Chapter 688: I Gave You a Chance, But You Failed!
There were exactly 57 seconds left in the game.
Chen Yan received Curry's hand off pass.
After getting the ball, Chen Yan dribbled with his left hand toward the wing.
Boston did not double team him.
Curry, Battier, and Al Harrington were all in good form tonight. Each of them had already made a 3 pointer. If any of them got an open 3 point opportunity at this moment, the result could easily be fatal.
Kenyon Martin tried to set a screen, but Chen Yan waved him off.
Chen Yan wanted to go 1 on 1 against Weaver.
Although Boston did not send the double team, its players were still ready to help at any moment.
No one believed Weaver could stop Chen Yan.
Even Weaver himself thought the same.
Chen Yan backed him down.
Weaver did not dare use too much force, afraid that once his center of gravity shifted upward, Chen Yan would blow past him completely.
1 step inside the elbow, near the free throw line, Durant quickly came over to double team.
If Chen Yan drove 2 more steps inside, he would probably be able to go straight for a layup.
Chen Yan responded perfectly.
The moment Durant moved, Chen Yan sensed his intention and decisively turned in the opposite direction.
This was not just a simple turn.
While turning, Chen Yan also pressed forward 1 small step, showing extreme aggression.
Weaver jumped in place, and Chen Yan shot over him.
The basketball arced through the air.
Fans watching in front of their televisions were already preparing to celebrate, but their raised hands immediately dropped.
Something was wrong with this shot.
The basketball dropped rapidly while still some distance from the rim.
Air ball.
Chen Yan excitedly slapped his right wrist, signaling to the referee that he had been fouled.
Weaver looked at the referee with a guilty expression.
Because he had indeed fouled him, and the contact was solid. Even the 1st row spectators probably heard the sound.
However, to everyone's surprise, the referee ignored it.
After the basketball went out of bounds, he awarded possession to Boston.
The fans in TD Garden cheered at the sight.
They did not care whether it was a missed call.
They only knew that Chen Yan had failed on this possession, and New York's offensive plan had fallen through.
Nelson found the referee on the sideline and unleashed a storm of shouting.
The referee did not give him a technical foul.
Instead, he stretched out both hands to signal Nelson to calm down, offered a few explanations, then returned to officiating on the court.
Boston offense.
Rose had the ball.
At this point, Boston already had the lead, so he naturally slowed the pace and ran down the clock.
Durant came up to post, but the angle was not good, so Rose did not pass.
With 8 seconds left on the shot clock, Durant came up again.
This time, not to demand the ball, but to actively screen for Rose.
Even in the final moments of the game, Rose was still full of energy, and his legs were still very strong.
After the pick and roll, Rose did not immediately accelerate.
He first dribbled 1 step to the right, pretending to pass back to Durant. Then he pushed off with his right foot and burst past Battier's left side like lightning.
Curry had gotten around the screen at this moment, and as Rose accelerated, Curry slapped at the basketball in his hand.
However, Rose was too quick.
Curry did not hit the ball as expected. Instead, he hit Rose's wrist.
That slap directly caused Rose to lose control of the ball.
After Battier followed 1 step, Rose himself flung the ball out of bounds.
"Foul!" Rose appealed to the referee.
The referee paused for a moment, then immediately ruled it New York ball.
After the referee's decision, Kenny Smith immediately spoke.
"2 clear fouls were not called. The referee's intention is very clear. Let the players decide the game themselves."
Barkley nodded and added, "That is very common in the NBA. Referees do not want to decide the outcome at the very end, so they will not easily call certain fouls. Who wins and who loses comes down to execution. Can you put the ball in the basket? Let us see how New York handles this next possession."
Last 29 seconds.
Nelson called New York's final timeout of the game.
Nelson did not draw up an overly complicated tactic.
He emphasized only 2 things.
1st, inbound the ball safely.
2nd, no matter who got an opportunity to shoot, be decisive.
In the final moments of the game, the opponent would surely defend the inbound pass tightly, and many teams had stumbled at this exact point.
If the inbound pass was mishandled, every tactic would become meaningless.
As for not specifically arranging for Chen Yan to take the last shot, Nelson also understood the situation clearly.
At this point, Boston would do everything possible to double team Chen Yan, even preventing him from receiving the ball comfortably.
In such a situation, other players were very likely to get a shooting opportunity.
If they did not dare shoot, that would be disastrous.
The game resumed.
Battier inbounded from the frontcourt sideline.
The Knicks players began running their positions.
Al Harrington received the ball in the corner.
Having a taller player receive the ball at this moment was a wise choice.
