Chapter 625: An Easy Advance to the Next Round
"That is insane! The Suns' performance tonight was absolutely insane!" Barkley exclaimed, clutching his head as he stared at the score.
"They set a new record tonight," Kenny Smith said with a smile. "A lot of people thought the Trail Blazers could threaten Phoenix in this series. After tonight, that conversation should be over."
Chen Yan played 28 minutes, shooting 15 for 24 from the field, including 6 for 9 from 3 point range and 6 for 6 from the free throw line. He finished with a near triple double of 42 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds.
Of course, Phoenix did not crush its opponent by such a huge margin because of Chen Yan alone.
8 Suns players scored in double figures.
Nash had 18 points and 14 assists. Grant Hill scored 15 points. Novak had 12 points. Gallinari added 11 points. Danny Green scored 11 points. Rondo had 10 points, and Raja Bell also added 10.
After the game, Roy and Aldridge both looked completely drained during their interviews.
Tonight's loss had dealt them a heavy blow.
Roy said the entire team had been out of rhythm, and he felt as if he had been sleepwalking on the court. He took primary responsibility for the defeat.
That was Roy's character. He did not shift blame. Instead, he chose to shoulder the pressure himself.
Aldridge said Portland's defense had been terrible, and that the team had failed to play its own style.
He spoke much faster than usual, likely because he wanted the press conference to end as quickly as possible.
For him, sitting there after such a loss was torture.
A short while later, Phoenix's press conference was filled with laughter and joy.
D'Antoni spoke first. His little mustache practically lifted from how wide he was smiling as he praised each of his players 1 by 1.
D'Antoni said the team's record setting performance tonight came from everyone's effort. He even said he felt more like a spectator, simply enjoying the players' freedom from the sideline.
D'Antoni liked praising his players.
If Phoenix were a family, he would definitely be the kind of parent who believed in encouragement and positive education.
A reporter asked Chen Yan whether he had expected to win by such a large margin.
Chen Yan shrugged.
"We were hot tonight. Shots kept falling. Then I looked up at the scoreboard and realized the lead was already that big. We did not deliberately try to run up the score or humiliate our opponent. Everything just happened naturally."
The reporter followed up.
"Chen, why did you not ease up after leading by more than 30 points in the 1st half? You continued attacking."
Chen Yan replied, "This is the playoffs, not a friendly game. Once you are on the court, you have to give everything. Besides, in the second half of the 3rd quarter, we had already put in our 2nd unit. Bench players want to perform too. We cannot tell them to waste time on the court and stop trying to score just because we are leading by too much, can we?"
The reporter asked again, "Chen, after such a dominant win, how do you feel right now? Are you already thinking about your next opponent?"
Chen Yan smiled.
"Breaking a record is definitely great, but I always respect my opponents. Every game is a new beginning. I will not underestimate the Trail Blazers just because we won big tonight. I will forget this score and continue giving everything in the next game."
Chen Yan's words were not empty talk.
In Game 2, his attitude did not change. He kept pressuring Portland on both offense and defense.
The Trail Blazers recovered some of their form, but they still could not withstand Phoenix's barrage.
The game lost suspense in the 4th quarter. Portland pulled its starters early, because continuing to fight was meaningless.
They could only place their hopes on returning home.
In the end, Phoenix defeated Portland 129 to 104, winning by 25 points.
After the game, Van Gundy said during the broadcast that Phoenix had secured another convincing win. In his view, the Trail Blazers seemed to have developed a kind of Suns phobia, losing themselves in the face of Phoenix's powerful perimeter shooting.
Mike Breen added with a smile, "25 points. For Phoenix, that is almost a small win."
To some extent, Breen was right.
Compared with the 60 point margin from the previous game, 25 points really did look like a small win.
After the game, Trail Blazers head coach McMillan kept his comments brief.
He said the next game would be played in Portland, and his team would definitely give everything to play well.
On the flight back to Portland, McMillan specifically instructed his players not to read the news or outside evaluations.
He knew that after these 2 games, the media would surely tear into the Trail Blazers and their players. Reading too much of that criticism would only damage their mental state further.
In Game 3, the Trail Blazers finally played without pressure and showed the youthful drive of their young core.
They led 27 to 25 after the 1st quarter.
With the support of their home fans and the referees, they maintained their lead until there were 3 minutes and 7 seconds left in the final quarter.
Over the next 2 possessions, Chen Yan 1st stole the ball and finished a fast break, then hit a pull up 3 pointer to give Phoenix the lead.
The Portland crowd fell silent instantly.
Just when they thought Chen Yan, that familiar nightmare, was about to turn the game around by himself again, Phoenix committed a series of basic turnovers.
The Trail Blazers seized the opportunity, took the lead back, and held the advantage until the end.
113 to 116.
Portland took 1 game back.
However, they could not carry that momentum into Game 4.
In Game 4, Phoenix recreated the scenes from the 1st 2 games, using overwhelming firepower to suppress the Trail Blazers immediately and preventing them from lifting their heads.
By the end of the 3rd quarter, Phoenix already had a large lead.
That meant it was time for Chen Yan's favorite routine, 3 quarters and done.
Chen Yan put more effort into defense in this game.
He and Raja Bell took turns guarding Roy, completely shutting down Portland's core player.
Roy shot 3 for 11 from the field and 3 for 4 from the free throw line, scoring only 9 points.
Chen Yan finished his 3 quarters with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Game 5 was even easier for Chen Yan.
Back on Phoenix's home court, the result felt almost settled from the beginning.
Chen Yan did not even exert himself much in this game. He focused more on passing and attracting defenders.
His efficiency was astonishing.
He shot 11 for 13 from the field, including 4 for 4 from 3 point range and 5 for 6 from the free throw line. Once again, he easily scored 31 points and added 10 assists in 3 quarters.
Now, scoring 30 points seemed easier than drinking water for Chen Yan.
Many times, he looked as if he were just strolling around the court. He did not seem to take many shots at all.
Then people checked the box score and realized he was already over 30.
Phoenix easily advanced with a 4 to 1 series victory.
After the series ended, some fans harshly criticized the Trail Blazers. They believed Portland had failed to play to its potential and had been intimidated by Phoenix's overwhelming presence.
Other fans felt the Trail Blazers had done well enough. After all, they had taken 1 game from the defending champions, and that was worthy of respect.
After winning the series, Chen Yan flew directly to Los Angeles.
Besides spending time with Taylor Swift, he was also attending the global premiere of Iron Man 2.
Although Chen Yan only had a cameo, it was still his screen debut, so he was very excited.
Chen Yan and Taylor attended together.
At the premiere, Chen Yan met his old friends Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.
Everyone who saw Chen Yan brought up Phoenix's record setting 60 point victory over Portland. That news had been flooding everyone's feeds for days.
After finishing the movie related events, Chen Yan returned to Phoenix.
Next, he had to focus on his opponent in the 2nd round.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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