Chapter 557: What Does a 3 to 0 Lead Mean?
Van Gundy called a timeout. Even though the deficit was only 5 points, the Magic were already showing signs of cracking.
He quickly drew up the next offensive and defensive sequences on the whiteboard.
"Attack the paint more. We need efficient possessions. They are not going to make every shot."
Then he turned to Turkoglu.
"Hedo, you organize from the top of the arc. Settle the pace. Dwight, if you cannot get deep position, pull to the high post, set the screen, then dive hard. Use cuts to attack their interior. Everyone else stays spaced on the perimeter. If you get a good open look, take it. No matter when the shot comes, be decisive. Believe in yourselves. Do not overthink it. This is just one game out of countless games in your lives."
After drawing up the offensive plan, Van Gundy immediately moved to defense.
"Michael, you are in. You take Chen Yan. Stay attached to him, even if he is moving off the ball in the backcourt. If he catches it on the perimeter, trap him immediately. Do not let him rise comfortably."
Courtney Lee was subbed out. Van Gundy was highly dissatisfied with his defense on the last two possessions. Lee had also logged enough minutes, and Van Gundy believed the fresher Pietrus would give them more energy on that end.
The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the floor.
Neither side took out its stars. The game had reached its fiercest stage. This was the final clash.
Play resumed, and Alston brought the ball across half court.
He shielded it carefully with his body and deliberately slowed down. At this point, stability mattered more than anything else. A single turnover would not just cost 2 or 3 points. It would also crush morale.
Turkoglu moved to the middle of the arc to receive the pass.
Howard immediately came up to screen. Grant Hill was a step late getting around it, but Turkoglu still could not turn the corner.
Turkoglu's biggest weakness had always been his athleticism. His absolute speed was probably not even better than an aging Grant Hill. Otherwise, with his size, shooting, playmaking, and big game nerve, he would already have been on a max contract years ago.
Unable to shake Hill, Turkoglu swung the ball back to Alston on the other side.
Alston lofted it to Lewis outside the paint. Lewis caught, turned, and fired immediately.
Clang.
The shot came up short.
Then Howard exploded in for the rebound and tipped it back out.
Another offensive board.
Alston caught it, rose in rhythm, and floated it home without hesitation.
Swish.
100 to 97.
The crowd rose again. Those 2 points meant everything for Orlando.
The Suns pushed the ball up on the next possession, but Pietrus hounded Chen Yan relentlessly off the ball. He had only played 14 minutes so far and still had plenty left in the tank. One of the main reasons Van Gundy inserted him was to wear Chen Yan down with constant body pressure.
Chen Yan used Diaw's screen to spring free, but the Magic switched immediately and Lewis picked him up.
The instant Chen Yan touched the ball, Pietrus raced over to trap.
Chen Yan reacted instantly and kicked it to Stoudemire.
Stoudemire spotted Diaw open and zipped a bounce pass to him.
By this point, the game had reached a boiling point, and Stoudemire had finally settled down. He was no longer forcing things recklessly.
Diaw gathered and flipped in a soft hook.
102 to 97.
Chen Yan slapped Diaw's hand hard on the way back.
At this stage of the game, he needed his teammates to share the load. If he were the only one scoring, the Magic would have no reason not to send traps at him every possession.
Orlando came back down, and Alston controlled the pace from the backcourt while the Magic began cutting and flowing through their sets.
Their offense had looked especially labored late because they did not have a true closer. Howard was an All Star starting center, but in crunch time his limitations were obvious. As an interior player, he could not reliably create for himself, and his fundamentals were not polished enough for the offense to simply run through him.
Eventually the ball found its way back to Alston.
After using a screen, he swung it to Turkoglu and finally created a mismatch.
Turkoglu did not hesitate. He rose over Nash and knocked down the mid range jumper.
102 to 99.
Turkoglu always wanted to prove himself. He wanted to prove he deserved a huge contract. He wanted to prove he had the ability to control a game.
Phoenix came back on offense, and Chen Yan used his gravity on this possession to create for others.
Nash drove and kicked to Grant Hill, who caught, blew by his man, and attacked the baseline.
