Chapter 759: Iron Blooded Showdown
Paul quickly dribbled past half court.
Kobe immediately called for the ball from 2 steps beyond the 3 point line.
Paul delivered a bounce pass. After receiving it, Kobe adjusted his angle, turned his body toward the basket, and launched a super long 3 pointer.
The basketball struck the back rim and bounced through.
9 to 4.
Wade was responsible for guarding Kobe on this possession, but he did not even raise a hand.
He saw no reason to contest such a deep shot in an exhibition game.
After the ball went in, Wade smiled and patted Kobe on the backside.
Kobe smiled back and winked at him.
"Kobe answers Chen Yan with a super long 3 of his own," Reggie Miller said.
Eastern Conference possession.
Wade crossed half court and immediately passed the ball to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan moved it to James, who instantly returned the pass.
"Chen, give us another one," James said with a laugh. "Answer that old man."
James and Kobe had a very good relationship, and he often jokingly called Kobe an old man.
However, Chen Yan had no intention of shooting.
He took 1 dribble and passed to Durant.
Durant caught the ball, turned, and attempted a mid range jumper.
Missed.
Howard tried to finish with a tip dunk, but he missed as well.
Marc Gasol grabbed the defensive rebound and immediately passed to Griffin.
Griffin once again displayed his ball handling, taking the ball from coast to coast before tossing it into the air.
He wanted to set up an alley oop for Kobe, but the pass was too low and Wade swatted it away.
Griffin was not a professional passer.
If Paul had thrown that lob, it probably would have connected.
Chen Yan collected the loose ball, turned quickly, took 1 dribble, and threw a direct pass ahead.
James caught it, took 1 dribble, and charged straight into the paint.
Only Paul stood beside him, and James did not take the smaller guard seriously.
Paul gestured as if to say, "Go ahead. I will not stop you."
The moment James gathered the ball, Paul suddenly reached in with his quick hands and tried to strip him.
A moment of deception.
Unfortunately, James was far too strong.
Paul slapped the ball, but James did not lose control.
He gripped it firmly with both hands, rose into the air, swung his arm, and completed a left handed windmill dunk.
9 to 6.
Only 2 minutes had passed in the 1st quarter, yet the All Stars had already ignited the arena.
As James returned to the defensive end, he made a point of exchanging a high 5 with Chen Yan.
A stage such as the All Star Game was one of the few places where they could play together.
James had expressed his desire to become Chen Yan's teammate more than once.
The closest they had come was in 2010, when James wanted to leave Cleveland while Chen Yan was also having problems with Phoenix.
However, Chen Yan ultimately rejected James's recruitment.
The decision had not been difficult.
Chen Yan feared that the more championships he won beside James, the lower his historical standing might become.
After touching James's palm, Chen Yan immediately noticed something unusual.
Other players had relatively soft palms.
James's palm felt like solid muscle.
Only then did Chen Yan understand why so few defenders could knock the ball out of James's hands.
Western Conference possession.
Paul crossed half court and lobbed the ball to Nowitzki.
Dirk had maintained a very low profile since the game began.
Players such as Nowitzki, Yao Ming, and Duncan were practical and efficient. This type of exhibition stage did not suit their personalities.
After receiving the ball, Nowitzki attacked in his usual methodical fashion.
He turned near the free throw line and rose for a jumper.
The ball went in.
The Eastern Conference immediately inbounded.
James took the ball and advanced like a tank.
His previous possessions had already helped him find his rhythm.
The Western Conference defense was loose, allowing James to drive all the way into the paint.
After jumping, he made a no look pass.
Wade came charging in from the side and finished with a powerful 2 handed dunk.
9 to 8.
The Western Conference also wanted to push the pace.
Paul crossed half court and passed directly to Griffin, who was trailing the play.
Griffin had a strong desire to perform.
This was his 1st time starting in an All Star Game.
However, he became too excited, and the ball slipped straight out of his hands.
Griffin's hands were still too small, making him prone to losing the ball whenever he became overly eager.
This was a problem Chen Yan could never understand.
James recovered the ball and pushed forward again.
Wade cut along the sideline, and James delivered a pass behind his back.
Wade smoothly took 3 steps toward the basket.
At the last moment, however, he did not attempt the layup.
Instead, he tossed the ball into the air.
James rose and completed a powerful 2 handed alley oop dunk.
It was the classic connection between James and Wade.
Chen Yan casually wandered near half court and watched them perform, looking completely relaxed.
Throughout the 1st quarter, Chen Yan coasted without even entering the 3 point line.
He still scored 6 points.
Chen Yan had treated the All Star Game this way for the past several years.
Otherwise, he would not have won only 1 All Star Game MVP award.
The 1st quarter ended with the Western Conference leading 39 to 28.
The advantage was 11 points.
When both teams began using their reserves, the West had several newcomers eager to perform.
Rudy Gay, James Harden, and LaMarcus Aldridge were all making their 1st All Star appearances.
"Young players always bring energy to the All Star Game," Steve Kerr said with a smile.
Reggie Miller added, "I remember Chen Yan playing extremely hard in his 1st All Star Game. He even won MVP."
The fans laughed.
The commentators were openly teasing Chen Yan for going through the motions now.
But they were correct.
