Chapter 771: A New Assist Record
With 5.7 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter, Battier inbounded the ball from the baseline to Chen Yan.
There was almost no time left in the period, so Chicago immediately committed to an aggressive trap.
Westbrook, Hamilton, and Aşık all rushed toward Chen Yan.
3 defenders surrounded him in the backcourt.
Chen Yan calmly took 1 dribble sideways to his right, created a sliver of space, and immediately released the ball.
Curry, who had returned late in the 3rd quarter, caught the pass, took 1 step forward, and launched a super long 3 pointer.
Swish!
Buzzer beater!
Curry had somehow turned Chen Yan's emergency pass into another assist.
It was Chen Yan's 20th assist of the night.
Curry erupted with excitement and immediately sprinted toward Chen Yan for a chest bump.
A super long buzzer beater was exactly the kind of shot that sent adrenaline through a player's body.
After 3 quarters, the Knicks led 96 to 72.
A 24 point advantage.
Chen Yan and Curry began the 4th quarter on the bench.
With both stars resting, Westbrook led Chicago on a 9 to 0 run and cut the deficit to 15.
But the moment Chen Yan and Curry returned, New York quickly pushed the lead beyond 20 again.
Westbrook felt a growing sense of helplessness.
He had given everything tonight.
His effort, intensity, and competitive spirit could not have been questioned.
Yet every time Chen Yan stepped onto the floor, the gap widened again.
Westbrook could clearly feel it.
Chen Yan existed on another level.
With 7 minutes and 29 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter, Chen Yan and David West ran a pick and roll on the perimeter.
Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson immediately trapped Chen Yan.
David West recognized the coverage and rolled hard toward the basket.
He trusted Chen Yan's vision completely.
As long as he reached the correct position, the ball would find him.
Chen Yan took 1 step beyond the arc near the top of the key and suddenly jumped.
The defense expected a shot.
Instead, Chen Yan gripped the ball with both hands and fired it directly into the paint.
The pass flew into David West's hands like a cannonball.
Taj Gibson tried to recover.
Too late.
David West caught the ball and easily finished the layup.
Chen Yan's 23rd assist.
The Knicks bench immediately came alive.
Just 1 more assist would tie the Playoffs record for assists in a single game.
Recording 24 assists in modern basketball was already extremely difficult.
Doing it during the Playoffs, when every possession carried greater defensive intensity, made it even more remarkable.
Chen Yan did not make his teammates or the fans wait long.
2 possessions later, assist number 24 arrived.
Chen Yan shook Jimmy Butler without the ball and cut toward the paint.
The moment he received the pass, he did not hesitate.
Without even turning fully toward the basket, Chen Yan flipped the ball behind his head.
Curry came flying into the lane and finished with a floater.
2 points.
Madison Square Garden exploded.
"Come on, man!" Barkley shouted. "That looked like a magic trick. Chen threw it behind his head and somehow put Curry exactly where he needed to be."
Kenny Smith smiled.
"And that is assist number 24. He has tied the Playoffs record, and there is still more than half of the 4th quarter remaining."
Barkley leaned forward.
"The way he is passing tonight, I do not think he is stopping at 24."
Chicago called timeout.
The deficit had reached 25 points.
For the 1st time all night, Knicks fans became nervous about something other than the outcome.
They were worried Chicago might surrender.
If the Bulls removed their starters and allowed the game to enter garbage time, Chen Yan would almost certainly sit as well.
That would leave his assist total frozen at 24.
Fortunately, Westbrook had no intention of quitting.
Coming out of the timeout, he used a screen and attacked the basket with tremendous force.
Westbrook exploded into the paint and dunked over David West.
The referee blew the whistle.
The basket counted.
And 1.
Even midway through the final quarter, Westbrook was still flying around the court with seemingly endless energy.
His teammates were different.
Several Chicago players had already mentally accepted the defeat.
Westbrook made the free throw.
The deficit remained 22 points.
Knicks possession.
Chen Yan calmly dribbled across half court.
