Chapter 303: Starburst Play, Is a Miracle Coming
"Shake it off, forget that last possession."
On the Spurs bench, Gregg Popovich barked at his players, trying to snap them out of the shock from Chen Yan's four point play.
Across the court, the Suns bench was the complete opposite.
Compared to the previous timeout, the energy on Phoenix's side had completely flipped. Chen's back to back bombs from deep had dragged their belief back from the dead.
"When they inbound, do not foul right away," Mike D Antoni tapped the board, voice sharp. "Trap first, press hard, try to force a turnover. If we get a steal, we have a shot to win this thing."
Down only 2, one clean steal would hand Phoenix a chance to end Game 5 on the spot.
"On offense…" D Antoni started to draw, then Chen cut in.
"Give me the ball," Chen said. "I will finish this game."
Every head on the Suns bench turned toward him.
His eyes were steady, as calm and certain as they had been on those last two threes.
He was not chasing a hero moment. He was shouldering what he felt was his responsibility.
Stoudemire was already gone with six fouls. Nash was running on fumes. Someone had to take the weight.
"Chen, I am with you. Go get it," Nash said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
Nash was the soul of the team, but right now he knew exactly who needed the ball for the last shot.
"Shoot it, I will get you a screen."
"Just keep putting it in."
"We will lock in on defense."
Voices came from every direction.
This trust did not come from one shot or one game. It had been earned across an entire season. Over and over, Chen had pulled the Suns out of fires. In their eyes, he was the guy you wanted with the ball when there was nowhere else to go.
D Antoni nodded. It was the same conclusion he had already reached.
"On offense, forget the sets. Just give it to Chen," he said, making a sweeping motion with his hand. Full control, handed over.
The buzzer sounded, ending the timeout.
Before they stepped back onto the floor, Chen raised his voice so the whole huddle could hear.
"Fellas, down 2 is nothing. We do this together, we flip this game and send those guys from San Antonio home sick."
His teammates answered with roars of their own, eyes burning again. Nobody was ready to quit.
Ding.
The system prompt chimed in his head.
"Detected host's strong willpower in a desperate situation. Mental Attribute plus 1."
Chen's Mental rating ticked up in real time.
It was already his highest stat. Now it was 98.
That was the real gap between him and ordinary players. His mental toughness let him stay aggressive and clear even inside games that looked lost.
Timeout over.
The Spurs inbounded from the sideline in the frontcourt.
Sharp eyed fans noticed a change.
Popovich had taken out the Argentinian big man, Fabricio Oberto, and brought in Matt Bonner, the Red Mamba.
Bonner was not just a three point shooter. He was also one of the best free throw shooters on the Spurs.
Popovich clearly expected Phoenix to press and hunt a steal. If the ball could not safely reach Ginobili, who was perfect at the line tonight, he wanted another steady option on the floor.
The Suns stayed with their same group.
Even with his energy bar almost empty, D Antoni kept Nash out there. As long as Nash was on the court, the defense had to honor him. No one was going to leave a two time MVP wide open.
Popovich read the situation correctly. Under crushing full court pressure, San Antonio's sideline inbound nearly turned into a five second violation.
In the end, Tim Duncan had to break loose to the three point line to take the pass.
His free throw percentage that season hovered around 60 percent. On paper, fouling him was not a bad option.
But Boris Diaw, guarding him, did not reach in.
He was thinking about a steal, not an instant foul.
Raja Bell crashed over from the weak side.
Two Suns swarmed Duncan, arms high, trying to strip him or force a bad pass.
Duncan had seen too many moments like this.
He stayed calm, rose above the double, and floated a clean pass over the top.
The ball found Manu Ginobili, open.
Ginobili did not even look at the rim. He knew if he missed here, it might hand Phoenix a chance to win it at the other end.
Bell recovered fast and slid in front of him.
Manu moved it again, swinging the ball to Bonner on the opposite side.
"Phoenix is too indecisive here," Charles Barkley said over the replay, watching the clock bleed.
Kenny Smith leaned forward. "There is no time now, Chuck. If you want to foul, you have to do it immediately."
Beep beep.
The whistle finally came. The Suns wrapped up Matt Bonner.
There were only 13.8 seconds left.
Watching from home, plenty of Suns fans let out frustrated groans. If they were going to foul, why not do it right away?
But basketball does not come with a rewind button. The uncertainty is part of the drama.
Swish.
Swish.
Bonner justified Popovich's trust, dropping both.
99 to 95.
Back to a 4 point game.
On the surface, it looked like the Suns were right back where they had started.
D Antoni signaled for another timeout. It was Phoenix's last.
During the break, he pointed at the whiteboard, but the message never changed.
Get the ball to Chen.
Timeout ended.
This time, Diaw inbounded from the sideline.
The other four Suns lined up along the free throw line.
As soon as the referee handed Diaw the ball, they exploded in four different directions, scattering all over the halfcourt and ripping the defense apart.
Veteran fans recognized it instantly.
The Starburst Play.
The same concept the Lakers used when Derek Fisher hit his famous 0.4 second game winner.
Back then, the Spurs were the victims too.
In the NBA, schemes are stolen, tweaked, and reused all the time. The game grows because everyone keeps learning from everyone else.
The whole point of the Starburst is simple. Create chaos. Make it impossible for the defense to predict who will pop open, then strike before they sort it out.
As San Antonio's defenders scrambled to track all four cuts, Chen suddenly slammed on the brakes and cut back toward the three point line.
Diaw saw it and fired a perfect pass to his chest.
Bruce Bowen was glued to him instantly.
He did not care about Chen's first step anymore. He had only one job now. Do not let Chen Yan get a clean three.
After releasing the pass, Diaw did not drift to the paint. He moved up to the high post instead, hands in front of his body, ready to set a solid screen.
He wanted to carve out a window for Chen.
Bowen ran straight into Diaw's body and had to peel off. Duncan switched onto Chen.
Chen did not pull up right away.
Shooting immediately would give Duncan a chance to get a hand on it. Dribbling along the sideline, he could force Duncan to slide with him, and Tim's lateral quickness at this point of his career was not what it used to be. Chen knew it.
At the left 45 degree angle, just outside the arc, Chen felt the pocket of space he needed.
He planted both feet.
Rise. Pull up.
No hesitation.
In a moment like this, doubt is the real defender.
The ball left his hand like an arrow through the night.
Swish.
The net snapped and rippled.
99 to 98.
8.9 seconds left.
On the sideline, D Antoni ripped off his suit jacket, unable to hold in the surge of adrenaline.
Chen's run had every nerve in his body firing.
"OHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"That is insane. Ten straight points!"
"Three threes and a four point play!"
"Chen is still going!"
The roar inside US Airways Center turned into a wall of sound. Goosebumps ran up arms and necks all over the arena.
With one more impossible three, Chen Yan had turned Phoenix into a wildfire.
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