Chapter 728: Rampage! Rampage!
In the next few possessions, Klay Thompson defended very hard, but the effect was minimal.
Klay's defense had potential, but he was still only a rookie.
Against Chen Yan, who had 100 ways to toy with him, he was far too green.
"Chen Yan's offense is like a Gatling gun," Kenny Smith said with a smile. "Continuous firepower, no pause at all."
Barkley laughed. "Is he trying to kill the opponent in 1 quarter?"
Warriors offensive possession.
Monta Ellis continuously dribbled between his legs at the top of the arc, but Battier's defense had no flaws.
Monta Ellis called for a screen.
Biedrins stepped forward, and Monta Ellis wanted to use his screen to drive to the basket.
The Knicks were already prepared.
Nelson knew his former disciple too well.
After seeing Chen Yan explode, Monta Ellis would definitely want to attack by himself.
So Nelson had already arranged a double team strategy.
Monta Ellis wanted to curse.
Because after the pick and roll, there was suddenly an extra big man beside him.
A double team.
With more people blocking him, how was he supposed to play?
Monta Ellis reacted quickly enough and immediately passed the ball to Biedrins.
Biedrins was wide open.
But there was 1 problem.
He had no outside shooting ability.
The Knicks had intentionally left him open.
Biedrins stood there for a moment, as if contemplating life.
Just then, a voice came from the wing.
Klay Thompson ran open.
In his rookie season, he had already shown amazing off ball talent, but most of the time, the ball was controlled by Monta Ellis, and Klay did not have many chances to perform.
After receiving the ball, Klay shot with a standard shooter's form.
Chen Yan had been screened by David Lee on this play, and by the time he chased after Klay, it was already too late.
Swish.
The ball went in.
"Good job, kid."
Chen Yan patted Klay on the backside, giving the junior a little encouragement.
Klay's mindset did not change much, because on the next possession, he still had to defend Chen Yan again.
Barea passed the ball horizontally from beyond the 3 point line on the right side.
Chen Yan received the ball without stopping and immediately passed it to Al Harrington on the other side.
David Lee was defending very far back, and Al Harrington's range was a threat.
Chen Yan started to move without the ball.
That was the most headache inducing part.
Sometimes, Klay Thompson wished Chen Yan would just play with the ball.
Once Chen Yan started moving off the ball, it became endless torment.
Klay had to follow at full speed, and while chasing him, he also had to be careful of New York's screens.
This kind of defense kept his nerves tense and exhausted both his body and mind.
Al Harrington lobbed the ball toward the basket, and Chen Yan had just used a screen to shake off Klay and receive the ball.
Perfect timing.
However, the Warriors would certainly not let Chen Yan attack the rim so easily.
Biedrins rotated over to help.
Chen Yan executed a very nimble 1 handed reverse layup with a big scoop.
After the scoop, Chen Yan had originally intended to go for a simple layup.
But he had put too much force into the jump and rose very high, so Chen Yan casually slammed the ball into the basket.
Boom!
The entire arena erupted.
Chen Yan's casual dunk created an extremely strong visual impact.
Biedrins felt his pride get hurt and angrily yelled at Klay Thompson.
"Do not let him get in so easily! Do your job!"
Klay looked innocent.
He felt he had already done well enough.
The Knicks players were taking turns setting off ball screens for Chen Yan.
What was he supposed to do?
But Klay Thompson did not talk back.
He knew very well that he was a rookie, and some frustrations, even if he did not want to endure them, had to be swallowed.
"Chen Yan is in great form tonight," Kenny said. "He is definitely going to score big."
"The Warriors offensive firepower is also not bad," Barkley replied. "Although the pace is not especially fast tonight, the shooting percentage is very high. This kind of back and forth game is exciting."
Monta Ellis used a screen to attack a bigger defender, pulled up after a sudden stop and behind the back dribble, and hit a 2 point shot.
New York offense again.
Klay Thompson entered prayer mode.
He prayed that Chen Yan would not run off the ball.
He prayed that Chen Yan would stop tormenting him.
Even if Chen Yan wanted to kill him, at least let him die quickly.
Chen Yan seemed to hear his inner prayer.
After passing the ball, he continued running off the ball, continuing to torment Klay Thompson.
Klay finally understood why Chen Yan was the hardest player to guard in the entire league.
