Chapter 775: Are These 2 Going at It?
Chicago had prepared layer after layer of defensive coverage for Chen Yan tonight.
Thibodeau had tried almost everything to limit his 3 point shooting and prevent him from attacking the rim.
Chen Yan responded by using 1 weapon over and over again.
The mid range jumper.
In the 1st quarter, Chen Yan made all 6 of his mid range attempts and added 2 free throws.
14 points.
Not a single miss.
The rest of the Knicks offense, however, looked completely out of rhythm.
His teammates combined for only 8 points, leaving New York with just 22 points in the quarter.
For the Knicks, that was an unusually low scoring period.
Somehow, they still held the lead.
Chicago had been even worse offensively.
The Bulls managed only 19 points in the 1st quarter.
New York led 22 to 19.
At the start of the 2nd quarter, both teams went heavily to their benches.
New York's 2nd unit failed to reproduce the dominance it had shown earlier in the series.
Barea and Jeremy Lin both struggled with their shooting.
Al Harrington could not get anything going from beyond the 3 point line either.
With the perimeter offense failing, Yi Jianlian also found it difficult to contribute.
Most of Yi's offense came from catch and shoot opportunities or attacking the basket after 1 dribble.
When his teammates could not stretch the floor, those opportunities disappeared.
Chicago's defense packed the paint because New York could not punish them from outside.
That made driving lanes almost nonexistent.
With all 3 of his primary offensive options neutralized, Yi naturally struggled.
Against weaker competition, he might have been able to rely on physical talent alone.
Against NBA defenders, that advantage was no longer enough.
Westbrook returned after resting for only 2 minutes and immediately took control of Chicago's offense.
By the middle of the 2nd quarter, New York brought its starters back.
Chen Yan returned as well.
At that point, Chicago led 35 to 31.
The Bulls had taken control behind Westbrook's relentless aggression.
His shooting touch was still mediocre tonight.
Almost all of his points came from attacking the basket.
It was exciting basketball.
It was also exhausting.
When Chen Yan checked back in, he looked at the sweat pouring from Westbrook and smiled.
"If you keep playing like this, are you going to have anything left for the 4th quarter?"
Westbrook answered without hesitation.
"I will fight until the last second!"
Knicks possession.
Curry crossed half court and passed to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan established position near the left elbow.
He caught the ball and backed Hamilton down twice.
Then his right shoulder twitched.
Hamilton shifted his weight.
The instant Hamilton moved, Chen Yan spun left.
By the time Hamilton realized he had fallen for the fake, Chen Yan was already gone.
Chen Yan created clean separation and rose for another mid range jumper.
Swish.
33 to 35.
"Double him!" Thibodeau shouted from the sideline. "Do not let him turn!"
Tonight, Chen Yan looked like a classic shooting guard from another era.
Possession after possession, he attacked Chicago with mid range jumpers.
"That is 7 straight mid range makes," Kenny Smith said.
Barkley shook his head.
"7 for 7. That is ridiculous."
Kenny continued.
"This is what makes Chen so difficult to guard. He can beat you from 3, he can get to the rim, and he can live in the mid range. Tonight, that is the shot he likes, so he keeps taking it."
Barkley laughed.
"And whatever weapon Chen Yan decides to use becomes a deadly one."
The mid range game also required less energy than repeatedly attacking the basket.
That allowed Chen Yan to conserve some strength for defense.
Unfortunately for Hamilton, much of that energy was being spent chasing him.
Hamilton could almost feel Chen Yan breathing down his neck every possession.
He had scored only 2 points in the 1st quarter.
Chen Yan had scored 14 without missing.
For a proud veteran scorer, that was humiliating.
Hamilton increased his effort even further in the 2nd quarter.
Running without the ball had always been his specialty.
Once he began circling the floor relentlessly, even Chen Yan found it difficult to stay attached forever.
Hamilton ran through several screens and loops before finally creating separation.
Westbrook found him with the pass.
Hamilton caught the ball and buried the mid range jumper.
Swish.
33 to 37.
Hamilton looked toward Chen Yan with a satisfied expression.
Chen Yan barely reacted.
