Chapter 731: Fans Are Dissatisfied
Battier's judgment was precise.
He ran to the ball's 1st landing spot and secured the basketball.
Klay Thompson pressed him tightly.
His goal was not to steal the ball, but to delay Battier's pass.
Battier played it safe and did not rush.
After securing the ball, he handed it off to Chen Yan.
The Knicks once again entered a half court offense.
Both run and gun teams clearly understood each other's intentions.
By limiting the opponent's speed, it was like cutting off 1 of their arms.
Brandon Rush began to press tightly.
He had been in the league for 4 or 5 years, and his mental resilience was much stronger than Klay Thompson's.
He would not collapse just because Chen Yan continuously scored on him 1 on 1.
Chen Yan calmly used consecutive crossovers to evade his aggressive defense.
Brandon Rush frantically tried to stay in front of him.
After several consecutive crossovers, Chen Yan suddenly drove to his right.
Bang!
Brandon Rush ran straight into DeAndre Jordan and nearly fell down.
This was the downside of putting all defensive attention on the offensive player.
Chen Yan was now facing Biedrins.
With a simple fake, Chen Yan bent down and dribbled past Biedrins close to the floor.
Chen Yan's movements were as clean and concise as possible.
If he made his dribbling too complicated, Brandon Rush would have time to catch up from behind, and the other Warriors players would also have time to provide help defense.
Biedrins knew the defensive line had been broken, and there were no teammates ahead.
In his urgency, he reached out and pulled Chen Yan.
This action was actually very dangerous.
Pulling a wrist at high speed could easily cause a dislocation.
Chen Yan reacted quickly.
To avoid injury, he immediately slowed down and did not jump.
He simply turned his body, flicked his wrist, and gently tossed the ball toward the rim.
The ball spun around the rim before dropping through the hoop.
A 3 point play.
Cheers erupted throughout the arena.
Biedrins looked distraught and immediately regretted his action.
Mark Jackson paced back and forth on the sideline.
It was already a foregone conclusion that Chen Yan would score a huge number tonight.
If the Warriors won, it would be fine.
Chen Yan would simply be seen as putting up empty scoring in a loss.
But if the Warriors lost, Mark Jackson would likely become the target of fans mockery.
In the past, when Mark Jackson was a commentator, watching Chen Yan score was a pleasure.
Now, as the opposing head coach, every point Chen Yan scored added to his inner torment.
Chen Yan stood at the free throw line, and the MVP chants once again filled the arena.
Even after hearing such shouts from fans countless times, Chen Yan still felt a little excited.
No 1 could remain absolutely calm amid the cheers of tens of thousands of people.
Chen Yan was human, not a machine.
Emotional fluctuations were normal.
Many of his high scoring games were also caused by emotional fluctuations.
Excitement ignited his passion, and that passion fueled Chen Yan's repeated scoring.
Swish.
The extra free throw was good.
His 56th point of the game.
Monta Ellis had also scored more than 20 points so far and was playing well.
But it depended on who he was being compared to.
Against Chen Yan, he was completely outmatched.
On this possession, Monta Ellis tried to score by himself, taking a contested 3 pointer.
Missed.
Monta Ellis 3 point percentage was not high, just over 32 percent.
Of course, this was also related to his shooting style.
Most of his 3 pointers came off the dribble.
If he could play more pick and roll with teammates and take open 3 pointers, his percentage should be able to reach the level of an average shooter.
Knicks offense.
Chen Yan came off a screen to receive the ball.
Mark Jackson, standing on the sideline, was confused and directly ordered a double team.
Chen Yan deliberately retreated very deep, near the logo.
He did not ask for the ball.
Instead, he pointed forward.
Barea understood and lobbed the ball to DeAndre Jordan.
The Warriors perimeter defenders collapsed inward.
From the moment they chose to double team Chen Yan off the ball, their formation was already in disarray.
Now, it was only chaos piled on top of chaos.
DeAndre Jordan passed the ball out to the perimeter.
Battier took a completely open 3 pointer from the corner.
Swish.
It went in.
This was his 1st 3 pointer of the night.
Although the Knicks players were not in their best form tonight, with that much space, they could still make shots.
After all, they were professional players.
Mark Jackson fell into deep thought.
How should they defend this?
While Mark Jackson was still thinking, the Warriors made a mistake in their coordination.
Barea successfully stole the ball, and Chen Yan flashed into the frontcourt.
Boom!
Another fast break.
2 more points.
"The lead has already widened," Kenny Smith said. "The Knicks have gone on a scoring run, and the Warriors offense has gone cold. This is what offensive teams fear most, because teams like this are usually strong on offense and weak on defense. If the offense is not scoring, then defense is out of the question."
