Chapter 176: Durant's Reflection and an Accidental Gift
On the evening of February 4th, the Phoenix Suns arrived in Boston for their first game of February.
As players filed out of the tunnel for warmups, Kevin Durant emerged last, pulling a green knitted hat over his head.
Durant's closet was practically a museum of beanies — dozens of them in every color. He picked one every morning depending on his mood.
Tonight, his mood wasn't bright.
The Celtics sat near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 15–29 record, fourth from the bottom. But for Durant, the real pressure didn't come from standings — it came from the comparisons.
Every sports outlet seemed obsessed with measuring him against Chen Yan, his former NCAA teammate, close friend, and fellow rookie.
And in that comparison, Durant always seemed to come up short.
He didn't hate Chen for it — but he couldn't ignore it either. The attention, the highlights, the records… all of it pushed him to train harder. After every Celtics practice, Durant stayed behind for hours, sharpening his jumper and building his stamina.
During warmups, Chen Yan spotted Durant across the court.
"Yo, congrats, All-Star starter!" Durant grinned and gave him a quick hug.
Chen clapped him on the shoulder. "Keep it up, bro. It'll be your turn soon. I'm expecting to see you out there next year."
It wasn't empty encouragement. The East wasn't nearly as stacked at forward as the West, and Durant had all the tools — length, touch, and drive. All he needed was time.
Durant's grin widened. Praise from Chen always hit differently.
After a few minutes of friendly banter, both players focused on warmups.
The arena lights dimmed slightly as the starting lineups flashed across the jumbotron.
Boston Celtics starting lineup:
Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, Kevin Durant, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins
Phoenix Suns starting lineup:
Steve Nash, Chen Yan, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Amar'e Stoudemire
With introductions done, the game tipped off.
Stoudemire easily won the jump ball against Perkins, his vertical leap miles ahead of Boston's heavy-footed center. But the Suns fumbled their first possession — Raja Bell tried to drive past Durant, only for the ball to bounce awkwardly out of bounds.
To most people, it looked like a careless turnover. But veterans knew better.
The Celtics' floor was infamous.
Unlike most NBA arenas, Boston's parquet wasn't replaced on schedule — it was patched whenever management felt like it. Years of uneven maintenance had left warped panels, tiny bumps, and dead spots where the ball refused to bounce.
The Celtics' guards had memorized every inch of it. They'd steer opponents into the "dead zones," forcing awkward dribbles and bad bounces.
Raja Bell had just stepped right into one.
Possession switched.
Rondo brought the ball up, passed to Durant at the top of the key, then set a screen.
Bell got caught, forcing Nash to switch onto Durant.
Durant took two smooth dribbles, rose up, and hit a high-arching pull-up.
Swish.
2–0, Celtics lead.
Durant's face stayed blank as he backpedaled.
Durant's vision of himself: an emotionless assassin.
Everyone else's vision of him: the NBA's hardest-working contractor.
The Suns countered.
Nash ran the offense, using a screen from Diaw before feeding him at the top. The French forward surveyed the floor, scanning for movement.
Chen Yan suddenly darted from the left wing at a 45-degree angle.
Raja Bell, reading his teammate perfectly, set a crisp off-ball screen.
Tony Allen hesitated, Durant didn't rotate — and for a brief second, the Celtics' defense fell apart.
Chen Yan caught the pass wide open.
He didn't hesitate.
Swish!
3–2, Suns take the lead.
As the net snapped, Chen Yan grinned slightly, glancing at Durant and Tony Allen.
Boston's young duo had just gifted him the easiest three-pointer of the night.
Durant exhaled, expression unreadable.
Chen Yan? He just smiled wider — the kind of smile that said: You're going to have to do better than that, little brother.
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