Chapter 189: One-Man Three-Point Rain — Yao Ming's Humor!
Thanks to Chen Yan's explosive scoring burst, the freshman team had taken the lead — 78–77.
The sophomore coaching staff didn't call for a timeout. In the Rookie Challenge, each team only got one full two-minute timeout and one 20-second timeout per half, and barely three minutes had passed since the second half began.
The sophomores brought the ball up. Rondo crossed half court calmly. Even after being dunked on earlier, the veteran-minded guard kept his composure. He knew Chen Yan was heating up and tried to slow the tempo to avoid giving up transition points.
But this wasn't the Celtics — the sophomore team was full of young stars from different teams, all wanting to showcase their skills. Nobody wanted to run Rondo's system.
In the corner, Azubuike caught a pass and launched a deep three.
Bang!
The ball rattled out.
Durant grabbed the rebound and immediately pushed up the court.
Just past midcourt, he threw a long crosscourt pass to Chen Yan, who was already sprinting up the right wing.
Chen caught the ball in stride — his orange-and-white AeroWing sneakers flashing like twin firewheels — and pulled up from deep as the defense sagged, expecting another drive.
Swish!
The net snapped clean. 81–77.
The arena erupted. Fans leapt to their feet, roaring with approval. Chen Yan was in rhythm, and everyone knew what was coming — a show.
Rondo slowed things down again, calling for a pick-and-roll. Using Aldridge's screen, he snaked into the lane, faking out Horford with his signature hesitation and dropping in a soft floater.
81–79.
The freshmen pushed right back. Conley brought the ball up and handed it off to Chen.
Conley, ever the quiet floor general, knew better than to steal the spotlight — he set a screen instead, forcing the sophomores to switch.
That left Chen one-on-one with Rondo again.
Rondo's eyes burned with determination. After being embarrassed earlier, he wanted redemption.
He crouched low, tracking Chen's footwork, ready to pounce on any loose dribble.
Chen calmly went into a rhythm — quick, low between-the-legs crossovers, changing pace with every bounce.
Then, suddenly, he rose up.
Rondo reacted instantly, lunging forward — but the height difference was unforgiving.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
The crowd exploded as the ball fell through.
"That's his fourth three-pointer tonight!" shouted the commentator.
84–79.
Rondo exhaled, shaking his head. There was simply nothing he could do.
"Unbelievable shooting!" one analyst said. "That's Chen's natural rhythm — once he gets that feel, you can't stop it."
"And at this rate," the other added with a laugh, "Rondo might cry before this game's over!"
The next possession, the freshmen stopped the sophomores cold and ran again.
Conley, Durant, and Chen formed a blazing three-man break. Conley passed ahead — Chen caught, rose, and fired from deep in one motion.
Bang!
A bit rushed — the shot rimmed out.
Durant cleaned it up, tipping in the miss. 86–79.
The sophomores missed back-to-back jumpers after that, while Chen kept finding the bottom of the net.
Two more threes in under a minute.
92–79.
Timeout, sophomores.
The coaches had no choice but to call a quick 20-second break.
"Hahaha! Chen Yan just brought a thunderstorm of threes — the sophomores are drenched!" Yao Ming laughed from the booth. His deep voice rumbled with amusement.
In the arena, Chen was on fire. On commentary, Yao was having just as much fun.
"I'm telling you," said Mike, "this might finally be the year the freshmen break that five-year drought!"
After the timeout, both teams adjusted lineups:
Freshmen: Conley, Chen Yan, Durant, Scola, Horford.
Sophomores: Gibson, Roy, Gay, Aldridge, Bargnani.
Right away, Roy attacked and drew contact for a tough 2+1 play.
Durant responded on the next possession, earning two free throws and calmly knocking them both down.
"This game's heating up!" Mike said. "These young guys aren't holding back at all."
Yao Ming chuckled. "If this were a real NBA game, I think Scola would be the happiest man out there. The guy's game is built for grinding, not flying. He must feel so out of place with everyone else jumping out of the gym!"
Mike laughed. "Yeah, Scola's been the only player who hasn't left the ground all night. It's like he's running a different sport out there."
The two commentators couldn't stop laughing as Roy spun into the lane for another bucket.
Back to the freshmen.
Chen brought the ball across half court, casually dribbling as the crowd began chanting his name.
Over Roy's outstretched hand, he rose and released another effortless jumper from deep.
Swish!
The sound of the net slicing clean echoed across the arena.
Answer shot.
That was his seventh three-pointer of the night — and the storm wasn't showing any signs of letting up.
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