"For the fans, they might hope the Warriors close the gap a little," Barkley chuckled. "That way, Chen Yan can stay on the court longer."
Warriors offense.
Continuous perimeter passing produced no opportunities.
The Knicks spread their defense wide, refusing to give them 3 point chances.
With 9 seconds left on the shot clock, the ball returned to Monta Ellis.
Monta Ellis drove to the basket with his head down.
He jump stepped into the paint and made a big scoop layup.
The move was flashy, but it did not evade DeAndre Jordan.
DeAndre Jordan's vertical leap was too insane.
He swatted the ball away with 1 hand.
Mark Jackson did not blame Monta Ellis from the sideline.
If he had not forced a shot there, the 24 second shot clock would have expired.
Knicks offense.
Chen Yan called for a screen.
The Warriors immediately switched.
David Lee blocked Chen Yan's path, Brandon Rush was chasing from behind, and Klay Thompson on the side was also moving toward Chen Yan.
Before the double team could fully form, Chen Yan passed the ball to Battier in the corner.
The same spot.
The same opportunity.
However, this time, Battier chose not to shoot.
Biedrins came out to contest, and Battier very cleverly bounced the ball inside.
DeAndre Jordan leaped up unopposed and slammed it down with both hands.
That dunk immediately forced a Warriors timeout.
After the timeout, the Warriors adjusted slightly.
Monta Ellis scored a layup off a backdoor cut.
Over the next few possessions, the Warriors continued to double team Chen Yan.
They achieved some success in limiting his scoring, but they could not stop New York's overall scoring momentum.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Knicks led 98 to 76, a 22 point advantage.
In the final quarter, Nelson took Chen Yan out of the game.
With such a large lead, there was no need to risk keeping the team's core player on the court.
However, Chinese fans did not turn off their televisions, because another Chinese player, Yi Jianlian, received more playing time.
After coming on, Yi Jianlian still could not find his rhythm, missing consecutive jump shots.
He had only scored 4 points tonight.
The more he tried to get back at his old team, the worse he played.
The Knicks consecutive misses on offense also gave the Warriors opportunities to fast break.
Monta Ellis and Klay Thompson scored consecutively.
The lead was shrinking, but it was still within a safe range.
1 minute later, Chen Yan requested to return to the game.
The purpose was to maintain the lead and also to help Yi Jianlian with a few good passes.
Chen Yan could see that Yi Jianlian was struggling.
In this situation, Yi Jianlian needed a good passer to set him up for some easy scores.
"Be ready for pick and roll dives and backdoor cuts."
Chen Yan patted Yi Jianlian on the back as he spoke.
Chen Yan knew Yi Jianlian's touch was terrible today, so he did not ask him to run for open jumpers.
Instead, he told him to try getting to the basket.
Yi Jianlian nodded.
Seeing Chen Yan enter the game, he felt more confident.
On Chen Yan's 1st possession back on the court, Yi Jianlian got an opportunity.
After a pick and roll, he received Chen Yan's pass, jump stepped into the paint, drew a foul from the opponent, and made 1 of 2 free throws.
Over the next 2 possessions, Mark Jackson relaxed his defense on Chen Yan again.
Chen Yan taught the Warriors a lesson with 2 consecutive 3 pointers.
With 5 minutes and 49 seconds left in the final quarter, the Knicks got a fast break opportunity.
Yi Jianlian was leading the charge, and Chen Yan delivered a brilliant bounce pass.
The lead pass was timed perfectly.
Yi Jianlian received it comfortably, took 1 step, and threw down a 1 handed dunk.
After landing, Yi Jianlian roared toward the sky.
This dunk was a moment of vindication for him.
Over the next 2 minutes, Chen Yan mainly set up his teammates and drew the Warriors defense.
The lead quickly returned to 22 points.
The Warriors pulled their starters, signaling surrender.
Chen Yan also exited the game with 68 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.
The stats were impressive, but many fans were not satisfied.
Chen Yan had scored nearly 60 points in 3 quarters, but his final total was only 68.
Fans felt Chen Yan could have done better.
Even if he could not break the 101 point record, getting at least 80 points should have been no problem, right?
Chen Yan had indeed held back in the 2nd half.
Scoring was no longer his primary goal.
In his eyes, the Warriors were a weak team.
Against such teams, he should have clocked out after 3 quarters.
In the final few minutes, the Knicks bench players played freely, running a fast paced offense.
The fans in attendance were thoroughly entertained.
It was rare to see such passionate play during garbage time.
The game ended with the Knicks defeating the Warriors 141 to 112, a 29 point victory.
After the game, the Knicks players high fived in celebration.
Chen Yan's face showed little emotion.
Winning this game was expected.