Chapter 790: Winning Game 3
The pressure from the home crowd produced an immediate effect.
On New York's next possession, the referee whistled DeAndre Jordan for a moving screen.
Brooklyn ball.
DeAndre immediately threw both hands into the air in protest.
Chen Yan grabbed him and pulled him away before he could say anything more.
"Calm down, DeAndre."
Chen Yan understood what was happening.
The previous call had gone against Brooklyn, and now the officials were balancing things out.
That was part of basketball, especially on the road. Expecting every whistle to be perfectly even in a hostile arena was unrealistic.
Brooklyn resumed its offense.
Anthony created space and rose for a jumper.
Clang!
Miss.
The officials could give Brooklyn another possession.
They could not put the ball through the hoop for them.
New York came back the other way.
Curry crossed half court, and Chen Yan immediately stepped up to screen for him.
Curry loved when Chen Yan set screens.
Chen Yan attracted defenders like a magnet.
The instant he became involved in the action, Brooklyn's defensive attention shifted toward him.
Deron naturally moved up to help against Chen Yan.
Curry was left open.
Anthony showed little interest in rotating over.
Defense had never been the area where Anthony spent most of his energy.
A more generous description would be that he preferred saving his legs for offense.
Curry did not hesitate.
3 pointer.
Swish!
82 to 66.
The mood inside the arena began to change.
Brooklyn's fans were becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
The deficit kept growing.
The Nets players felt the pressure as well.
Deron used a screen on the next possession and immediately pulled up from beyond the arc.
It was not an easy attempt.
His body was drifting backward as he released the ball.
Clang!
The shot struck the rim hard and bounced away.
Underneath, DeAndre and Yao Ming fought violently for position.
Neither secured it.
Chen Yan came charging in from the side and snatched the rebound.
His 9th rebound of the game.
Without even thinking about it, another triple double was already within reach.
But Chen Yan never rebounded for statistics.
The instant his feet touched the floor, he pushed the ball forward.
Fast.
He attacked all the way to the restricted area.
Brooklyn's defense collapsed.
Chen Yan reached the paint and suddenly flipped the ball backward over his head.
Battier was trailing the play.
Catch.
3 pointer.
Swish!
85 to 66.
The lead was approaching 20.
Brooklyn's morale visibly sank.
By the end of the 3rd quarter, New York had blown the game open.
92 to 70.
A 22 point advantage.
Some fans inside the arena were already considering heading for the exits.
Nothing they were watching gave them much reason to believe in a comeback.
"This game is close to being decided," Jeff Van Gundy said. "I have not seen this Knicks team give away a 20 point lead all season. They are too good at controlling games once they get ahead."
Magic Johnson laughed.
"Jeff, that is a little too absolute. Anything can happen in basketball. This is a sport where miracles happen."
Van Gundy turned toward him.
"So you think Brooklyn can come back?"
Magic smiled.
"If New York keeps playing clean basketball and avoids mistakes, it is going to be extremely difficult."
They had taken different routes to the same conclusion.
Brooklyn was in serious trouble.
The 4th quarter began.
Nelson showed no intention of resting his starters.
He had a lead of more than 20 points, and he wanted to turn that advantage into a victory before Brooklyn had any opportunity to recover.
The Nets did the same.
All of their starters remained on the floor.
Deron and Anthony had played almost the entire night, resting for only about 2 minutes during the 2nd quarter.
Their workload was much heavier than that of New York's stars.
Neither wanted to surrender.
Losing was difficult enough.
Losing in front of the home crowd was worse.
Anthony decided to gamble everything.
On Brooklyn's 1st offensive possession of the quarter, he established position against Battier.
He backed him down aggressively.
Turn.
Contact.
Finish.
Whistle!
And 1.
Anthony had chosen one of the most physically demanding ways possible to score.
It reflected how badly he wanted this game.
His determination quickly spread to the rest of the Nets.
Brooklyn's effort level rose immediately.
On the next possession, Deron penetrated and found Yao Ming inside.
Yao caught the pass and finished with a powerful 1 handed dunk.
92 to 75.