If Hamilton wanted to run that much on every possession just to create 1 jumper, Chen Yan was perfectly willing to live with it.
New York came back the other way.
This time, Chen Yan began moving through screens.
Hamilton fought through traffic and desperately stayed behind him.
Thibodeau had noticed that effort.
It was exactly why Hamilton remained on the floor.
Chen Yan caught the ball on the wing beyond the 3 point line and immediately attacked the baseline.
After his 1st step, Hamilton and Taj Gibson closed around him.
Chen Yan calmly passed toward the middle.
David West cut into the open space, caught the ball with both hands, and finished with a dunk.
35 to 37.
Chicago possession.
Hamilton started running again.
This time, Chen Yan did not chase quite as aggressively.
He was here to play basketball, not run a marathon.
He would follow Hamilton through normal actions.
But if Hamilton wanted to spend the entire possession circling the half court, Chen Yan was willing to give him a little more space and rely on recovery instead.
Hamilton eventually received the ball near the top of the arc and pulled up for a long 2 pointer.
Swish.
35 to 39.
"Hamilton has really become active over these last few possessions," Kenny Smith said.
"That is his game," Barkley replied. "He runs you through screens until you get tired of seeing him, then he gets to that mid range jumper."
Chen Yan was not concerned about Hamilton sustaining the scoring burst.
Hamilton could still catch fire.
But he was 34 now, not 24.
Maintaining shooting accuracy after that much running would become increasingly difficult as the game continued.
New York possession.
Chen Yan again established himself near the elbow and called for the ball.
Hamilton defended aggressively.
After making several jumpers of his own, his confidence had clearly risen.
The 2 battled for position.
Chen Yan took 1 step backward and received the pass.
The moment the ball reached him, Westbrook came over to double team.
He remembered Thibodeau's instruction.
Do not let Chen Yan turn.
Chen Yan immediately understood the coverage.
You do not want me to turn?
Fine.
He would not.
Without looking, Chen Yan whipped the ball behind his back.
The pass sailed over Westbrook and Hamilton.
Curry had cut toward the basket without the ball.
He caught the pass in stride and finished the layup off the backboard.
37 to 39.
"That was gorgeous," Kenny Smith said. "Behind the back, right over the double team."
Barkley nodded.
"And Curry deserves credit too. His jumper has not been there tonight, so he is finding other ways to score. That is smart basketball."
Chen Yan was never going to force shots simply because he was hot.
If a teammate had a better opportunity, he would make the pass.
Chicago came back on offense.
Westbrook crossed half court and immediately looked for Hamilton.
There was an unwritten rule in basketball.
When a teammate had the hot hand, keep feeding him.
Hamilton moved toward the 3 point line and received the pass.
Chen Yan stayed tight.
He knew Hamilton's tendencies.
Hamilton was lethal from the mid range.
His 3 point shooting was far less threatening.
This season, he shot only 31 percent from beyond the arc and attempted roughly 1 per game.
As expected, Hamilton did not shoot the 3.
He put the ball on the floor.
1 step left.
Then a crossover between his legs to the right.
Aşık arrived with the screen.
Hamilton saw Chen Yan get caught and immediately took 1 dribble into his jumper.
He released without hesitation.
He was not giving Chen Yan time to recover.
Swish.
37 to 41.
Hamilton had scored 6 consecutive points.
Now he was visibly energized.
Chen Yan answered immediately.
On the left wing beyond the 3 point line, Chen Yan used David West's screen and shifted sideways by 1 step.
Taj Gibson stayed closer to the free throw line.
Chen Yan's mid range shooting had been so accurate that Chicago was beginning to overprotect that area.
Their defensive adjustment left more space outside.
Chen Yan recognized it instantly.
He rose for the pullup.
Swish.
40 to 41.
It was Chen Yan's 1st 3 point attempt of the game.
1 attempt.
1 make.
Barkley laughed.
"Now we have a shootout."
Kenny Smith nodded.
"For the last few minutes, this game has belonged to Chen Yan and Richard Hamilton."
Thibodeau looked increasingly uneasy on the sideline.
Chen Yan's mid range game had already been almost impossible to stop.
If his 3 point shot started falling too, Chicago's defensive options would disappear quickly.
....
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