Chapter 433: What's Faster Than Lightning?
Miami went right back at them.
Chalmers brought it up and flowed into a fake handoff with Wade. Wade took the ball to the right side, drew the defense a step, then lofted it to Beasley.
Beasley caught at the wing and settled into a triple threat stance. Miami cleared the floor, pulling everyone to the opposite side to give him room to work.
He jabbed, probed, sold a shot fake, then put it on the deck. One hard step, sudden stop, pull up.
Swish.
Chen Yan was there. He matched the rhythm and stayed attached, but Beasley was simply bigger. He rose over him and scored anyway.
Beasley's isolation talent was real. Bigger defenders could not keep up, faster defenders could not bother his release. For Miami's front office, it felt like they had nailed the draft.
At the time, they did not realize they had also drafted a ticking time bomb.
…
Phoenix answered without forcing anything through Chen Yan.
Nash and Stoudemire ran a simple, blunt pick and roll. Stoudemire faked the screen, spun out of it, and dove. Nash threaded a bounce pass between 2 defenders.
Haslem slid over to help. Stoudemire went up anyway and finished over him.
4 to 4.
Stoudemire grinned to himself as he ran back. Miami's tallest player on the floor was the 206 centimeter Joel Anthony. In a league where Stoudemire rarely enjoyed a height edge, this matchup felt like someone had tilted the court in his favor.
Miami went right back to the same place.
Wade swung it to Beasley at the right elbow area, about a 45 degree angle off the lane. Beasley squared up on Chen Yan again in triple threat, and the whole possession screamed copy and paste. Fake left, read the defender, either rise into a jumper or lean in on the drive.
This time, Chen Yan was waiting for it.
He slid laterally and took away the lane. Beasley gathered and lifted the ball to shoot.
Chen Yan's hand arrived first.
The ball was gone.
Beasley was already airborne. He yelled anyway, trying to sell a whistle, but the official had a clear look and let it go. Clean swipe, all ball.
"Beautiful," Van Gundy said. "That was clean, and Chen looked like he was just waiting for Beasley to raise it."
Mike Breen chuckled. "That's a mistake a lot of rookies make. He thought it would be that easy again. Same move, same result. Chen just taught him a lesson with the steal."
Van Gundy laughed. "This isn't college. Chen probably could've said welcome to the NBA after that one."
While they talked, Chen Yan was already out past the 3 point line with the dribble. He did not waste fast break chances.
He pushed to the right slot and suddenly slowed, gathering the ball as Wade and Chalmers sprinted at him together. Everyone in the league knew the danger. Chen Yan's pull up 3 in transition was a flying knife.
They rushed him hard.
Chen Yan lifted the ball above his head like he was about to launch, then pulled it back down and zipped a calm pass forward.
A long haired blur cut right past him.
Nash caught it in stride and laid it in uncontested.
In midair, Nash's grin was almost unfair.
He had spent his career delivering those gifts to teammates. Since Chen Yan arrived, Nash got to receive them too.
"Chen handled that perfectly," Breen said. "A beat earlier or a beat later, and Steve doesn't get that clean look."
Van Gundy nodded. "Calmness is one of his traits. Same thing you see when he takes big shots. He does the right thing at the right time. From my experience, that's not something you can teach."
"Basketball IQ," Breen said, tapping his temple.
"Exactly," Van Gundy replied.
The NBA was full of athletic monsters. It was not full of players who paired elite athleticism with elite decision making.
…
Miami's next possession started with Chalmers bringing it across, then feeding Wade as he came up to receive.
Wade held the ball with both hands. Haslem arrived quickly for the screen. Wade turned the corner to the right.
Phoenix did not switch. Diaw stepped out and hedged hard, extending that big body into Wade's path to keep him from building speed. The hedge worked. Wade did not get his usual burst, and Raja Bell recovered fast.
Near the free throw line, Bell and Chen Yan shaded toward a double. Wade read it early and kicked out before it fully formed.
Beasley caught beyond the arc, hesitated, and did not fire.
In the NBA, hesitation was a crime.
Chen Yan was already back in front of him.
Beasley decided he had learned his lesson. No isolation this time. One dribble, then a cross court pass.
Chen Yan read it again.
He could not fully steal it, but he got a hand on the line and changed the ball's path just enough. Nash snatched it cleanly.
Another stop created by Chen Yan's instincts, and Mike Breen's voice climbed with familiar admiration.
Phoenix pushed, then slowed into half court when nothing easy showed.
Stoudemire called for it at the elbow. He caught, turned halfway, faced up, and drove hard.
Anthony stayed attached at his hip. Haslem slid in front. Stoudemire tried to finish through both bodies and missed.
