Chapter 756: A True Judge of Character
"Game winner!" Kenny Smith shouted. "A fatal blow. He rose, fired, and buried it!"
"You cannot give a player with that kind of nerve such a clean look," Charles Barkley added excitedly. "That is basketball malpractice!"
Both commentators had been swept up by the emotion of the shot.
The Knicks players celebrated near center court, completely at odds with the stunned atmosphere inside TD Garden.
Durant did not want to remain there for another second.
He turned and walked toward the players tunnel, leaving behind a lonely figure beneath the arena lights.
"Chen Yan dominated the game tonight, but Durant was also remarkable," Kenny Smith said. "He scored 46 points and nearly hit the game winner himself. Without Chen's final shot, Durant would have been the brightest player of the night."
Barkley nodded.
"Durant gave everything he had. You cannot ask him to do much more than score 46 points and make a huge shot in the final seconds. That is a superstar performance. He was just unlucky enough to run into Chen Yan."
Kenny laughed.
"This has happened to Durant several times. Whenever he delivers a spectacular performance, Chen seems to be waiting on the other side. The clearest example was last season's Playoffs. Durant won MVP, only for Chen and the Knicks to eliminate Boston in the 1st round as the 8th seed. They came from the same school and even shared a dorm room, but Chen always seems to have his number."
Barkley grinned.
"Durant is probably wondering what he did to deserve this man following him everywhere."
Many fans watching at home laughed.
The description was painfully accurate.
Chen Yan and Durant had developed a genuine rivalry, but no matter how well Durant played, Chen Yan always seemed to cast the larger shadow.
"Another Chen Yan game winner. We get this scene every season."
"If he does not hit a game winner, is he really Chen Yan?"
"Durant has the worst luck."
"A 26 point comeback and a game winner."
"Chen Yan scores more than 70 points like it is routine. Superstar is no longer enough. Call him a basketball god."
"The Knicks roster might only rank around 8th in the East without him, but with Chen Yan, they are the best team in the league."
"Durant lost with honor, but there was nothing he could do. Chen Yan is now a level above every other superstar."
"I think Chen Yan's scoring ability has already surpassed Jordan's. The only thing separating them is career accomplishments, and those require time."
"Stay healthy, Chen Yan."
"Chen Yan is an iron man. You can count the games he missed during his 1st few seasons on 1 hand."
At the post game press conference, Durant found himself in an awkward position.
Nearly every reporter wanted to know how he felt about having his game winning shot answered immediately.
It was as though his own spectacular basket had existed only to set the stage for Chen Yan.
In truth, Durant had felt this way for several seasons.
The outside world constantly compared the 2 players and called them the twin prodigies of the 2007 draft class.
But sharing that reputation with Chen Yan often felt less like equality and more like Durant had been placed beside him merely to emphasize how extraordinary Chen was.
Still, the constant comparisons had not been entirely harmful.
Over the years, Durant's mental strength had improved considerably.
He remained sensitive by nature, and that was not something he could easily change, but he had become much better at handling defeat.
The sentence he repeated most often during interviews was simple.
"We will forget this game. The season is still long."
At his own press conference, Nelson showered Chen Yan with praise.
"It is an honor to coach a player like him. Tonight was his personal show, and I was completely captivated watching it."
"Coach, is that why you did not call a timeout before the final possession?" a reporter asked.
Everyone in the room laughed.
Nelson laughed with them.
"Honestly, the timeout was already on the tip of my tongue. But I saw that Chen did not want to stop, so I let him go. I trust that guy completely."
"And Chen rewarded that trust with more than 70 points and a game winner."
The reporter then turned toward Chen Yan.
"Chen, another scoring explosion and another game winner. Did tonight remind you of eliminating Boston as the 8th seed last season?"
Chen Yan shrugged.
"That is all in the past. To me, this was only an ordinary regular season game. I will not think too much about it."
"You did not take many outside shots tonight. Aside from the final basket, you attempted only 6 shots from 3 point range, which is far below your usual volume. Why?"
"The answer is obvious," Chen Yan replied. "My shooting touch was not very good."
Another classic Chen Yan quote.
He had scored more than 70 points without having a good shooting touch.
Did that mean he would score 100 whenever he felt comfortable?
Fans initially laughed at what sounded like another boast.
Then they remembered that Chen Yan had, in fact, already scored more than 100 points when his shooting touch was hot.
That was Chen Yan's greatest advantage whenever he made a bold statement.
He had the ability to prove it.
The Knicks next opponent was the Nets.
The Nets were currently ranked 3rd in the Eastern Conference, behind only New York and Miami.
Compared with last season, their roster still had not developed complete chemistry.
Their record was built largely on star power.
A team featuring Deron Williams, Anthony, Yao Ming, and Lopez was never going to have a poor record.
The game had been promoted as another China derby.
However, Yao Ming unexpectedly suffered an injury during the morning practice.
After losing weight, Yao had avoided another devastating injury, but smaller physical problems continued to trouble him. His old injuries had never completely disappeared.
This season, Yao had played only about half of the Nets games.
The Nets coaching staff handled him differently from the way Houston had.
They would not exhaust Yao during the regular season.
If he felt tired or suffered an injury, he rested.
Anthony and Deron were capable of carrying the offensive load during the regular season, allowing Yao to preserve his body for the Playoffs.
In the game, Chen Yan, Anthony, and Deron Williams took turns scoring.
The Nets still had not established a clear primary scorer.
Neither Anthony nor Deron was willing to surrender control to the other.
Their competition was not healthy.
The 2 stars took turns attacking in isolation.
When both were shooting well, the Nets possessed frightening offensive power.
But when their shots were not falling and they continued monopolizing possessions, the entire team suffered.
As in the previous game, the outcome remained uncertain until the final moments.
With 1 minute and 1 second remaining, the Knicks hit a crucial 3 pointer.
This time, however, Chen Yan was not the scorer.
Battier made the shot.
Chen Yan was not the only Knick who could handle pressure.
Battier had made several game winning shots during his career, while the injured Curry was also an excellent option for the final possession.
Ultimately, Battier's fatal shot secured the victory for New York.
Chen Yan finished with 57 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Anthony scored 38 points.
Deron added 30.
The Nets 2 star perimeter players combined to score only 1 point more than Chen Yan, despite both ranking among the league's best scorers.
After 2 difficult battles, the Knicks injury list grew even longer.
Kenyon Martin injured his thigh during the game.
Yi Jianlian also hurt his finger during practice.
Including Curry, Barea, and Anthony Carter, the Knicks now had 5 injured players this season.
Neither the coaching staff nor the players complained.
New York was not the only team suffering from widespread injuries.
The compressed schedule was inevitably accompanied by physical problems, and the rest of the league was not doing any better.
In the next game against the Jazz, Jeremy Lin erupted again, scoring 22 points and recording 4 assists.
Against the Washington Wizards, Jeremy Lin once again served as a surprise weapon off the bench.
He played 17 minutes and finished with 14 points and 4 rebounds while shooting 5 of 7 from the field.
His efficient performance earned high praise from Nelson and Chen Yan.
After Jeremy Lin's Knicks debut, Chen Yan had said that Lin's skill set and mentality guaranteed he would not be a temporary sensation.
He belonged in the NBA.
At the time, almost no one outside the team believed him.
Most people assumed Chen Yan had merely been polite toward a new teammate.
After watching Jeremy Lin's string of excellent performances, the media and fans now had only 1 response for Chen Yan.
"You really do know how to judge talent."
…..
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