Chapter 707: A Classic Reappears
Chen Yan had played almost the entire 1st 3 quarters, but Nelson still did not dare take him off the court to rest.
The Mad Scientist knew very well that as long as Chen Yan was not on the court, a 10 point lead could disappear in an instant.
Miami had 2 superstars with terrifying scoring explosiveness.
New York's 1st possession was still initiated by Chen Yan.
After receiving the ball at the top of the arc, Chen Yan made a change of direction, then quickly passed it to Al Harrington on the wing.
Al Harrington shot immediately after receiving the ball, but it hit the front rim and bounced out.
Players from both sides scrambled for the rebound.
Pau Gasol, losing his balance, threw the ball out to Wade.
Wade brought the ball past half court.
Chen Yan did not press up.
He had to manage his stamina now. He could not go all out to pressure Wade the way he had in the 1st 2 quarters.
Wade felt the change in intensity and decided to take this possession himself.
After dribbling past half court, Wade beckoned Pau Gasol over for a screen.
At the moment of the pick and roll, Wade drove right with the ball.
With a change of pace, Wade shook off Kenyon Martin, who had switched onto him. He leaped near the edge of the paint and made a short floater.
83 to 75.
Wade helped Miami narrow the deficit to single digits.
On the next possession, the Knicks played a pass and cut offense.
After several passes, Barea drove inside with the ball.
With Pau Gasol anchoring the paint, Barea's height was still too awkward.
Only after driving in front of Pau Gasol did Barea remember to pass.
He wanted to pass directly to Kenyon Martin in the paint, but the space was too small.
Kenyon Martin thought Barea was going to shoot and had already squeezed in to battle Miami's big men. He completely did not expect Barea to pass.
In his haste, he tipped the ball out of bounds.
"Why pass in such a small space?" Kenyon Martin complained.
"You should concentrate!" Barea fired back.
Barea was only small in stature.
His temper was not small at all.
"No arguing," Chen Yan said, rushing over to mediate. "Do not give them a chance. Forget the last possession and focus on defense."
Both of them gave Chen Yan face, and their argument immediately stopped.
Miami had the ball.
It was still Wade leading the offense.
However, on this possession, Wade did not easily tear open New York's defense with a pick and roll.
After continuous screens, there was still no good driving lane, so Wade simply pulled up for a mid range shot over Chen Yan.
Chen Yan lunged desperately.
He only wanted to conserve energy, not slack off.
How could he let Wade comfortably make such a shot?
Clang!
The ball bounced off the rim.
All the Miami players were preparing to retreat on defense, but just then, Pau Gasol tipped the rebound from behind Kenyon Martin.
Pau Gasol did not immediately gain control of the ball. He tipped it out toward the 3 point line, then finally secured possession.
Seeing another offensive opportunity, the Heat players immediately turned around and rushed back into the offensive half.
Miami did not rush.
They had a full 24 seconds.
Pau Gasol waited until the Heat players had taken their positions before passing the ball to James.
James observed for a moment, then passed it to Wade.
Wade, who had barely contributed in the 1st 3 quarters, seemed poised to become Miami's primary scorer in the 4th quarter.
Wade dribbled to the weak side, with all his teammates spread out around him.
He first feigned a post up, then suddenly launched horizontally.
Wade's center of gravity was very low, almost scraping the ground, his hand nearly hanging near the floor.
Even so, he still could not shake off Chen Yan's tight defense.
Chen Yan not only kept up with Wade's 1st move, but also gave him strong physical contact.
Wade was unprepared both physically and mentally, and he fell directly while attempting a 2nd burst of speed.
James and Battier both rushed toward the ball.
Battier made a desperate diving lunge and tipped the ball away.
Neither of them gained control, and the ball eventually landed in Chalmers hands.
After all that chaos, only 9 seconds remained on the shot clock.
Chalmers hastily passed to Wade.
Wade, facing Chen Yan, changed direction and drove again.
This time, he put more force into it, and the change of direction was even more pronounced.
Wade really wanted to break through Chen Yan head on.