Miami's bigs did not have height, but they had pride. They were not going to let Phoenix stroll into the paint all night without paying a price.
Stoudemire slapped his hands in frustration. In his mind, that was a guaranteed 2. And he had underestimated Haslem, which was the first mistake.
Haslem looked like the reliable guy you trusted with your car keys. On the court, he was all fight. Quick feet, strong help defense, a respectable midrange jumper, and the kind of character that made him the locker room anchor.
Anthony grabbed the rebound and found Wade. Wade pushed, saw 5 Suns already back, and killed the break instantly.
People loved to say Phoenix did not defend, but it was not that simple. Their transition defense was fast and organized. The weakness was more about individual defense inside their system, not about effort getting back.
Wade waited, then attacked again in the half court. Screens, angles, and a hard drive into the lane that drew contact from Stoudemire.
He hit both free throws.
The first quarter ended with Phoenix up 26 to 23.
Chen Yan had 5 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. Wade had 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block. Both stars had played measured, almost patient.
Nobody in the building believed it would stay that way. These were the top 2 scorers in the league. If they stayed quiet all night, the audience would have a right to complain.
…
The second quarter opened with the benches.
Phoenix went with Barea, Azubuike, Grant Hill, Barnes, and Jordan.
Jason Williams was out 1 to 2 weeks with an arm injury. It was bad news for Phoenix overall, but it opened a door for Barea. A competitor going down meant more minutes. If Barea played well, he could lock up the second point guard spot.
Miami countered with Quinn, Cook, Diawara, Gooden, and Jamaal Magloire.
Their second unit could not match Phoenix's. The Suns had at least 3 players who could handle and initiate. Miami did not have a true creator. Gooden could score, but he needed someone to feed him, and Barnes could bother him with physical denial.
By the 4 minute 30 second mark, the lead had grown to 9. Chen Yan and Stoudemire were laughing on the bench, relaxed. This season, Phoenix's bench had become a weapon. Not many teams could match their scoring depth.
In Chen Yan's eyes, some of these guys could start on half the league. Azubuike was playing like a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Grant Hill had the experience and the pedigree. In his prime, he was the Pistons' core. Injuries stole years from him, but in Phoenix he found health again, and last season he even won the first title of his career.
He came here hoping to stay healthy.
Instead, he found a ring.
Swish.
Hill buried a transition 3, and the lead hit double digits.
Miami called timeout.
Spoelstra did not light up his bench. He understood the reality. They were not lazy, they were limited.
Out of the timeout, Wade checked back in. He could not watch it get worse.
He ran pick and roll with Gooden immediately. Phoenix collapsed on sight. That was D'Antoni's plan. If Wade settled for jumpers all night, Miami would lose. Wade's advantage was the drive, the collapse, the kick out. Midrange jumpers were not his best math, and they did not punish the rim.
Even so, Wade could still create miracles in tight spaces. He slipped through with a Euro step, dodged Jordan and Barnes, and finished a tough layup.
32 to 42.
Azubuike tried to answer with his own downhill attack.
He called for a screen, exploded into the lane, crossed to shake Diawara, then met Gooden at the rim. In midair, he switched to his left and tried to lay it in.
The ball rolled around the rim once and fell out.
Wade secured the rebound.
That was one of the clearest differences between a star and a good player. The finish. It looked simple. It was not.
Wade pushed in transition with a single thought, get to the rim, get to the line.
He blew by Barea in 1 step, drove into Barnes, and drew the foul.
He made 1 of 2.
33 to 42.
Phoenix's lead was back to single digits. D'Antoni glanced at the clock and signaled. Time to bring the starters back.
After a quick 20 second timeout, both teams returned to their starting groups.
Chen Yan had coasted in the first quarter and sat for almost half the second. His legs felt fresh now.
Nash held it at the top, and Chen Yan posted at the right slot, about a 60 degree angle off the lane, calling for the ball.
Wade pressed an elbow into Chen Yan's back, braced for the post.
Chen Yan did not even consider backing him down.
He caught, palmed it with 1 hand, and the moment he turned, he dribbled left and exploded along the baseline.
Wade stayed with the first step.
The second step was different.
Chen Yan created a half step of daylight, and that was enough. The dribble was too sudden, too sharp, and with his Lightning First Step, even The Flash was forced to chase.
Chen Yan took a short gather, rose from the baseline, and hammered a 2 handed dunk.
33 to 44.
Breen's voice jumped. "He just went right by Wade."
Van Gundy exhaled. "That second step is outrageous."
To protect himself, Chen Yan held the rim for a beat before dropping down.
He turned with a smile toward his teammates.
Wade puffed out his cheeks, staring at the floor for a moment, then back up.
The competitive fire in him had just lit.
.....
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