After Harrington caught the ball and faked a shot, he dribbled 1 step with his left hand.
Nelson's words had encouraged Harrington. At such a critical moment, he dared to make moves boldly.
Chen Yan ran toward the top of the arc, drawing away the defense.
At this moment, all the Celtics players thought Chen Yan would catch the ball at the top of the arc and run down the clock.
But they did not expect Chen Yan to be so unconventional.
Screech.
Chen Yan suddenly slammed on the brakes and abruptly ran back into the paint.
Weaver was out of position, but Stoudemire came over to help.
Stoudemire thought he knew Chen Yan very well.
He absolutely would not let Chen Yan get a comfortable shot.
He had even thought that if he was a little rough and gave Chen Yan some contact in the air, the referee most likely would not call a foul.
But Chen Yan did not give him any chance.
The moment Chen Yan received the ball, he executed a silky smooth spin.
By the time Stoudemire reacted, Chen Yan had already appeared in front of him and slightly to the side.
Chen Yan jumped into the air and easily laid the ball in off the backboard.
126 to 125.
In the final moments, the Knicks took the lead again.
"What a shot! How did Chen get that in?" Barkley exclaimed.
"Incredible," Kenny Smith said. "Chen has once again shown epic off ball movement. To have such clear thinking in the final moments of such a crucial game, only Chen can do that."
"Now there is good news and bad news for Boston," Barkley said. "The bad news is they are trailing. The good news is there are still 22.5 seconds left."
"That is enough time for Boston to organize a full possession," Kenny said. "Whether it is a 2 point shot or a 3 pointer, they can still kill the game."
"Who takes the last shot?" Barkley asked.
"If I were the coach, I would give it to Durant," Kenny Smith said. "He already has 36 points tonight, and he is in good form."
"No doubt," Barkley said. "He is Boston's best choice for the last shot. If he misses this one, he will once again fall to Chen's gun."
Barkley understood how to create good television.
He knew what the fans liked to hear.
Amid the exchange between the 2 commentators, the timeout ended.
Both teams returned to the court.
The Knicks players did not know what Boston's offensive strategy would be this time, but New York made a small adjustment to its defensive plan.
Chen Yan would guard Durant.
This was Chen Yan's own request, and Nelson and Battier both indulged him.
Everyone on this team trusted Chen Yan unconditionally.
Boston had no trouble inbounding from the frontcourt.
Rose received the ball, and Durant came up for a hand off.
At the top of the arc, Durant and Chen Yan faced each other in a 1 on 1 situation.
Durant was not in a hurry to attack.
Chen Yan knew that he would definitely run the clock down to the very end.
Tension showed on Durant's face.
Durant was different from Chen Yan.
He could not be considered a true clutch player.
Since entering the league, he had only 1 game winning shot experience so far.
"Have you figured out how to miss this shot yet?" Chen Yan asked. "A 3 pointer from the top of the arc? A 3 pointer from the wing? Or from the free throw line?"
Chen Yan launched a mental attack on Durant.
Durant did not respond.
He tried his best to stay focused, but his spirit was still disturbed by Chen Yan's words.
"Come on. All the fans are watching you. Your mother is courtside too. If you miss, they will all cry with you."
Chen Yan continued attacking his mind.
This was also part of the game.
With 7 seconds left, Durant made his move.
First, a small cross dribble.
Then a sudden change of direction.
One had to admit that among perimeter players, Durant's static talent was in a league of its own.
This wide change of direction directly created a body length of separation from Chen Yan.
Sometimes, dynamic talent could compensate for a lack of static talent.
Sometimes, it could not.
Like now.
After shaking off Chen Yan, Durant dribbled 1 step to the right elbow area, then pulled up for a mid range jumper.
Chen Yan lunged over, but from Durant's perspective, Chen Yan's interference was limited.
Durant released the ball.
The entire crowd stood up, cheering in anticipation.
The basketball's trajectory was good.
The arc was high.
Clang!
The shot was a little soft, hitting the front rim and bouncing out.
Kenyon Martin tipped the ball, sending it into Curry's hands.
Curry gave Boston no chance at all, directly tossing the ball high into the air.
While the ball was still descending, the game clock had already expired.
The entire TD Garden fell silent, like a library.
The game had ended just like that.
Durant, just like the fans, stood frozen in place.
On that final shot, he could say he had created an opportunity.
In practice, Durant would usually make 90 out of 100 shots like that.
One could only say that Chen Yan's mental attack still caused a ripple in his spirit.
To put it bluntly, Chen Yan had given him a chance.
But Durant had failed.
.....
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