Chapter 782: King of Empty Stats
As halftime came to an end, Chen Yan walked out of the players tunnel and used a status enhancement card without hesitation.
Carmelo Anthony was on fire tonight.
Deron Williams was playing well.
Yao Ming was playing well.
If Chen Yan did not elevate his own performance to the highest level, New York might genuinely lose Game 1.
The Knicks opened the 2nd half with possession.
Curry brought the ball across half court, gathered it, and passed sideways.
By then, Chen Yan had already used several screens to work his way toward the perimeter.
Before leaving the locker room, Chen Yan had told his teammates that he intended to take over the game in the 2nd half.
He was the unquestioned leader of this team.
When Chen Yan said he was taking over, everyone supported him.
The instant he caught the ball, Gerald Wallace fought around the screen.
Anthony also began collapsing toward him from nearby.
The shooting window would last only a fraction of a second.
Any hesitation meant a double team.
Chen Yan turned and fired immediately.
Swish!
The net snapped.
52 to 55.
Madison Square Garden erupted.
The speed of the catch and release had been beautiful.
Chen Yan showed no emotion.
He simply turned and ran back on defense.
Brooklyn came back the other way.
Yao Ming moved toward the high post, pulling New York's interior defense away from the basket and creating space for Anthony.
Anthony received the ball and immediately attacked with force.
Battier was an elite perimeter defender, but Anthony's physical style created a difficult matchup for him.
Anthony backed him toward the paint.
1 bump.
Another.
Then a final drop of the shoulder sent Battier backward.
David West rotated over.
His strength was much closer to Anthony's.
Anthony went up through the contact.
Miss.
But Anthony was already back in the air.
Offensive rebound.
He immediately attempted the putback.
Miss again.
Anthony jumped a 3rd time.
Another offensive rebound.
This time, he banked the ball in from underneath the basket.
52 to 57.
Chen Yan answered immediately.
He used his handle to escape Brooklyn's double team and attacked the paint.
Yao Ming stepped into his path.
Chen Yan challenged him anyway.
He absorbed the contact, twisted his body in the air, and still finished the difficult layup.
The play illustrated one of the differences between Chen Yan and Anthony around the rim.
With a clean path to the basket, both possessed excellent finishing ability.
Through heavy contact, Chen Yan was on another level.
No matter how awkward his body position became, he could somehow maintain control and touch.
Over the next several possessions, Chen Yan completely took control of New York's offense.
Contested pullups.
Shots over 2 defenders.
Attacks against 3 defenders.
Possessions that looked unreasonable until the ball went through the basket.
Avery Johnson eventually called timeout, hoping the break would disrupt Chen Yan's rhythm.
It accomplished nothing.
Chen Yan came back onto the floor and continued scoring.
Every shot seemed difficult.
Every defensive coverage seemed insufficient.
Yet the Knicks fans could not fully enjoy the performance.
They kept looking at the scoreboard.
New York was still behind.
Brooklyn could not stop Chen Yan.
But New York could not stop Anthony, Deron, and Yao either.
The Nets 3 stars took turns attacking with their preferred weapons.
Anthony was especially dangerous.
He had entered one of those nights when everything seemed to work.
New York eventually had no choice but to double team him.
That opened opportunities elsewhere.
Yao Ming buried 2 consecutive mid range jumpers.
Deron also created another basket by penetrating and kicking the ball out.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Brooklyn still led.
84 to 79.
A 5 point advantage.
In the 4th quarter, the Nets tightened their defense around Chen Yan even further.
Every time he touched the ball, at least 3 defenders seemed to be waiting.
With 8 minutes and 57 seconds remaining, Chen Yan attacked despite all 5 Nets defenders having their attention on him.
At 6 minutes and 19 seconds, it happened again.
Brooklyn was practically defending Chen Yan with the entire team.
Barkley shook his head.
"You cannot criticize Chen tonight. His job has become simple. Somehow get the ball, then somehow score it."
Kenny Smith looked toward the rest of the Knicks.
"The problem is nobody else has scored in almost 5 minutes. Not even a free throw. New York cannot expect Chen Yan to play 1 against 5 for an entire quarter."
That was the situation.
Nobody was stepping forward to support him.
