Chapter 238: Proved Himself in the First Half
"Ouch! Raja Bell went down twice in one possession. I've been calling games for years, and I've never seen that before!"
"Hahaha, maybe he should check the soles of his shoes—somebody might've greased them up!"
The TNT commentators couldn't hold back their laughter, and neither could the fans. They'd watched Chen Yan break down defenders all season, but this was the first time they'd seen him take out his own teammate.
The Nuggets had the ball again.
Veteran guard Anthony Carter brought it across half court, setting up the offense. Iverson came curling around the baseline, demanding the pass.
Carter's crosscourt lob was too predictable. Chen Yan saw it the whole way, jumped the passing lane, and intercepted it cleanly!
The crowd roared as he sprinted down the floor.
Iverson, ever the competitor, turned and gave chase.
It was a sprint between generations—the young star and the old legend.
Chen reached the free throw line and suddenly slowed his dribble, shifting rhythm. Iverson matched him stride for stride, cutting in from the side to try and poke the ball loose.
But Chen anticipated it.
He lifted the ball over Iverson's reach, took a long stride, and finished smoothly off the glass.
"Beautiful move!" Barkley shouted from the booth. "He used timing and rhythm to shake Iverson off. Looks easy, but that's pure control."
"Exactly," Kenny Smith added. "He leads the league in fast-break scoring for a reason—six and a half a night. That's an elite stat right there."
On the sideline, Nuggets coach George Karl looked furious. The problem wasn't Iverson—it was Carter's lazy pass that set up the whole play.
Across the court, Mike D'Antoni clapped hard, shouting, "Push it! Keep running!" He wanted his Suns to play even faster.
The Nuggets tried to regroup. Carter brought the ball back up carefully, using his veteran experience to slow the tempo, but Phoenix's pace was relentless.
Camby launched a jumper that clanged off the rim.
Diaw boxed out and fed the rebound to Chen, who immediately pushed upcourt again.
"The Suns are running again!" Kenny said.
"To be precise," Barkley grinned, "Chen is running again."
Chen tore down the middle, pushing through three defenders. Iverson and Kenyon Martin were already back at the arc, while Carter chased behind.
With defenders closing in front and back, Chen planted one foot, slid past Iverson, then Eurostepped through the traffic—switching hands midair to finish the layup.
"OHHHHHH!" the crowd exploded.
"Perfect footwork," Kenny said. "He always finds an angle!"
"Keep attacking the rim—Denver can't stop it," Barkley added.
Chen's moves had become an art form. Fans never got tired of watching them—just like Kareem's Dream Shake, Jordan's fadeaway, Iverson's crossover, or Dirk's one-legged jumper.
The Eurostep had long been Ginobili's and Wade's signature, but this season, it had become Chen Yan's trademark.
George Karl finally called timeout, rubbing his temples in frustration. The Suns' transition game was ripping his defense apart, and there wasn't much anyone could do.
After the timeout, Karl pulled Carter and subbed in Carmelo Anthony, sliding Iverson over to point guard. Carter's mistakes on both ends had been costly.
On the next play, Anthony went right into isolation at the elbow. He rose up for his patented midrange jumper—textbook form, but no luck. The ball bounced high off the rim.
Kenyon Martin fought for position, and Marcus Camby tipped it in with one hand to stop the bleeding.
On the other end, Nash used a Stoudemire screen, slid left, and drained a jumper of his own.
Denver came back quickly. Iverson used Melo's movement as a distraction, pulled up from midrange, and hit.
Both teams were pushing the pace, but Denver's offense stayed predictable—one-on-one plays between Iverson and Anthony.
Phoenix wasn't worried. Their defensive plan was simple: let the stars take turns isolating, and shut down everyone else.
The Nuggets' attack was explosive, but disjointed. Without true ball movement, their rhythm broke down again and again.
By halftime, the Suns led 63–53.
It was a high-scoring half for the playoffs, but no one was surprised—these were two teams built for offense, not defense.
Chen Yan's numbers told the story.
29 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds in just two quarters.
Before the game, critics had questioned whether he could handle playoff intensity—whether his rookie brilliance would fade under real pressure.
But after one half of basketball, Chen Yan had given them his answer.
He had proved himself.
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