Chapter 778: Winning Game 3, Exhausting Hamilton
After Thibodeau finished drawing up his adjustments, he glanced at Westbrook and Hamilton.
Both were breathing heavily.
He hesitated for a moment.
Then he decided to leave them on the floor.
At this stage of the game, taking either player out would practically amount to surrendering. No matter how exhausted they were, Thibodeau could not afford to rest them.
Coming out of the timeout, Chicago played with much greater caution.
The Bulls understood the situation.
If they missed and allowed New York to score in transition, the deficit could easily reach double digits.
Chicago moved the ball repeatedly around the 3 point line, searching for an opening.
But simple perimeter passing rarely created good opportunities against a focused Playoffs defense.
Eventually, the Bulls still had to rely on Westbrook to break the defense.
He used a screen and moved right.
The moment he noticed New York's switch was 1 step late, Westbrook exploded toward the paint.
No matter how tired he became, Westbrook always seemed capable of finding another burst of energy.
DeAndre Jordan rotated over and jumped to challenge him.
Westbrook had already built up too much momentum.
He planted off 1 foot and launched himself directly toward DeAndre.
Boom!
Poster dunk!
Westbrook landed and roared.
Adrenaline surged through the United Center.
DeAndre had been half a beat late on his jump, and he had not gotten enough elevation to make up the difference.
Simply put, his legs were gone tonight.
New York came back on offense.
"Defense!"
The Chicago crowd roared together.
Westbrook's dunk had reignited the building.
Chen Yan could feel Westbrook's determination.
This guy really hated losing.
Curry crossed half court.
Westbrook was visibly fired up, but this time he controlled himself and resisted the temptation to gamble for a steal.
He had already been punished for that earlier.
Curry slowed down in the frontcourt and surveyed the defense.
Chen Yan made 2 consecutive back cuts.
Hamilton's stamina had begun to decline.
Now Chen Yan was making him work.
But Hamilton's mental toughness remained exceptional.
His body was exhausted, yet he still chased Chen Yan with everything he had.
Chen Yan finally received the ball beyond the 3 point line and held it in 1 hand.
David West stepped up to set a screen.
Chen Yan took 1 dribble with his left hand.
Then he rose.
The movement carried a hint of Tracy McGrady's pullup jumper.
But nobody would accuse Chen Yan of copying McGrady.
Over the years, his game had incorporated elements associated with countless great scorers.
Jordan.
Kobe.
Wade.
Iverson.
McGrady.
Chen Yan had learned from the best and turned those influences into his own complete offensive arsenal.
A player who could merely do everything was not necessarily frightening.
Many versatile players were good at several things without being elite at any of them.
A player who excelled at almost everything was different.
That was terrifying.
Chen Yan elevated high above Hamilton.
Hamilton contested as hard as he could, but his hand barely reached Chen Yan's chin.
Swish!
3 pointer.
96 to 88.
The United Center suddenly quieted.
That shot crushed much of the momentum Westbrook's dunk had created.
Chicago attacked again.
Hamilton ran through another series of screens before attempting a fadeaway jumper.
Missed.
Taj Gibson battled underneath, shoved DeAndre out of position, and grabbed the offensive rebound.
DeAndre looked completely exhausted.
By the 4th quarter, there was almost no strength left in his legs.
Gibson finished the putback with a layup.
96 to 90.
Nelson immediately called timeout.
As expected, DeAndre was removed from the game.
His rebounding and rim protection had deteriorated badly over the previous several possessions.
There was little reason to keep him on the floor.
Nelson could have inserted Al Harrington for additional shooting.
Instead, he chose Kenyon Martin.
He had seen enough offensive rebounds.
New York possession.
Curry brought the ball across half court and passed to Chen Yan at the top of the arc.
Chen Yan did not immediately dribble.
He held the ball in 1 hand and waited for the movement to develop.
David West slowly came forward from the backcourt.
Chen Yan extended the ball toward him.
West did not take it.
Instead, he suddenly accelerated toward the paint.
Chen Yan used his body to impede Taj Gibson's pursuit, forcing Chicago to switch.
Hamilton followed David West inside.
New York had created a mismatch.
Chen Yan did not bother passing into it.
He had an easier solution.
Taj Gibson was now guarding him.
Chen Yan immediately lowered his body and attacked with his left hand.
1 step.
Gone.
Gibson simply did not possess the lateral speed to stay with him.
Chen Yan carried the ball in 1 hand, gathered near the edge of the restricted area, and leaned into a controlled fadeaway.
The ball kissed the backboard.
In.
98 to 90.
Chicago failed to score on the next possession.
Fatigue had become a major factor in the Bulls declining shooting percentage.
For the first 3 quarters, the teams had appeared evenly matched.
But Chicago had achieved that by pushing its core players far beyond a sustainable workload.
Eventually, that debt had to be repaid.
By the middle of the 4th quarter, the Knicks recognized Chicago's fading legs and began pulling away.
New York created another transition opportunity.
Chen Yan accelerated toward the free throw line.
Luol Deng stepped across to help.
Chen Yan never slowed down.