He floated in a classic runner.
Then the whistle blew.
The basket came off.
The referee ruled that Hill had stepped out of bounds along the baseline.
The slow motion replay confirmed it. Hill's heel had clipped the sideline on the drive. As harsh as the officiating had been on Phoenix all night, this one was the right call.
Orlando came back looking to tie with a 3.
Lewis used a screen to free himself outside. Alston found him, and Lewis rose immediately from deep.
He wanted that shot badly. Like Turkoglu, he had always wanted to prove his contract was justified.
But unlike the previous possession, it did not fall.
Howard crashed again, but this time Stoudemire sealed him off hard, and Chen Yan dropped back to secure the rebound.
He immediately pushed it ahead to Nash. With Orlando not fully set, Nash advanced in a hurry and flipped a behind the back bounce pass to Chen Yan trailing behind him.
Everyone in the building knew Chen Yan's range. The moment he raised the ball, Alston and Pietrus both flew at him.
Chen Yan had been ready to fire from deep, but his feel for the game was too sharp. Seeing both defenders selling out toward the shot, he instantly dropped the ball and split the gap between them.
Howard rotated over to meet him, and Chen Yan went full speed into the lane.
Just when everyone expected a collision in the air, he came to a sudden stop and lofted a soft floater.
Classic Floater.
Swish.
104 to 99.
That shot was pure touch, leaving Howard helpless.
After more than a minute of play, the gap was still 5.
Van Gundy burned another timeout.
This time, he made a substitution and took Lewis out for Gortat.
Lewis did not complain. In crunch time, it came down to who could take advantage of opportunities, and he had just missed two in a row.
Van Gundy's thinking was obvious. He wanted more size on the floor and more control on the glass. The last two Magic scores had both come off offensive rebounds.
As for Phoenix's transition attack, Van Gundy convinced himself the Suns had to be wearing down by now.
Chen Yan shattered that illusion on the very next trip.
Turkoglu drove into the paint and missed a layup.
This time the Magic's twin towers did not get to the rebound.
Diaw snatched it cleanly and immediately launched a long outlet to Chen Yan.
The weakness of Orlando's twin tower lineup showed up at once.
They could not get back fast enough.
Including Turkoglu, who had driven all the way into the lane, only 2 Magic players made it back beyond half court in time.
Chen Yan attacked in a 2 on 1 break, hit two changes of direction on the move, and left Pietrus spinning in place.
Then he took off a step outside the free throw line.
He launched himself before deciding exactly how he would finish.
Alston met him in the air, but Chen Yan absorbed the contact and still reversed it in off the glass.
106 to 99.
It easily could have been a foul, but there was no whistle.
That gave Orlando one last flicker of hope.
"Look at that," the broadcast shouted. "A full court finish, and he is still running like this at this point in the game."
Orlando went back to Howard in the post on the next possession. He spun, drew contact, and Stoudemire deliberately fouled him before he could finish cleanly. Howard had too deep a seal. Sending him to the line was the better outcome.
It worked.
Howard made 1 of 2.
106 to 100.
Phoenix came back down.
Nash fed Stoudemire in the paint.
Stoudemire pump faked several times and tried to bully his way inside, but after Gortat entered, the lane was packed.
He forced a step, then kicked it out to Grant Hill.
Hill caught calmly, gave a convincing fake, drove to pull the defense tighter, and then found Chen Yan on the perimeter.
For a brief instant, Chen Yan had daylight from about 60 degrees outside the arc.
That was all he needed.
Swish.
The 3 was quick and clean.
109 to 100.
Van Gundy erupted on the sideline. He could live with leaving Grant Hill open on the fake, but he absolutely could not live with losing Chen Yan.
That shot almost broke Orlando's spirit for good.
In the end, the scoreboard froze at 115 to 103.
With that win, the Suns took a 3 to 0 lead in the series.
On the floor and on the bench, Phoenix exploded into celebration. Players were slapping hands, bumping chests, and shouting without restraint.
3 to 0.
Everyone knew exactly what a 3 to 0 series lead meant.
.....
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