In the past 2 games, outsiders had been saying that he was locked down by Chen Yan, which made him quite annoyed.
However, people were often like this.
The more eager they were to prove themselves, the more prone they were to making mistakes.
Wade overexerted himself and fell to the ground again.
Chen Yan, quick eyed and quick handed, went up to contest for possession.
The referee blew the whistle and called a foul on Chen Yan.
Chen Yan and Nelson both threw up their hands at the same time.
In their opinion, it should have been a jump ball.
Miami inbounded again, with the shot clock reset to only 12 seconds.
The Heat did not have much time left on this possession.
After dribbling, James lobbed the ball to Pau Gasol.
Pau Gasol faked once, then drove hard to the basket, drawing a foul from Kenyon Martin and earning 2 free throws.
Pau Gasol made both free throws.
83 to 77.
The difference on the scoreboard was now only 6 points.
Nelson did not call a timeout.
He let Chen Yan adjust on his own.
Chen Yan also knew he had to step up now.
With the ball in hand, Chen Yan called for Al Harrington to set a screen.
After the pick and roll, Chen Yan dished the ball to Al Harrington.
In the 3rd quarter, Chen Yan had mainly focused on passing, and Miami's defensive strategy had also adjusted. They no longer mindlessly double teamed Chen Yan.
Al Harrington did not have a good opportunity after receiving the ball.
At that moment, Al Harrington suddenly sent the ball into the paint.
It turned out Chen Yan had cut in without the ball.
After receiving the ball, Chen Yan took 2 diagonal steps forward, then shot a running floater.
The ball hit the backboard and went in.
85 to 77.
On Miami's offense, James personally brought the ball across half court.
In the final quarter, or during crucial moments of the game, Miami usually let James handle the ball.
James directed his teammates to spread out at the top of the arc, then passed the ball to Pau Gasol.
Miami decided to initiate its offense from the paint, focusing on stability.
Pau Gasol probed several times, then posted up.
Chen Yan, near the free throw line, was restless, ready to double team at any moment.
At this point, Pau Gasol's advantage in solid fundamentals became clear.
He suddenly gathered the ball and spun toward the paint, then made a right handed hook shot.
85 to 79.
The Knicks quickly inbounded from the baseline, but Miami's defense retreated swiftly, not allowing them to run a fast break.
Barea passed horizontally from beyond the 3 point line to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan observed the situation, then passed the ball back to Barea and began cutting and moving without the ball.
Barea and Kenyon Martin ran a pick and roll.
After the screen, Barea immediately passed the ball.
However, it was not to Kenyon Martin.
It was to Chen Yan behind him.
Chen Yan, moving without the ball, had circled from the paint to beyond the 3 point line.
Upon receiving the ball, Chen Yan immediately shot.
Wade flew over, creating some interference.
But Chen Yan's shot had perfect rhythm.
Swish!
88 to 79.
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
This 3 pointer was crucial.
To some extent, it could extinguish Miami's comeback hopes.
The Heat started to get anxious.
The deficit they had nearly closed had been stretched again.
James brought the ball across half court and passed it to Pau Gasol.
They still wanted to initiate the offense from the paint.
This time, Kenyon Martin's positioning was good.
He did not let Pau Gasol turn and drive inside.
Pau Gasol could only pass the ball out to the perimeter.
James used an off ball screen to reach the 3 point line and receive the ball.
An opportunity appeared.
However, he did not shoot.
Because during his movement, he had gained a mismatch.
Barea was now the primary defender in front of him.
James decisively put the ball on the floor and posted up.
Barea was incredibly tough.
He directly shouldered into James.
James continued grinding his way in.
Although Barea was tough, the strength difference between the 2 was still obvious.
Just as James turned toward the paint from outside the restricted area, Barea fell to the floor with the momentum.
The referee blew the whistle, ruling that James turning motion had been too aggressive.
Offensive foul.
Barea lay on the floor, fists clenched, looking extremely excited.
Fans back home exclaimed, "The Puerto Rican mountain. A classic reappears!"
.....
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