He raised the ball high and swept it over Deng's head.
Another deceptive change of direction.
Chen Yan stepped across Deng's center of gravity, slipped to the other side, and finished a reverse layup with his left hand.
100 to 90.
Double digit lead.
Westbrook crossed half court with a distant look in his eyes.
He had poured everything into this game.
Yet victory seemed to be moving farther away.
Hamilton still refused to surrender.
He used a sharp change of direction without the ball, received the pass, turned, and fired a jumper.
Clang.
Miss.
Aşık fought underneath and grabbed the offensive rebound.
Whistle.
The referee immediately called him for a pushing foul.
Aşık spread his hands and protested his innocence.
Kenyon Martin was lying on the floor nearby, staring at him in disbelief.
He had been knocked down, and Aşık was still pretending nothing had happened.
The referee shook his head and warned Aşık to stop arguing before the situation resulted in a technical foul.
Possession changed.
Chicago defended the next possession well.
With only 7 seconds remaining on the shot clock, New York still had not created a clean look.
Chen Yan used 2 screens to finally separate from Hamilton and received the ball near the left elbow.
The double team arrived instantly.
Chen Yan was simply shooting too well for Chicago to defend him normally.
Westbrook reacted quickly.
As Chen Yan began to turn, Westbrook reached in and knocked the ball loose.
He did not secure the steal.
The ball popped into the air.
Only 2 seconds remained on the shot clock.
Chen Yan reacted immediately.
He recovered the loose ball and tossed it toward the basket in 1 desperate motion.
It was an awkward shot.
Westbrook and Hamilton both had the same thought.
No way.
Swish!
Exactly what they feared happened.
2 points.
102 to 90.
Kenny Smith smiled.
"Chen Yan is completely locked in now. Chicago cannot find an answer."
Barkley shook his head.
"Locked in? Nah. This is the point where the man becomes impossible."
Fans watching at home could only laugh.
At this point, even Chen Yan's improvised shots were falling.
What made the play even more painful came afterward.
Chen Yan looked toward the defenders and said calmly, "You almost stopped me."
Westbrook and Hamilton were not even sure which 1 of them he was talking to.
Somehow, that made it worse.
With 3 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, New York led 105 to 93.
Just when the game appeared finished, Westbrook suddenly hit 2 consecutive pullup 3 pointers.
1 of them also drew a foul.
A 4 point play.
For a brief moment, Chicago had hope again.
Then Westbrook unraveled.
On a fast break, he threw a pass directly out of bounds.
Soon afterward, he isolated against Chen Yan and had the ball stripped cleanly.
Whatever momentum Chicago had created disappeared almost immediately.
Barkley shook his head.
"That is Westbrook in 2 possessions. He can drag you back into the game, then turn around and give the momentum right back."
Kenny nodded.
"When the margin got down to 5, Chicago needed disciplined possessions. Those mistakes were costly."
With 48 seconds remaining, Chen Yan finally shook free after a series of cuts and received the ball.
He rose and scored.
The lead returned to double digits.
Victory was effectively decided.
Hamilton still refused to stop running.
He continued chasing Chen Yan despite knowing the game was lost.
At 34 years old, however, he was no longer the tireless young guard who could spend an entire night running defenders through screens without consequence.
After leaving the court, Hamilton was taken directly to the hospital.
He had pushed himself to the limit.
The diagnosis was dehydration.
The final buzzer sounded.
New York Knicks 109.
Chicago Bulls 95.
The Knicks had taken Game 3 and moved 1 victory away from completing the sweep.
Chen Yan finished with 51 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Curry scored 19 points.
David West added 17.
Those 3 players accounted for roughly 80 percent of New York's scoring.
The Knicks bench provided almost nothing offensively tonight, with no reserve reaching double figures.
For Chicago, Westbrook scored 35 points.
His 2 late 3 pointers briefly gave the United Center hope, but the overall difference between the teams was simply too great.
After the game, many Chicago fans remained on their feet and applauded Westbrook.
They had watched him fight from the opening tip until the final possession.
Hamilton finished with 20 points and 5 rebounds.
But his workload extended far beyond the box score.
He had spent the entire night running relentlessly on both offense and defense.
A typical NBA starter covered roughly 2500 to 3500 meters during a game.
Hamilton had covered nearly 5500 meters tonight.
It was almost the workload of 2 players.
Chen Yan did not learn that Hamilton had been taken to the hospital until his post game interview.
His expression immediately became serious.
"He is a very, very respectable opponent."
"He never stopped moving. On offense and defense, he was constantly running and putting pressure on you."
"He is incredibly tough."
"I hope he is all right and recovers quickly."
When news of Hamilton's hospitalization spread, Kobe was among the most surprised.
Few players understood Hamilton's stamina better.
During the 2004 NBA Finals, Kobe had exhausted himself chasing Hamilton through endless screens and movement.
That series had been one of Kobe's poorest offensive Finals performances, as he averaged 22.6 points on 22.6 shot attempts per game.
Hamilton was not yet close to retirement.
Even so, hearing that he had literally run himself into the hospital left Kobe stunned.
....
https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03].