Chapter 700: Using His Head to Defend Chen Yan
The decibel level inside Madison Square Garden surged.
The Heat players seemed a little distracted, and their next offensive possession became disorganized.
After several passes, James received the ball with 9 seconds left on the shot clock.
James did not call for a screen. He directly turned his body and drove inside, pressing against Battier.
Shoving.
Pure shoving.
Battier was pushed backward directly.
James strength was terrifying.
1 step before the free throw line, James took a big stride and spun around.
Battier was shouldered away.
However, the Knicks had help defense ready.
The moment James completed his spin and faced the basket again, Kenyon Martin stood in front of him.
James had already stopped dribbling, and Kenyon Martin pressed close, giving him no space to make a move.
James was forced to pass the ball.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, he threw it to Wade beyond the 3 point line.
Wade took 1 dribble with his left hand and immediately shot a 3 pointer.
He had no choice but to shoot.
When he received the ball, only 2 seconds remained on the shot clock.
Chen Yan also knew time was running out and rushed wildly into Wade's face.
Wade was not good at 3 point shooting to begin with, and now Chen Yan's aggressive closeout was right in front of him.
Wade's forced shot smashed hard against the neck of the rim.
James, who was just inside, stepped forward, ready to grab the offensive rebound.
Kenyon Martin's awareness was very clear in that instant. He blocked James behind him.
Battier jumped lightly and secured the defensive rebound.
While grabbing the rebound, Battier twisted his waist and found Chen Yan on the perimeter.
Battier's mind was very clear.
Chen Yan immediately pushed the fast break after receiving the ball.
This time, Wade stayed close to Chen Yan, refusing to give him a chance for a trailing 3 pointer.
Chen Yan slowed down and passed the ball to Curry, letting him organize, while he himself ran off ball.
Curry paused, then passed to Battier, who was trailing behind.
James chased up, refusing to give Battier a 3 point opportunity.
Battier lacked ball handling ability. When he could not get the 1st shot off, he immediately looked for a teammate.
Battier quickly passed back to Curry.
Without stopping the ball, Curry passed it to Chen Yan cutting inside.
Wade had not lost his position.
Chen Yan leaned on him and strode in.
The 1st step was very fast.
But on the 2nd step, Chen Yan suddenly slowed down.
This move carried a bit of Tai Chi feeling, controlling movement with stillness and overcoming force with softness.
The change in rhythm instantly made Wade lose his defensive position.
Chen Yan prepared to shoot with a slight fadeaway, and Pau Gasol's help defense came up.
After hanging in the air, Chen Yan chose not to shoot over Pau Gasol. Instead, he passed the ball to Kenyon Martin inside.
Martin made the open dunk.
9 to 2.
Kenyon Martin pointed at Chen Yan after landing.
This was his 2nd open dunk tonight, and Chen Yan had fed him very comfortably.
"A very beautiful pass," Kenny Smith said. "That is Chen Yan's 2nd assist of the opening."
"After half a season of adjustment, the Knicks offense is getting better and better," Barkley said. "Chen and his teammates are building more chemistry. You can even see flashes of the passing and cooperation from his Suns days."
On the court, Miami's offense was still initiated by James with the ball.
This time, he chose to call for a screen.
After the pick and roll, he accelerated into the paint, drew New York's defense inward, and passed the ball to Mike Miller.
Miller raised his hand in the corner and sank the 3 pointer.
9 to 5.
James liked teammates who could create enough space for him to drive.
So Mike Miller could be said to be his favorite type of teammate.
Miami started scoring consecutively, and Spoelstra's anxious heart relaxed slightly.
He had already been preparing to call a timeout.
New York offense.
Curry brought the ball past half court.
From the backcourt, Curry's eyes never left Chen Yan.
Chen Yan first went around to the left corner, then suddenly stopped and reversed direction to come out.
Al Harrington set an off ball screen.
Wade was prepared, went around it, and continued following.
Although Wade still had not lost his position, this off ball screen still helped Chen Yan gain space to receive the ball.
Curry delivered a bounce pass to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan received the ball sideways, and Wade immediately stuck close to him.
Wade had only 1 thought in this game.
Stick to Chen Yan at all times.
Chen Yan raised the basketball high, then suddenly lowered his center of gravity and took a probing step.
That 1 move made Wade step back, creating space to dribble.
Chen Yan's driving threat was enormous.
Any normal defender would instinctively retreat.
Chen Yan immediately put the ball down and made a crossover dribble.
Chen Yan did not keep his body very low during this crossover.
Wade was quick eyed and quick handed. He reached out and poked the ball, directly disrupting Chen Yan's dribble.
Chen Yan reacted quickly, immediately using his body to block Wade.
Then Chen Yan accelerated his steps and regained control of the ball.
Wade was careless and did not follow immediately.
In the next second, Chen Yan turned and shot a fadeaway.
Caught off guard.
Swish!
An ultra long 3 pointer went in.
12 to 5.
Wade watched, cold sweat pouring down.
How the hell was he supposed to defend that?
Kenny Smith shook his head and said, "Wade looks helpless, but I completely understand him, because I did not expect Chen to shoot like that either."
"This is Chen Yan style basketball," Barkley exclaimed.
Miami possession.
They still gave the main attack to James.
James hesitated a little, holding the ball at the top of the arc while observing his teammates movement.
"LeBron, attack yourself! Be decisive!" Spoelstra shouted from the sideline.
Tonight's tactical deployment was for Wade to attract Chen Yan's attention, while James became the primary attacker.
If James still organized from the top of the arc according to conventional rhythm, Miami's firepower would definitely be insufficient in this game.
James changed direction, squeezed past Battier, and drove inside.
Without the help of a screen, James drive was actually not that difficult to defend.
His drive was terrifying because of his speed and strength, but if he was not given space to sprint, his advantages could not be fully utilized.
James could not build up speed, and the Knicks defense had already collapsed inward.
James read the defense, suddenly gathered the ball when he reached the free throw line, then spun with his back to the basket and shot a fadeaway.
This was exactly what Nelson wanted to see.
He preferred seeing James shoot rather than drive.
James rose up and shot.
The shot lacked power, hitting the front rim and missing.
Kenyon Martin immediately looked for Chen Yan after grabbing the ball.
Chen Yan began a solo show.
He first used a behind the back dribble to get past Wade, then accelerated along the sideline and easily shook off Mike Miller.
Only the small guard Chalmers remained in front of Chen Yan.
Seeing Chen Yan charge toward the basket with overwhelming momentum, the fans laughed.
Chalmers?
How could he defend Chen Yan?
With his head?
In the next second, Chen Yan exploded in the restricted area.
Chalmers also jumped, but his height became somewhat self defeating.
His head only reached Chen Yan's armpit.
Chen Yan slammed the ball into the hoop with a 1 handed tomahawk dunk.
At that moment, a dramatic scene occurred.
Chen Yan's dunk went into the hoop, but the ball did not fall through cleanly. Instead, it slammed directly onto Chalmers head.
The basketball bounced back the way it came, flying into the air.
The referee still did not stop the game.
Wade, who had followed up, got the ball and threw a long pass to James.
James easily scored 2 points with a dunk.
Chen Yan threw his hands up and roared, extremely speechless.
Not only had he lost 2 points that were already within reach, the opponent had also stolen 2 points.
A 4 point swing in total.
Chen Yan's dunk was so powerful that the ball almost flew out instantly, so it was understandable that the referee could not see it clearly.
Even the fans watching on TV only saw what happened clearly after the slow motion replay.
After watching the slow motion replay, 1 fan exclaimed, "Damn, that guy really defended Chen Yan's dunk with his head!"
.....
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