He did not only torment opponents physically.
He tormented them mentally too.
The Warriors did not let Chen Yan run free on this possession.
They served him a triple team.
The moment Chen Yan received the ball, there was no space to drive or shoot.
Even the passing lane was very narrow.
An ordinary player might lose his composure and turn the ball over in such a trap.
But Chen Yan was not an ordinary player.
In the narrow gap, he found the presence of a teammate.
Chen Yan held the ball with his right hand and hooked it to the left.
He passed the ball with an unconventional motion.
Battier took a wide open 3 pointer.
Missed.
During this opening stretch, Chen Yan had been playing by himself, and his teammates hands were still cold.
This was also why Chen Yan now disliked attacking alone from start to finish.
In the end, opponents would definitely focus all their defensive attention on him, and he would only become more and more tired.
The Warriors launched a fast break counterattack.
Their transition pace was very fast.
From very early on, Golden State had always been this type of team.
Back then, they had relied on this style to upset the Mavericks.
Monta Ellis pulled up directly for a 3 pointer on the fast break.
Swish.
It went in.
Monta Ellis was also in pretty good form tonight.
But with Chen Yan on the court, he was destined not to be the most dominant player.
New York offense.
Chen Yan wanted to play with the ball, and Monta Ellis and Klay Thompson immediately double teamed him.
Klay was so moved he almost cried.
Finally, he did not have to face Chen Yan alone.
Chen Yan dribbled 1 step to the right, then smoothly swung the ball to Barea.
Barea shot a wide open 3 pointer.
Still missed.
Chen Yan was burning hot, but the other Knicks players were cold.
This was also a common problem for teams with a superstar scorer.
The Warriors launched another counterattack.
Monta Ellis and Klay Thompson's defensive positioning had been very high, both near the top of the arc, which allowed them to run the fast break immediately.
Monta Ellis took the ball and drove straight to the basket.
He looked very excited and wanted to dunk it directly.
Little did he know, danger was approaching.
Chen Yan quietly appeared behind him.
Run.
Keep running.
If I catch you, you are finished.
Monta Ellis gathered his steps and jumped into the air.
Chen Yan jumped slightly later than him, but his bounce was faster.
From the broadcast camera, Chen Yan seemed to freeze in the air in advance, waiting for Monta Ellis.
Monta Ellis also felt someone behind him.
But there was nothing he could do.
He had already jumped, like an arrow on a bowstring that had to be released.
Slap!
Monta Ellis was still rising when a palm struck the basketball in his hand.
A clean block.
Monta Ellis lost his balance and fell out of bounds.
Barea, who followed up, got the ball and quickly pushed the fast break.
As soon as Chen Yan landed, he immediately dashed toward the frontcourt.
The transition speed was incredibly exaggerated.
The crowd cheered.
Fans loved seeing Chen Yan filled with energy like this.
The Warriors were caught in transition, and their formation was very loose.
Chen Yan received the ball beyond the 3 point line, then immediately bent down and accelerated, blowing past David Lee.
At this point, only an empty basket stood before him.
Chen Yan easily took 3 steps with the ball in his right hand, then finished the possession with a 2 handed dunk.
Chen Yan even grabbed the rim and did a pull up.
The cheers from the crowd grew even louder.
Fans loved watching Chen Yan perform.
Mark Jackson called a timeout.
After the short timeout, Chen Yan's offensive firepower did not diminish.
He first capitalized on a Warriors turnover with a steal, then quickly dribbled down the court and hit a contested 3 pointer from a 45 degree angle beyond the 3 point line.
The fans in the arena were going wild.
Chen Yan seemed to make every shot tonight.
Chen Yan made a flamboyant 3 point headshot gesture in response to the fans cheers.
1 and a half minutes later, the Knicks got another fast break opportunity, and Chen Yan showcased his Euro step to score with a scoop layup.
With 20 seconds left in the 1st quarter, it was New York's possession.
Chen Yan isolated Klay Thompson, then stepped back for a 3 pointer at the last second.
Klay defended this shot to the extreme.
But the ball still went in anyway.
This was Chen Yan's 29th point in a single quarter.
Seeing Chen Yan enter a berserk rhythm, many fans in the arena began shouting.
"101 points!"
"101 points!"
"101 points!"
.....
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