
On the next trip, Stoudemire set a screen for Nash, then flashed to the high post and demanded the ball. He rose immediately after the catch.
The shot rattled out.
Jackson could not help himself on the broadcast.
"Amare is forcing too many of those tonight. If Chen had gotten those looks, he probably would've buried half of them."
Mike followed with the sharper point.
"He looks like he's trying to chase numbers. Up 2 to 0 in the series, maybe he started thinking about Finals MVP. But if he keeps playing like this, forget Finals MVP. Winning this game is going to be hard enough."
Howard grabbed the rebound and pushed it out to Alston, who advanced quickly up the left side.
Once he got past the 3 point line, though, Alston still slowed the game down and waited for Orlando to flow into the half court.
Howard arrived late from the backcourt, gave him a screen, and Alston turned the corner toward the baseline.
Phoenix switched. Alston dribbled to the corner, stepped back, and launched.
The shot banged off the side of the backboard.
This time Stoudemire's contest mattered.
Nash grabbed the rebound and took off. Chen Yan caught the outlet near the left elbow, took a step, then skipped the shot and dropped the ball back to Stoudemire trailing the play.
The Chen Yan to Stoudemire connection was there again.
Stoudemire gathered and exploded to the rim with force.
Howard had no choice but to foul him.
Chen Yan slapped his hand on the way to the line.
"That's it. Keep attacking the rim."
Chen Yan trusted his teammates fully. No matter how a teammate had shot on the last possession, if the right opening appeared, he would still make the pass.
Stoudemire split the free throws.
45 to 44.
His desire to score did not fade. After realizing his jumper was not there, he tried to adjust by attacking the basket more aggressively.
The problem was that Howard was waiting for him.
If Stoudemire could not hit the jumper, Howard could afford to sit back. And once Stoudemire committed to driving, Howard was perfectly willing to meet him at the rim.
On top of that, the whistle continued to lean toward Orlando. Several plays that could have become trips to the line for Stoudemire turned into empty possessions and transition chances for the Magic instead.
With 1 minute and 20 seconds left in the half, D'Antoni finally pulled Stoudemire.
On his way to the bench, Stoudemire angrily hurled his towel to the floor.
By halftime, Orlando led 61 to 52.
Chen Yan did not do much in the second quarter either, scoring only 5 points while handing out 2 assists.
In the locker room, D'Antoni chose not to light into Stoudemire. He was already frustrated, and yelling at him in front of everyone might only make things worse.
Instead, D'Antoni focused on settling the room and rebuilding the team's confidence. He kept emphasizing the same message, teamwork. With the whistle going this way tonight, forcing straight line drives into traffic was not going to be enough. The Suns would have to create clean looks through movement, timing, and execution.
Before the second half began, Chen Yan walked over to Stoudemire.
"Amare, stop trying to go through Howard one on one. They are not calling anything on him tonight. Let's run more pick and rolls and more cuts. I'll get you the ball when the opening is there. Play smarter."
Stoudemire nodded.
He understood. In the first half, every time he touched the ball, instinct had drowned out reason.
The third quarter opened quickly.
Phoenix came out with Nash, Chen Yan, Grant Hill, Diaw, and Jordan.
D'Antoni inserted Hill for more perimeter scoring and left Stoudemire on the bench for the moment to cool off.
Orlando answered with Alston, Courtney Lee, Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard.
The Suns inbounded from the baseline.
Nash crossed half court, and Alston immediately crowded him.
Jordan came up to set a high screen. On the weak side, Hill and Diaw moved to clear space and isolate Chen Yan.
Nash drove into the teeth of the defense off the screen, then fired a skip pass to Chen Yan on the other side.
The strong side was empty. It was a pure one on one against Courtney Lee.
Chen Yan caught, faced up, and spun the ball casually in one hand. It was his signature triple threat posture. He could rise, drive, or whip the pass in an instant.
Ball in his left hand, he jabbed with the left foot and changed direction at the same time.
One move was enough.
He blew by Courtney Lee in a single step.
Lee was solid defensively, but against Chen Yan, even a tiny mistake was fatal. That was true for almost every defender in the league. If Chen Yan saw the slightest flaw, he could be gone in one step.
He was just too fast.
The moment Chen Yan dropped his shoulders, Lee was already half a body behind and reaching.
Chen Yan picked the ball up early, making Lee swipe at nothing.
That sequence was familiar to Chen Yan. He had beaten so many defenders the same way that he already knew what the reaching hand behind him would look like before it came.
One gather.
One explosive rise.
And then a two handed dunk before Howard could rotate over.
61 to 54.
The Suns bench exploded. In a game where Phoenix had been chasing all night, that dunk felt like oxygen.
.....
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