Young players had a strong desire to prove themselves. Once they stepped onto the court, they seized every chance to show what they could do.
The Western Conference maintained a double digit lead.
Chen Yan returned with 4 minutes and 41 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter.
During his next 4 minutes on the floor, he attempted only 2 shots from 3 point range and made 1.
Most of the time, he happily watched players from both sides take turns performing dunks.
At halftime, the Western Conference led 88 to 75.
The advantage was 13 points.
Chris Brown, Pitbull, and Ne Yo performed during the halftime show.
Fans jokingly suggested that Chen Yan should have joined them.
Since he was not sweating from playing basketball, he could at least work up a sweat by singing and dancing.
That would make his trip worthwhile.
The turning point arrived with 8 minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter.
The score was 96 to 85.
Kobe called for the ball in the post while Wade defended him tightly.
After receiving the pass, Kobe displayed his low post footwork, turning quickly and beating Wade.
For the previous 2 quarters, Wade had played with a relaxed attitude.
This time, however, something changed.
He swung his hand directly into Kobe's nose.
Kobe stepped to the free throw line.
After making the 1st attempt, he realized something felt wrong.
He touched his nose.
It was bleeding.
Kobe signaled that he needed treatment on the sideline, forcing the game to pause.
Chen Yan walked over to Wade with a grin.
"Dwyane, you are in trouble."
Wade smiled.
He had not yet realized how serious the situation was.
The medical staff told Kobe that his nose was probably broken.
Kobe once again displayed his toughness.
He had the medical staff stop the bleeding, then returned to the court to take his 2nd free throw.
Kobe had already scored 17 points.
1 more would allow him to tie Michael Jordan's career scoring record in the All Star Game.
Given Kobe's personality, there was no chance he would leave that milestone for the following year.
Swish.
Kobe made the 2nd free throw.
98 to 85.
A graphic appeared on the broadcast, announcing that Kobe had tied Michael Jordan's record.
Kerr and Reggie Miller both agreed that Kobe would certainly break it tonight.
There were still nearly 2 quarters remaining.
James dribbled across half court, used a screen, and threw a long pass from the left corner to Chen Yan in the right corner.
Chen Yan buried the open 3 pointer.
98 to 88.
It was his 4th attempt from deep.
Chen Yan felt that occasionally playing as a pure shooter was not bad.
The Western Conference quickly inbounded.
Griffin passed to Paul.
Wade tried to steal the ball, but his reaction was slightly late, and Paul completely beat him with a spin move.
Paul dribbled the length of the court.
Kobe reached out and called for the ball.
Wade had fallen out of position, leaving Chen Yan responsible for the defense.
After receiving the pass, Kobe slowed down and backed into Chen Yan.
Even an ordinary man could become furious after being injured.
Kobe was anything but ordinary.
Bang.
Bang.
Kobe slammed into Chen Yan twice with tremendous force.
Chen Yan felt as though his sternum might crack from the impact.
Kobe was genuinely angry.
The intensity of those 2 collisions belonged in the Western Conference Finals, not an All Star Game.
The sudden increase in physicality caught Chen Yan off guard.
After the 2 forceful bumps, Kobe rose and banked in a difficult 2 point shot over Chen Yan.
100 to 88.
The Eastern Conference continued pushing the pace.
Wade passed to James.
James caught the ball and attacked the basket, but the defense interfered with his layup and forced a miss.
Paul had barely crossed half court when Kobe called for the ball again.
Paul executed a handoff while setting a screen for him.
Wade failed to squeeze through on his 1st attempt.
Chen Yan immediately switched onto Kobe.
After receiving the ball, Kobe used a simple crossover and drove past Chen Yan toward the free throw line.
Chen Yan was speechless.
Wade had broken Kobe's nose.
Why was Kobe taking his anger out on him?
Kobe did not care.
He was going to attack whoever stood in front of him.
Near the free throw line, Kobe spun.
Chen Yan stopped holding back and immediately pressed close.
Kobe faked.
Chen Yan did not react.
He understood Kobe's rhythm far too well.
Kobe faked again.
Chen Yan still refused to bite.
At that point, the other 8 players on the court stopped moving and watched their one on one battle.
Kobe's 3rd move was real.
He lowered his shoulder, forced Chen Yan backward by half a step, then rose for a fadeaway jumper.
Swish.
102 to 88.
Seeing the collision, Wade instinctively covered his chest.
If Chen Yan had not switched onto Kobe, Wade probably would have been the one absorbing that punishment.
Chen Yan's temper was finally ignited.
On the next possession, he actively called for the ball.
Paul was guarding him.
Chen Yan signaled for Wade to set a screen.
After the switch, Kobe stood directly in front of him.
Chen Yan leaned his body into Kobe and drove toward the left elbow near the free throw line.
Kobe lowered his center of gravity and placed his right hand against Chen Yan's waist.
Chen Yan did not use any fakes.
He attacked with pure force.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
After 3 violent collisions at close range, Chen Yan rose for an extreme fadeaway.
Kobe jumped to contest.
His hand fell just short.
Swish.
The basketball dropped cleanly through the net.
Chen Yan had answered Kobe with the same physical, uncompromising style.
The entire arena rose to its feet.
This was what the fans had been waiting for.
An iron blooded showdown between 2 of basketball's fiercest competitors.
....
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