Suddenly, the deficit had fallen below 20.
For the 1st time in several minutes, Brooklyn appeared to be building momentum.
Then Chen Yan stepped forward.
No elaborate move.
No spectacular dunk.
Just a simple pullup jumper.
Smooth.
Precise.
Heartbreaking.
Brooklyn's momentum was interrupted before it could fully form.
The home crowd sank back into frustration.
Chen Yan felt impossible to stop.
Brooklyn returned to Anthony.
He caught the ball and went back into isolation.
A few probing steps.
Hard dribble.
Spin.
Battier was shaken loose.
Anthony rose from the mid range.
Swish!
92 to 77.
Anthony's confidence had never wavered tonight.
He was shooting decisively every time he created space.
New York came back on offense.
This time, Chen Yan handled the ball like a point guard.
The instant he crossed half court, Brooklyn sent 2 defenders toward him.
That alone showed how much the Nets feared him.
Chen Yan calmly passed out of the pressure.
Few players in NBA history handled double teams as comfortably as he did.
He could pass through them.
He could dribble through them.
And if necessary, he could simply shoot over them.
Curry received the ball and immediately moved it to David West.
West glanced toward Chen Yan.
Shot fake.
Then he turned quickly and drove toward the basket.
Brooklyn's interior defender reacted to the fake and momentarily lost position.
But Yao Ming rotated desperately toward West.
West banked the ball off the glass.
Miss.
With a 226 centimeter giant charging toward him, even an experienced player like David West could not remain completely unaffected.
The ball bounced away from the backboard.
Yao turned and prepared to secure the rebound.
Then he felt something crash into the space behind him.
Boom!
Chen Yan exploded upward.
Putback dunk!
94 to 77.
Yao remained calm.
After so many years in the NBA, he had experienced practically everything.
Smaller players had dunked around him before.
Kobe had challenged him at the rim.
Being caught beneath Chen Yan's putback was hardly enough to embarrass him.
Brooklyn went back on offense.
Yao moved toward the high post.
Catch.
Turn.
Calm 2 point jumper.
Good.
94 to 79.
The Nets were fighting desperately to reduce the deficit.
The problem was that New York kept scoring too.
No matter how hard Brooklyn worked, the gap refused to disappear.
The next Knicks possession produced another moment of frustration for the home crowd.
Chen Yan crossed half court and immediately passed to Curry.
Curry moved it to Battier.
Battier swung it to David West.
New York's ball movement was quick and precise.
West immediately returned the ball to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan caught it and raised the ball.
Shot.
Gerald Wallace stayed disciplined.
He did not bite.
Deron did.
Deron came flying in from the side.
A faint smile crossed Chen Yan's face.
He lowered the ball and stepped directly into Deron's path.
Deron was already airborne.
There was nowhere for him to go.
Contact.
Whistle!
3 point shooting foul.
The referee made the call immediately.
Brooklyn's players protested.
The home crowd erupted.
"Fraud!"
"Fraud!"
Boos rained down from every section of the arena.
Barkley laughed as the replay appeared.
"Chen Yan is ridiculous at this. You cannot come flying at him from the side like that. He knows exactly what you are giving him."
Kenny Smith nodded.
"The reason he draws these fouls so often is because defenders have to respect the shot. His 3 point percentage forces hard closeouts, and once you leave your feet, Chen is going to use that against you."
Chen walked calmly to the free throw line.
1st shot.
Swish.
2nd.
Swish.
3rd.
Swish.
All 3.
Brooklyn's momentum disappeared again.
The Nets then failed to score on their next 3 possessions.
That was the cruelest part of the game.
Brooklyn would finally make a basket.
Then Chen Yan would immediately answer.
Every attempt at a comeback was crushed before it could gather strength.
How were they supposed to close the gap like that?
When the game entered its final 4 minutes, Avery Johnson finally accepted reality.
Timeout.
Anthony and Deron walked toward the bench looking exhausted.
There was no realistic path back into the game.
Keeping them on the floor served no purpose anymore.
Brooklyn pulled its starters.
Game 3 belonged to New York.
....
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