Curry weaved through traffic before circling out beyond the 3 point line.
Chen Yan controlled the ball at the top of the arc.
The moment Curry appeared, Chen Yan passed immediately.
Curry caught the ball and turned in 1 motion.
He did not pause.
He did not set his feet for long.
He simply turned and fired from beyond the arc.
Westbrook was 1 step late.
He could not fully contest.
Even so, it was an extremely difficult shot.
Curry had barely looked at the basket before releasing it.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
It was Curry's 7th made 3 pointer of the night.
He was completely on fire from the perimeter.
Madison Square Garden erupted with deafening cheers.
Then the arena screen changed.
A graphic appeared.
Chen Yan had just established a new Playoffs record for assists in a single game.
25 assists.
The fans went wild.
"A new Playoffs assist record belongs to Chen Yan!" Kenny Smith announced.
Barkley shook his head.
"25 assists in a Playoffs game. That is ridiculous. The man already owns scoring records, and now he is taking passing records too. What are the rest of these guys supposed to do?"
Fans watching across the country celebrated just as loudly.
"25 assists in 1 game!"
"Another record for Chen Yan!"
"He has scoring records and now the assist record too."
"The Record Breaker strikes again."
"Living legend."
Chen Yan was not finished.
With 5 minutes and 27 seconds remaining, New York turned defense into offense again.
Chen Yan pushed the ball up the floor and suddenly delivered a behind the back pass while still moving.
Curry caught it beyond the 3 point line.
He immediately fired.
Swish!
Another one.
Curry stared at his right hand in exaggerated disbelief.
He looked as though even he could not understand why everything was falling.
Chen Yan played along.
He ran toward Curry and repeatedly blew on his right hand, pretending that Curry's shooting hand had become too hot and needed to be cooled down.
Barkley burst out laughing.
"Now these 2 are just having fun."
Kenny Smith smiled.
"Chen Yan has 26 assists. Curry has made 8 shots from 3 point range. Those 2 have completely torn apart Chicago's defense tonight."
The Bulls called another timeout.
This time, there was no suspense.
When Chicago returned to the floor, several reserves checked into the game.
The Bulls had officially surrendered.
They simply could not continue.
Chen Yan also walked toward the bench.
His night was over.
23 points.
26 assists.
10 rebounds.
A triple double unlike almost any other in his career.
Curry was also unlikely to return.
He had made 8 shots from beyond the arc and scored a game high 38 points while adding 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
It was one of the defining Playoffs performances of his career.
With the game safely decided, Nelson returned to experimenting.
He placed Beverley, Jeremy Lin, and Barea on the floor together.
A 3 guard lineup.
Yi Jianlian was pushed all the way to center.
It was an extreme small lineup built entirely around speed.
Everyone ran.
Everyone attacked.
Chicago had already lost the desire to fight.
Against New York's relentless pace, the deficit quickly expanded beyond 30 points.
The final buzzer eventually sounded.
Knicks 131.
Bulls 99.
New York had crushed Chicago by 32 points in Game 1.
7 Knicks players scored in double figures.
Curry led everyone with 38 points.
Chen Yan finished with 23 points, 26 assists, and 10 rebounds.
David West contributed 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Al Harrington scored 12.
Battier added 11.
Jeremy Lin scored 10.
Beverley also finished with 10.
Yi Jianlian, another player receiving considerable attention from Chinese fans, recorded 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
His offensive performance was ordinary, but his 2 emphatic blocks on defense left a strong impression.
For Chicago, Westbrook fought until the end and finished with a team high 33 points.
Throughout the night, he and Curry had attacked each other in completely different ways.
Curry punished Westbrook with his shooting.
Westbrook responded by repeatedly driving through Curry with strength and explosiveness.
4 Bulls players reached double figures.
Westbrook scored 33.
Luol Deng recorded 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Hamilton added 13 points.
Aşık finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
But none of it mattered.
Game 1 belonged to New York.
And the night belonged to Chen Yan's 26 assists.
....
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