Chapter 772: Chen Yan and Curry Put on a Show
After the game, reporters immediately surrounded Chen Yan, eager to hear his thoughts on breaking the Playoffs single game assist record.
Chen Yan smiled.
"The people I want to thank most are the guys who fought beside me tonight. They were in great rhythm and kept making shots, turning my passes into assists. They are the real heroes."
The reporters laughed.
It was rare to hear Chen Yan sound this humble.
On the other side of the locker room, Curry was also surrounded by reporters.
He had finished as the game's leading scorer with 38 points.
"This is an incredible moment," Curry said. "I spent a long time injured this season, then went through a difficult recovery process. There was a point when I doubted myself."
"Tonight gave me a lot of confidence back. I also have to thank Chen. He was completely unselfish and kept finding me with great passes. He made scoring much easier for me."
After saying that, Curry turned toward Chen Yan, who was standing nearby, and blew him a kiss.
"I love you, brother."
American players were usually direct when expressing affection toward teammates.
After spending years around them, Chen Yan had long since become accustomed to it.
He pointed toward Curry.
"Love you too, brother."
The entire locker room burst into laughter.
The reporters had never expected to witness Chen Yan and Curry openly displaying their brotherly affection like this.
The questions soon shifted toward Westbrook.
Chen Yan immediately praised his performance.
"He is a warrior. A real warrior."
"Tonight, I watched him attack the basket again and again. He fell, got back up, attacked again, and never stopped."
"I have the highest respect for that. That is how basketball should be played. It does not matter who your opponent is or what the score says. You give everything you have and keep fighting."
"Westbrook is a younger player I really like. I respect his attitude toward basketball and the energy he brings every night."
Westbrook still had plenty of flaws at this stage of his career.
But Chen Yan praised him without reservation.
In Chen Yan's eyes, attitude toward the game mattered more than almost anything else.
Westbrook was the type of player who gave everything every night.
That mentality reminded Chen Yan of stars from the previous generation, players such as Kobe and Iverson.
Halfway through the interview, a commotion suddenly spread through the locker room.
Magic Johnson had arrived.
"Hey, Chen!"
Magic walked over with a smile.
"Congratulations. You won the game and broke my assist record while you were at it."
Chen Yan immediately stood and shook his hand.
It was the minimum respect he could show a legend and an elder.
After talking briefly, the 2 posed together for a photograph.
There was little doubt that the picture would appear across sports headlines the following day.
The previous record holder standing beside the new record holder was exactly the kind of image fans loved.
Magic stayed for roughly 10 minutes before leaving.
His purpose had been simple.
He wanted to personally congratulate Chen Yan while also showing that he had no bitterness about losing the record.
At Chicago's press conference, Thibodeau was inevitably asked about Chen Yan's performance.
"I knew he was a very good passer," Thibodeau said. "I did not expect him to be this good."
"He played like an elite traditional point guard tonight. He reminded me of players such as Magic Johnson and John Stockton."
A reporter followed up.
"Did you consider changing the defensive strategy specifically to limit Chen's passing?"
Thibodeau gave a helpless smile.
"That would not have been a smart decision."
"If we focused on taking away Chen Yan's passing, we would essentially be encouraging him to shoot more."
He paused.
"Between those 2 options, our coaching staff would rather have him passing."
Thibodeau was far from alone.
If NBA coaches were forced to choose between Chen Yan attacking as a scorer or Chen Yan distributing the ball, most would probably choose the latter.
Thibodeau also praised Curry, the other major reason New York had dominated Game 1.
"Did Stephen Curry even miss tonight? I honestly do not remember."
A few reporters laughed.
"I am not saying that kind of shooting is normal, but his 3 point shooting absolutely destroyed us."
Westbrook remained defiant during his own interview.
"I am not going to lose confidence because we lost 1 game."
"I will keep working. I will keep fighting."
"Tomorrow is another day, and when the next game comes, I will give everything again."
The defeat had obviously hurt him.
But players with extraordinary willpower usually recovered quickly from setbacks.
Westbrook entered Game 2 with every bit as much intensity as he had shown in Game 1.
On Chicago's opening possession, he used a screen and drove aggressively toward the basket.
On the next possession, he led the fast break, charged straight into the paint, and finished with a powerful 1 handed dunk.
"Westbrook has started both games the same way," Barkley said. "He comes out attacking like the building is on fire."
Kenny Smith nodded.
"It makes sense. He wants to maximize his athletic advantage before New York settles into the game and establishes its defensive rhythm."
Chen Yan continued focusing more on playmaking in Game 2, although not to the absurd extent of Game 1.
By halftime, he had recorded 16 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds.
New York's supporting cast continued playing extremely well.
Yi Jianlian was particularly impressive.
He shot 4 of 5 from the field during the 1st half and reached 10 points efficiently with the help of free throws.
In Game 1, nearly everyone on the Knicks had produced offensively while Yi had finished with only 5 points.
He had been somewhat embarrassed by that performance.
So before Game 2, Yi arrived at the arena 3 hours and 30 minutes early to practice his 3 point shot and jumpers from the high post.
Preparation created opportunity.
Chicago repeatedly gave Yi open long 2 point shots tonight.
He made them pay.
Nelson rewarded him by placing Yi in the starting lineup for the 2nd half.
Yi continued knocking down mid range jumpers.
By the end of the 3rd quarter, he had already scored 17 points.
Fans in China were delighted by his performance.
Many joked that Nelson was using Yi Jianlian like Dirk Nowitzki tonight.
Chicago's defense was significantly better than it had been in Game 1.
The Bulls no longer surrendered as many open perimeter opportunities.
Their greatest focus was Curry.
After watching him destroy them from outside in the series opener, Chicago refused to give him the same freedom.
Curry's production was almost cut in half.
He finished with only 19 points.
Unfortunately for Chicago, slowing Curry was nowhere near enough to win.
Chen Yan finished with 35 points, 13 assists, and 6 rebounds.
David West produced a huge double double with 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Yi Jianlian added 20 points and 9 rebounds.
Barea scored 11.
Westbrook led Chicago with 25 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds.
His overall numbers looked good.
His efficiency did not.
Westbrook attempted 20 shots and made 8.
He shot 3 of 10 from beyond the 3 point line and 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
Westbrook played almost entirely through passion, aggression, and effort.
Sometimes that energy inspired his team.
Sometimes it hurt them.
New York ultimately claimed another comfortable victory.
121 to 100.
The Knicks now held a 2 to 0 series lead.
After the game, reporters asked Chen Yan what he thought about Chicago's performance.
Chen Yan looked toward the scoreboard.
"They improved compared with the last game."
The reporters paused.
Chicago had lost Game 1 by 32 points.
This time, the Bulls had lost by 21.
From that perspective, Chen Yan was technically correct.
But to the Chicago players, his completely sincere answer sounded like mockery.
On the flight back to Chicago, Thibodeau addressed his team.
They had nowhere left to retreat.
If they lost Game 3, he told them, Game 4 would almost certainly follow.
He did not want to be swept.
More importantly, he did not want to look into the stands and see disappointment on the faces of Chicago's home fans.
That message struck a nerve.
The Bulls players rediscovered their fighting spirit.
One after another, they declared that Game 3 would be different.
They would fight for Chicago.
They would fight for their fans.
....
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