Chapter 556: Continuous Unanswerable Counters
In the fourth quarter, D'Antoni kept his starters on the floor. The Suns wanted to keep the pressure on Orlando with their strongest lineup.
The Magic countered with Nelson, Courtney Lee, Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard.
Van Gundy's substitution was immediately questioned again. He had sent Nelson, who had been out for a long stretch, back into the game.
Mike sounded baffled on the broadcast. "Why? Why is Stan Van Gundy putting Nelson back in? How many minutes did he play last game? How many has he played tonight? Can Stan really be sure of his rhythm?"
Jackson chuckled. "Alston has 13 points and 5 assists tonight. He has been one of Orlando's most reliable perimeter players, but it still looks like he hasn't fully earned the coach's trust."
Trust was never built overnight. Alston had only joined the Magic midway through the season, so naturally his standing with Van Gundy could not compare to Nelson's.
Eager to prove himself before fully finding his rhythm, Nelson immediately committed a turnover. Chen Yan picked it off and took it straight in for an uncontested fast break score.
Two possessions later, Nelson made another mistake. He lost the ball while turning, and Nash stripped him clean, but this time the referee bailed him out and called a defensive foul on Nash.
Nash did not argue. He was too smart for that. From the opening tip, he already knew Phoenix was not only fighting Orlando tonight. They were also fighting the whistle.
Nelson played terribly, and Van Gundy finally yanked him after just 3 and a half minutes.
Some Magic fans began complaining about the substitution, and a few even joked that Van Gundy looked like a sleeper agent.
When Alston returned, Orlando did not suddenly become unstoppable, but at least he was steady. He was in form, and he was not making reckless turnovers.
With 4:11 left, the score stood at 94 to 91, Phoenix holding a slim lead.
Orlando went right back to Howard.
Alston fed him inside, and Howard backed into Stoudemire with force.
Bang. Bang.
Howard lowered his shoulder and kept bumping, but after two hard hits, he still could not move Stoudemire off his spot.
Howard looked broad shouldered and powerful, but his raw strength was not as overwhelming as his body suggested, mostly because his lower body base was not that solid.
After the two bumps, Howard took two strong steps and went into a hook shot.
The ball sailed wide, but the whistle blew.
Beep. Beep.
Stoudemire threw both hands up in disbelief. This was not the first dubious foul called on him tonight.
Chen Yan and Diaw hurried over and pulled him away before his temper flared.
Fans exploded at their screens.
"How is that a foul?"
"Did Stoudemire even touch him?"
"The refs really want to be the stars tonight!"
"Are the refs Orlando's real big three?"
Howard stepped to the line, took a breath, and released the first free throw.
Clank.
It hit the front rim, bounced, and somehow dropped through.
A lucky bounce.
On the second attempt, Howard added a little more force.
This one hit the back rim and still fell in.
Ugly, but good enough.
94 to 93.
Phoenix came back down with Nash and Stoudemire running their classic pick and roll.
Stoudemire caught it at the nail, but he did not force a shot. By this point in the game, he had settled down. He understood that winning mattered more than his own scoring. Besides, he only had 14 points, while Chen Yan had already piled up 41. Even if he made a few more, it would not change the story.
He held the ball high as Chen Yan curled around from the left side for a handoff.
Howard and Courtney Lee jumped Chen Yan immediately, trapping him on the catch. Chen Yan flipped the ball forward to Stoudemire.
Stoudemire caught it and looked ready to attack, but the pass had floated just enough to give Howard time to recover.
After one step into Howard's body, Stoudemire chose not to force it. Instead, he kicked the ball out to Grant Hill on the perimeter.
Hill did not shoot.
With only a 1 point game, a veteran like him knew exactly what the moment required. Calm first. Panic last.
He dribbled from the wing to the top of the arc, and Chen Yan came up for another handoff.
As Hill delivered the ball, he cut inside, dragging Turkoglu with him and preventing Orlando from sending a second defender.
Courtney Lee was left alone on Chen Yan.
Chen Yan went into a series of wide crossovers, rocking the ball and dictating the rhythm. What he wanted was simple. He wanted Courtney Lee reacting instead of thinking.
Lee's body started swaying with each move.
That was the moment.
Chen Yan exploded.
One hard step left, a sudden pull back, then another violent burst to the right.
Courtney Lee was completely trapped inside Chen Yan's rhythm. His feet were moving, but they were no longer his own.
Then Chen Yan planted and snapped backward beyond the three point line.
Lee had no chance of following that move. If he forced it, he would either fall flat or crash into Chen Yan and hand over a 4 point play.
Chen Yan's footwork on that possession was precise to the extreme. It was not just handles. It was handles layered on top of elite explosiveness.
He stepped back, created daylight, and rose into a three point shot.
Swish.
97 to 93.
A massive shot. Phoenix held its lead.
Fans shouted in disbelief.
"Courtney Lee cannot guard Chen Yan one on one!"
"He is already at the peak of perimeter skill, and he is only a sophomore!"
"Chen Yan is taking over!"
Orlando answered by going back inside.
They wanted Howard to draw contact and force the officials to make a decision.
Phoenix did not let him breathe this time. The double team nearly forced a turnover.
Howard still managed to kick it out, but it was rushed, and the delay allowed Phoenix to recover.
The Magic swung the ball around the perimeter but never found a clean look. Finally, Lewis dumped the ball to Alston with the shot clock dying.
Clang.
A loud miss.
Then, one second later, an even louder sound detonated through the arena.
Boom.
Howard flew in for the offensive rebound and hammered home the put back.
97 to 95.
The building erupted. Howard roared. That was his favorite kind of offense, violent, simple, and pure.
Phoenix came right back.
Nash crossed half court and gave the ball to Chen Yan. No fancy action. No overthinking. Just star isolation. In moments like this, the cleanest answer was usually the best answer.
Fans screamed for a stop as Chen Yan pounded the ball with a controlled crossover. Courtney Lee did not dare lunge. If he missed, he would be finished.
After a few rhythmic dribbles, Chen Yan unleashed [The Answer Crossover].
Courtney Lee instinctively gave ground.
Then Chen Yan tapped his foot and rocked backward again.
Another step back.
Van Gundy visibly tensed on the sideline. He knew what was coming before the crowd did.
Chen Yan was already in the air.
Swish.
He lifted the ball and it dropped clean through.
Three point shot.
100 to 95.
Courtney Lee's eyes lost all life for a moment.
The Magic bench went silent.
They were fighting for 2 points at a time, and Chen Yan kept answering with back breaking threes. There was nothing more demoralizing than that.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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