Chapter 841: Playing with Anger

Chapter 841: Chapter 841: Playing with Anger

Chapter 841: Playing with Anger

The score was 2 to 3.

San Antonio had the ball.

Unlike the previous game, the Spurs opened at a much slower pace.

Tony Parker calmly crossed half court.

Bonner came up to screen.

Parker accelerated around him and drove into the defense.

The Knicks collapsed.

The instant Parker saw the defense shift toward him, he made his decision.

Behind the back pass.

Duncan caught it about 1 step in front of the free throw line.

Mid range jumper.

Miss.

New York immediately pushed the other way.

Chen Yan advanced through the middle, scanning both sides of the floor.

He chose Curry.

Pass.

Curry caught it beyond the arc.

3 pointer.

Clang!

Miss.

As the shot bounced away, Curry reached up and adjusted his protective mask.

He still looked uncomfortable wearing it.

The rebound kicked long.

Parker sprinted after it, secured the ball, and immediately attacked in transition.

Once San Antonio reached the frontcourt, Parker and Duncan went straight into their pick and roll.

Just like the previous possession, Parker turned the corner and attacked the paint.

His speed remained terrifying.

If the help defense arrived even half a second late, Parker could be at the rim before anyone recovered.

Al Harrington collapsed.

Parker flicked the ball away without looking.

Bonner was waiting in the corner.

Wide open.

He crouched into his familiar shooting motion.

Rise.

Swish!

3 to 5.

Bonner showed little emotion.

That was exactly why Popovich had put him on the floor.

New York came back down.

San Antonio produced another excellent defensive possession.

Curry used a screen and tried to attack.

Leonard powered through it.

Reach.

Poke.

The ball came loose.

Leonard’s defense was aggressive enough that Curry was knocked to the floor in the process.

No whistle.

Curry stayed down for a moment.

Then slowly stood and adjusted the mask again.

A dull ache ran through his injured nose.

San Antonio was already gone.

Fast break.

Parker raced to the other end and finished with a flying reverse layup.

3 to 7.

The AT&T Center erupted.

Some Spurs fans even mimed crying toward Curry, mocking him as he returned upcourt.

Curry simply shook his head.

He was not the type to lose control easily.

Chen was different.

He had seen enough.

As Curry crossed half court, Chen immediately came up to screen for him.

He wanted to give Curry a clean scoring opportunity.

Something to help him rediscover his rhythm.

This time, Leonard did not fight through Chen’s screen.

Ginóbili switched.

Curry gave a quick shooting fake.

Then attacked.

Manu stayed in front.

Duncan stepped over as well.

No opening.

Curry twisted in midair and kicked the ball back outside.

Chen caught it beyond the 3 point line.

Leonard had recovered onto him.

Chen raised the ball as though he were about to shoot.

Leonard rushed forward.

Chen instantly dropped the ball and exploded past him.

Leonard’s mind reacted.

His body did not.

He lost his balance and fell.

Chen attacked with his left hand.

Acceleration.

Full speed.

He reached the edge of the restricted area.

Duncan stood in front of him.

Chen took off anyway.

Boom!

Tomahawk dunk!

5 to 7.

The broadcast booth erupted.

"What a finish! Chen went straight at Duncan and hammered it down."

"That is the kind of play that changes the energy of a team. No hesitation at all."

San Antonio refused to let the dunk disturb its composure.

The Spurs went right back to their half court offense.

Parker lobbed the ball inside to Duncan.

The moment Duncan caught it, he spun.

He wanted to surprise Kenyon Martin before the defense could settle.

Martin stayed with him.

Duncan’s spin was no longer as quick as it had been several years earlier.

He tried the layup off the glass.

Miss.

Martin had bothered the shot enough.

He turned to secure the rebound.

Too late.

Chen had already exploded into the play.

Rebound.

The moment his feet touched the floor, he turned and ran.

It looked reckless.

It was not.

Before Chen even secured the rebound, he had already scanned the floor and identified where San Antonio’s defenders were.

Now he accelerated.

Past Duncan.

Past Ginóbili.

Leonard stepped up and tried to cut off his path.

Chen kept gaining speed.

He attacked along the sideline.

Leonard stayed with him for only a moment.

Before Chen even reached the 3 point line, Leonard had fallen a step behind.

Chen continued forward.

1 step inside the free throw line.

Takeoff.

Bonner and Parker prepared to jump.

