Chapter 343: Any Means Necessary, History Only Remembers the Winners
US Airways Center felt like it was vibrating from the inside out.
Every seat had 2 shirts waiting, an orange short sleeve for game time, and a custom white tee folded neatly beneath it. The white shirt had 1 sentence stamped across the chest in bold letters.
WE ARE WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
Phoenix had prepared for the celebration already. All that was missing was the win.
Soon the lights dropped for introductions.
The arena dimmed into darkness, then erupted in waves as Suns players jogged out one by one. The loudest roar was saved for last, on purpose.
Chen Yan.
The hero of Game 5.
The building wanted him to feel it.
The arena DJ dragged the moment out like it was a championship belt being unveiled.
"Let's welcome the guard from the University of Texas," the DJ shouted, letting the crowd rise with every word, "a player with a heart bigger than the whole desert, Death God Chennnnn Yaaaaaaan"
The noise slammed into the court.
And then it turned into something simpler, louder, and meaner.
"BEAT LA"
"BEAT LA"
"BEAT LA"
Before the ball was even in the air, Phoenix fans were trying to win the game with their lungs, showing why this place had a reputation as a nightmare for visitors.
Kobe and Garnett stood through it without a word. They had played in the loudest buildings in the league. They had seen every kind of pressure.
Still, this felt heavy.
This was do or die, and everybody in the arena knew it.
…
The Lakers opened with the first possession.
Kobe took the first shot himself, a clear message that he wanted to set the tone, lift the team with aggression, and play through whatever was wrong with his body.
But the finger injury showed immediately.
Clang.
Stoudemire secured the rebound and Phoenix ran.
In transition, Diaw got a look and rose with confidence from the mid range.
The Suns philosophy was simple, if you have a clean shot, you take it. Fast break or half court, the decision stays the same.
Clang.
Both teams missed their first punch, like they were paying respects before the fight started.
The Lakers came back down.
Fisher brought it past half court and paused at the top, eyes searching for Garnett. The pass was obvious, telegraphed like a siren.
Chen Yan read it, then exploded.
He flew into the lane, picked it clean, and was gone.
He dribbled once and crossed mid court with daylight in front of him.
A clean break.
1 on 0.
The crowd rose as 1, ready for a dunk, ready for a statement.
Chen Yan took a light step and laid it in.
Swish.
0 to 2.
On the TNT call, Charles Barkley sounded surprised.
"Wait a minute," Charles said. "He didn't dunk it. That tells you something. Guys are banged up."
Kenny Smith answered calmly.
"It's the playoffs," Kenny said. "Sometimes you take the guaranteed 2, conserve energy, and keep moving. Style points don't win Game 6."
The truth was even simpler. Kobe was grinding through injury, but Chen Yan was not. The system had already repaired him. The layup was just smart. He was still saving fuel after the double overtime war in Game 5.
…
The Lakers came back down and Kobe attacked again.
He forced his way into the paint and invited contact.
Beep.
Free throws.
Swish.
Clang.
He went 1 for 2.
Chen Yan turned and grabbed the defensive rebound.
Instead of giving it to Nash out of habit, Chen Yan pushed it up himself.
In previous seasons, every possession ran through Nash because he was the only true initiator. This year was different. Chen Yan gave Phoenix another ball handler, another engine, and another way to start offense.
He crossed half court, slowed near the logo, and watched the floor unfold.
Then, without warning, he rose from a standstill.
A logo 3.
James Posey knew Chen Yan could hit from deep, but this was too sudden. Posey barely had time to lift a hand before the ball was already gone.
Kobe's right eyelid twitched the moment it left Chen Yan's fingers.
Like a bad feeling he had learned to trust.
Swish.
The net snapped.
0 to 5.
The crowd went feral.
Charles Barkley barked over the noise.
"Oh come on," Charles said. "That's stupid. That's video game basketball."
Kenny kept it grounded.
"That shot is why the defense can't relax," Kenny said. "The moment he crosses half court, he's in range. You have to guard space, not just the line."
Fans loved it. Even after seeing the logo 3 many times, it still felt illegal every time it went in.
Phil Jackson did not love it.
From the sideline, the Zen Master's calm cracked early.
"Don't give him outside looks," he snapped. "Make him drive. Anything but easy 3s."
Phoenix got what it wanted early.
Chen Yan's next 2 perimeter shots missed, and Phil's frown loosened, just a little.
But he could not relax.
Because Phoenix's other shooters stepped up.
The Suns were locked in from deep. In the first quarter, the starters hit 7 3s, and everyone except Stoudemire knocked one down. The spacing stretched the Lakers defense thin, then tore it open.
By the end of the quarter, Phoenix led 32 to 22.
On the Lakers side, Kobe had 11 points, but it took 10 shots. Injuries and fatigue were dragging down his efficiency.
During the break, trainers wrapped Kobe's knee in thick ice packs.
The swelling was obvious. Redness bloomed around the joint after just 12 minutes of hard movement.
Phil Jackson even bent down to speak directly to him, giving instructions up close. It was the kind of scene reserved for a franchise cornerstone, the player the entire team depended on.
Phoenix saw it.
So did Chen Yan.
During the break, he made a suggestion that was bold and ruthless.
They should take turns attacking Kobe.
Not to injure him, but to force him to defend, to make him move, to make him work, to drag the game into the part of the night where pain starts making decisions for you.
D'Antoni listened and adopted it immediately. If Kobe was already hurting, then Phoenix needed to make every possession cost him something.
Some people would call it dirty.
On a playoff court, it was just strategy.
History does not preserve how polite you were. History remembers who won.
Chen Yan was certain of 1 thing.
If he were the injured one, Kobe would not hesitate to do the same.
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