Chapter 563: An Exciting Sequence, A Tight Scoreline
Amway Arena fell silent once again.
Chen Yan's performance was making the Magic fans feel as if a sweep was only a matter of time.
It was not that the crowd had given up on Orlando. The problem was that the Magic had shown very little resilience throughout the Finals. When they were ahead, they looked unstable. When they fell behind, they had a habit of unraveling completely.
The Magic came down the floor and Alston brought the ball across half court before feeding Turkoglu in the corner.
This time, Turkoglu did not lift to the top of the arc to organize as he usually did.
Instead, the moment he caught it, he fired the ball inside.
Howard took the pass with his back to the basket. Little Jordan leaned into him with an elbow, giving him resistance without fouling.
Hack a Howard was effective, but it was not something you could spam mindlessly. It had to be used in bursts. Otherwise, the Suns would pile up fouls on their own side, and sending Howard to the line over and over would keep interrupting Phoenix's offensive rhythm.
That was a real problem for a team like the Suns, whose transition game depended heavily on tempo.
Howard still did not turn to face up. He palmed the ball in his right hand while Turkoglu moved up from the corner. The two faked a handoff, using Turkoglu's motion to create space for Howard.
Even then, Howard did not force the issue himself.
Courtney Lee cut down from the forty five degree angle. Before the cut, Lewis set an off ball screen that caught Chen Yan on the perimeter and left him trailing the play.
Lee received the ball, turned toward the paint, and drew Little Jordan away from Howard.
After the bump, Lee lost his footing and tumbled to the floor.
Fortunately for Orlando, Lee reacted quickly. Little Jordan, as a big man, took too long to bend down and the ball stayed alive.
Sitting on the hardwood, Lee shoveled the ball back out.
Because the pass came from the floor, it arrived almost like a bowling ball. Howard caught it awkwardly and had to stumble back 2 steps before he secured it.
Alston rushed forward to receive the outlet, then swung it immediately to Lewis.
Rashard Lewis rose from deep and let a 3 go.
Swish.
47 to 43.
Phoenix attacked right away.
Even after Orlando scored, the Suns did not slow down. Nash sent the ball to Chen Yan before he even crossed half court.
Nash had seen Howard loafing just a little on the last possession, slow getting himself set.
Chen Yan saw it too. Their court vision was elite, and both understood the opportunity instantly.
Chen Yan exploded past Courtney Lee with a first step, beat Lewis with a behind the back dribble, then slipped through with a Euro step and finished softly with a fingertip floater.
49 to 43.
He was making it look effortless.
That was what made him so terrifying. Orlando had to grind for every basket. Chen Yan could answer in a blink, and that kind of contrast put pressure on the opponent without a single word being said.
The Magic came back down and ran a high pick and roll. Alston found daylight at the top of the arc and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
That decisiveness was very different from the version of Alston people remembered in Houston. Orlando's system encouraged those shots. If you were open, you let it fly.
In some ways, the Magic and the Suns were similar. Both loved the 3 ball and both had quality shooters.
But there was also a major difference. Orlando lacked a true elite organizer, and even more than that, they lacked a primary perimeter star who could create offense at the highest level.
That was why their offense could look smooth one moment and jam up the next.
Alston was not a consistently great shooter, but this time he delivered.
Swish.
49 to 46.
Phoenix answered by flowing into their half court action. Chen Yan held the ball in one hand on the perimeter and Stoudemire did not even wait for the signal before running up to screen.
Their chemistry was already there.
Chen Yan used the pick and, instead of driving, slid backward into space.
That movement immediately made Orlando's defense tense. You could not give Chen Yan room beyond the arc.
Two defenders rushed at him.
Chen Yan did not panic. He whipped a high pass forward with real pace.
The lead was generous, but Stoudemire exploded down the lane right after setting the screen and caught it cleanly in stride.
After the catch, he drove into the paint. Howard leaped to challenge, and Stoudemire tried to finish like a guard with a scoop to avoid the block.
He slipped around Howard's hand, but he ran into Turkoglu rotating over from the side.
Off balance in midair, Stoudemire tossed the ball up.
Clang.
It kissed the glass and bounced away.
The idea had been right. If he had gone straight into Howard, there was a real chance of getting stuffed. The finish was difficult, but the read was sound.
Howard grabbed the rebound and sent it to Alston, who immediately pushed the pace.
Orlando wanted to hit Phoenix before the defense could set.
Alston crossed the 3 point line and kicked it to Lewis on the wing. Lewis took the catch and drove hard into the lane.
Stoudemire was still behind the play after the miss, so Barnes had to pick Lewis up.
Barnes stayed in front, but he did not have the strength to stop the drive.
Then Chen Yan came streaking in from the side.
Seeing Lewis committed and unable to stop, Chen Yan planted himself just outside the restricted area with both hands protecting his midsection, bracing for impact.
Lewis put the layup up and missed it, but the whistle had already blown.
Charge.
This time the officials gave Phoenix the call. Stoudemire had felt he was fouled on the previous possession and the Suns were already simmering. If the whistle stayed silent here too, the temperature of the game might have jumped fast.
Chen Yan lay on the floor, clenched his fist, and roared.
The cameras caught the whole thing.
His teammates rushed over to help him up. Nash patted him on the back of the head with a grin.
"Nice job."
Chen Yan smirked. "Learned it from you."
That was not a joke. Nash had long been a master at drawing charges, and even if Chen Yan had never deliberately studied it, some things rubbed off naturally when you played beside a veteran like that.
After that, both teams went cold.
Over the next 4 possessions on each side, nobody could score. As the second quarter wound down, the shooting percentage on both sides dropped, but the score stayed tight.
By halftime, Phoenix still led, 57 to 55. The Suns had the edge, but only barely.
.....
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