They never got the chance.

Chen was already airborne.

He glided toward the rim.

Bang!

2 handed dunk!

Popovich called timeout before Chen had even finished landing.

The 2 consecutive dunks had ripped the energy out of San Antonio.

Fans throughout the building grabbed their heads in disbelief.

Chen’s transition attack looked overwhelming.

After landing, he immediately turned toward his teammates.

Chest bump.

Then another.

The Knicks bench was alive.

Fans watching from New York erupted as well.

"1 against 5 in transition!"

"He is carrying the ball faster than everyone else can run without it."

"How are you supposed to stop that?"

"By the time the Spurs realized he was jumping, the ball was already through the rim."

During the timeout, Popovich repeatedly emphasized the same point.

Stick to the plan.

He already understood that San Antonio was not going to completely shut down Chen.

Trying to do so would only destroy the rest of the defense.

The Spurs needed to stay disciplined and limit everyone around him.

When play resumed, San Antonio’s composure had returned.

So had the noise from the home crowd.

Ginóbili controlled the ball at the top.

The Spurs returned to one of their oldest weapons.

Pick and roll.

Duncan moved toward the high post.

Whether it was Parker with Duncan or Ginóbili with Duncan, San Antonio’s pick and roll remained one of the most dangerous actions in basketball.

Manu attacked toward his right.

When he went that direction, New York expected the pass.

Battier knew it.

Martin knew it.

Both defenders watched Ginóbili carefully, trying to cut off his connection with Duncan.

Ginóbili glanced toward the perimeter.

Then snapped his right hand diagonally forward.

Perfect pass.

Duncan caught it.

That was what made Ginóbili special.

No matter how narrow the passing window became, he always seemed capable of finding it.

That imagination was also why Popovich allowed him freedoms that few other Spurs players received.

San Antonio was built around discipline.

Ginóbili was the exception.

His creativity was too valuable to restrict completely.

Duncan took 1 hard dribble.

Jump step.

Into the paint.

The help defense realized it was already too late.

Rather than commit a pointless foul, the Knicks allowed him to finish.

Easy layup.

7 to 9.

New York quickly inbounded.

Curry brought the ball across half court.

Chen accelerated toward him.

Handoff.

The instant Chen caught it, he attacked.

San Antonio reacted immediately.

He had already dunked twice in a row.

Nobody wanted to watch a 3rd.

The reaction went against Popovich’s instructions, but instinct took over.

Defenders collapsed toward Chen.

He made no fancy move.

No hesitation.

Just acceleration.

Chen reached about 1 step inside the free throw line.

Then suddenly turned.

Pass.

Curry caught it near the top of the arc.

Leonard had already dropped inside the 3 point line.

He immediately sprinted back out.

Curry tried a shot fake.

He wanted Leonard to bite and fly past.

Leonard stayed disciplined.

The fake accomplished nothing.

Curry responded.

Between the legs.

Behind the back.

Rise.

Clang!

Miss.

Leonard had defended the possession perfectly.

Curry’s shooting touch was also clearly off to begin the game.

San Antonio pushed.

Parker attacked the rim.

Layup.

Chen recovered and challenged.

Miss.

The 1st quarter continued in the same physical, tense rhythm.

Neither team could establish clean offensive flow.

With 5 seconds remaining, San Antonio led 23 to 21.

New York inbounded from the backcourt.

Battier did not give the ball to Curry.

He looked farther ahead.

Chen.

Pass.

Chen caught it and turned in one motion.

Accelerate.

He reached the area near the logo.

Then visibly slowed.

Ginóbili rushed toward him.

He knew that rhythm.

Deep 3 pointer.

At least, that was what Manu expected.

Chen suddenly accelerated again.

Ginóbili was left behind.

Chen went straight through the defense.

Into the paint.

Nobody on San Antonio had expected him to attack the rim from that far out with only seconds remaining.

Chen reached the restricted area.

Takeoff.

Bang!

Dunk!

The electronic buzzer sounded at almost the exact same moment.

23 to 23.

A buzzer beating dunk.

Violent.

Explosive.

Completely unexpected.

Chen grabbed the rim and pulled hard enough to make it groan before finally dropping to the floor.

From the opening tip until the end of the quarter, there had been something different in the way he played.

Every drive carried more force.

Every sprint looked harder.

Every finish came with aggression.

Chen Yan was playing angry.

....

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