Chapter 623: Killing Yourself in One Go?
The Suns were on offense.
Nash signaled with his hand, and Diaw came up to set a pick and roll while Chen Yan cut inside.
Chen Yan used a change of pace to shake off his defender. Marion tried to chase him, but Gallinari set a screen in the paint and blocked his path.
Chen Yan curled to the mid range spot near the corner. Nash saw the movement and immediately delivered the pass.
Chen Yan caught the ball and turned.
Marion had already worked around the screen and rushed out to contest.
A normal player would not be able to bother Chen Yan's shot from that distance, but Marion was different. His leap was explosive, and his wingspan was almost inhuman.
Chen Yan lightly tapped his toes and faked the shot.
Marion bit.
Chen Yan took 1 step and drove along the baseline.
Przybilla and Chen Yan jumped at almost the same time.
In the air, Chen Yan performed a small magic trick, twisting into a reverse scoop layup and sending the ball into the basket.
8 to 22.
Chen Yan's basket once again crushed the little momentum Portland had just started to build.
Andre Miller protected the ball with back to back spins as he brought it across half court.
Roy stepped forward to receive the pass, but Chen Yan stayed glued to him.
Roy was speechless.
Was Chen Yan made of iron?
From the start of the game, he had been going all out on both offense and defense.
Roy passed the ball to Aldridge, and Diaw also defended tightly. The Suns' defensive intensity tonight was extremely high.
This was Phoenix's 1st playoff game of the year, and the entire team had a powerful desire to take the win.
Aldridge hated this kind of defense.
He was a face up power forward, and almost all of his moves were built around facing the basket. If he could not turn comfortably, 2 thirds of his game was basically crippled.
Portland's 2 core players could not find comfortable shooting opportunities. After several passes, Marion eventually took a short floater.
"Clang!"
The ball hit the rim and bounced out.
The Suns immediately counterattacked.
Chen Yan passed the ball to Old Hill, who took 1 step before sending it directly to Nash under the basket.
Nash caught it too deep.
He paused, then went up strong under the rim, only to be blocked by Andre Miller.
Phoenix could not convert every fast break opportunity.
Once the Suns saw the shot miss, everyone immediately retreated to the backcourt, refusing to give Portland a chance to counterattack.
After Andre Miller brought the ball across half court, the Trail Blazers called another timeout.
McMillan felt that the team's offense had become too uncomfortable during this stretch, so he decided to make changes.
He brought in Leandro Barbosa and Outlaw, taking off Andre Miller and Roy.
Aldridge moved to center, and Portland also began playing a smaller lineup.
Roy angrily threw a water bottle.
He had a good temper, but that did not mean he never got angry. Although his performance in the 1st quarter had been poor, he was still the core player. Being taken out this early by the coach clearly bothered him.
As soon as Barbosa came on, he started sprinting hard without the ball.
Honestly, defending Barbosa was even more tiring than defending Roy. Barbosa was faster, and keeping up with him required much more stamina.
Barbosa curled around to the 3 point line to receive the ball.
Chen Yan gave him a little space and focused on defending the drive.
He knew Barbosa's nickname was the Brazilian Blur. His speed was terrifying.
Barbosa was very confident in that speed.
Even with Chen Yan giving him 1 step, he still chose to attack hard.
A change of direction, then an acceleration to the right.
All of it was within Chen Yan's control.
He did not even try to steal the ball from Barbosa. Instead, he took a lateral step and blocked his path.
With his route cut off, Barbosa could only accelerate diagonally.
Chen Yan quickly followed.
Barbosa used a crossover dribble, drove hard, leaned into Chen Yan, and forced up a shot.
The ball bounced off the rim.
It was a very forced attempt.
McMillan roared from the sideline.
He had put Barbosa in to use his speed to attack and create opportunities for teammates, not to play reckless isolation basketball.
The Suns launched a lightning fast counterattack.
Chen Yan received the ball and powered inside the 3 point line.
Andre Miller seized the opportunity and prepared to reach in for a steal.
Miller felt that even if he followed Chen Yan into the paint, he could not stop him anyway. Since that was the case, he might as well gamble.
Miller's hands were quick.
Chen Yan's reaction was even quicker.
A silky smooth spin move while protecting the ball left Miller completely behind.
Miller lunged into empty space and naturally could not turn back to defend.
Now, only an open rim stood before Chen Yan.
Chen Yan took off on 1 foot and finished with a graceful tomahawk dunk.
8 to 24.
The dunk pushed Phoenix's morale even higher.
Portland offense.
Andre Miller attracted a double team in the low post, then passed the ball out.
Barbosa received it outside the 3 point line.
Chen Yan still gave him 1 step.
In Chen Yan's judgment, Barbosa's drive was more dangerous than his jumper. Barbosa's 3 point percentage this season was 32.1 percent.
On average, he made roughly 1 out of every 3.
His outside threat was not that significant.
Barbosa could not tolerate being left open and decisively shot the 3 pointer.
"Swish!"
It went in.
11 to 24.
Chen Yan did not care.
He trusted his ability and his judgment. He would continue playing his way.
After that, Chen Yan continued to display MVP level dominance on both ends of the floor.
Barbosa's presence did improve Portland's offense. His speed and faster rhythm helped the Trail Blazers create more opportunities.
However, his presence also raised the overall tempo of the game.
That actually favored the Suns more.
Phoenix preferred to play a fast paced shootout.
In the final 4 minutes of the 1st quarter, the Suns brought in Jordan and Danny Green.
D'Antoni sent in the young players to give them some experience, especially Danny Green, since this was his playoff debut.
After the 2 came on, Phoenix's offense dipped slightly, but its defensive intensity increased.
Jordan and Danny Green both had good defensive ability, which made it even harder for Portland to score.
Chen Yan remained on the court.
He maintained the same intensity he had shown at the start of the game, defending diligently, actively joining fast breaks, and frequently using his own gravity to create space for his teammates in half court sets.
At the end of the 1st quarter, the Suns had scored an exaggerated 37 points.
They led by a full 19 points, 37 to 18.
Even the commentators could not help saying that the game might lose all suspense in the 2nd quarter.
Before the game, many fans still had hope for Portland. They believed that without Stoudemire, the young inside and outside pairing of Roy and Aldridge could threaten the Suns.
After 1 quarter, those fans collectively changed their tone.
Phoenix's championship pedigree was obvious.
This was not a team that Portland's caliber could shake easily.
Chen Yan once again became the center of everyone's attention.
In the 1st quarter alone, he posted an all around stat line of 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
More importantly, a large part of his contribution came on the defensive end, and that could not be fully reflected in the box score.
In the 2nd quarter, Portland head coach McMillan sent out a bench lineup led by Barbosa, Bayless, and Outlaw.
Just when he thought they might be able to close the gap a little, the Suns pulled out a new trick.
Phoenix sent Chen Yan out with 4 bench players.
McMillan's vision nearly went dark.
This rhythm was meant to finish Portland off completely.
.....
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