The Knicks had entered the game without rhythm.
Once Chen Yan began taking most of the shots in the 2nd half, his teammates became even colder.
The situation fed itself.
The less they scored, the more Chen Yan needed to shoot.
The more Chen Yan shot, the harder it became for everyone else to regain rhythm.
But Chen Yan had little choice.
If he had not taken over, the game might have already been decided.
With 3 minutes and 1 second remaining, Chen Yan repeatedly ran through screens without the ball.
Gerald Wallace chased him.
Then Deron.
Then Anthony.
The Nets were practically taking turns pursuing him around the court.
Curry tried to squeeze a pass through the coverage.
Mistake.
Deron intercepted it and raced the other way for a fast break dunk.
The deficit reached 7.
For the 1st time all night, Madison Square Garden became genuinely uneasy.
The possibility of losing Game 1 suddenly felt real.
Curry drew criticism as well.
He looked completely out of rhythm tonight.
Nelson had considered replacing him with Barea, who had played well earlier.
But Barea's success had come largely against Brooklyn's reserves.
When he faced Deron during the 3rd quarter, the matchup had gone badly.
New York came back on offense.
The possession nearly ended in a shot clock violation.
With time disappearing, Chen Yan received the ball and rose over 2 defenders for an extremely difficult 3 pointer.
Swish!
The shot kept New York alive.
Brooklyn immediately attacked inside.
Yao Ming powered toward the basket and drew a foul.
The Nets strategy was becoming obvious.
Attack the paint.
Yao made both free throws.
Brooklyn's lead returned to 6.
Over the next 2 Knicks possessions, Chen Yan could not even get the ball.
The deficit stretched to 8.
In the final minute, Chen Yan took possession in the backcourt himself.
He crossed half court, used 3 consecutive screens, and finally created enough room to launch another 3 pointer.
Swish!
But there was no longer enough time.
The comeback never materialized.
The final buzzer sounded.
Brooklyn Nets 107.
New York Knicks 102.
The Nets had stolen Game 1 on the road against the team that had finished with the best record in the league.
"That is what having multiple stars can do for you," Kenny Smith said. "Different players can take over different stretches, and you never know who is going to hurt you."
Barkley nodded.
"Brooklyn got the win, but Chen Yan did everything he possibly could. He had 18 at halftime and finished with 61. That means 43 points in the 2nd half while seeing double teams, triple teams, everything."
Chen Yan finished with 61 points.
And the Knicks still lost.
It was the kind of performance that made someone the unwilling king of empty stats.
He had played like Superman.
The result still went against him.
Losing at home was difficult for Chen Yan to accept.
As he walked toward the tunnel, he did not look toward the stands.
It was not because he feared criticism.
He could handle boos.
What he did not want to see were disappointed faces.
Especially the younger fans.
Some of them might have saved money for weeks or months just to attend a Playoffs game at Madison Square Garden.
They had come hoping to see a victory.
Instead, they watched New York lose.
That image remained in Chen Yan's mind.
And it became fuel for Game 2.
The rest of the Knicks felt it too.
2 days later, Game 2 began.
Neither team changed its starting lineup.
But the difference in New York's demeanor was obvious before the opening tip.
The Knicks players looked far more intense.
Even Curry, whose youthful face usually made him look harmless, had lost his easygoing expression.
Chen Yan had not made any dramatic promises after Game 1.
He had no interest in talking.
He wanted his basketball to answer.
On New York's opening possession, Chen Yan received the ball and immediately buried a 3 pointer.
Brooklyn had not opened the game with a double team.
They paid for it.
Next possession.
Another 3.
Then another.
3 straight 3 pointers.
Once Chen Yan began raining shots from the perimeter, the Nets could no longer defend him normally.
Avery Johnson called timeout.
It did not matter.
Chen Yan returned to the floor and continued scoring.
15 consecutive points.
All from Chen Yan.
He personally tore apart Brooklyn's defense at the start of the 1st quarter.
Game 1 had forced him into a different approach.
That night, Chen Yan had taken over because his teammates could not score.
Tonight, his plan was the opposite.
He wanted to establish his own scoring threat first.
Then, once Brooklyn became desperate to stop him, he would use all that defensive attention to create opportunities for everyone else.
....
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