Under Gan Guoyang’s lead, the pace of the game turned unexpectedly fast.
The first quarter quickly moved past the probing phase, and all players were engaged in high-intensity offensive and defensive battles.
The Bulls were especially affected, with Scottie Pippen leaving early with two fouls, disrupting the Bulls’ offensive and defensive setups.
Phil Jackson substituted Horace Grant, pairing with Buck-Williams to play a double power forward strategy.
This tactic worked well against the Knights and the Heat, reinforcing the team’s defensive solidity.
Jackson thought, with Grant and Buck in place, they should be able to contain Ah Gan to a large extent.
However, this guy’s game is becoming harder to predict, as he completely disregards conventions.
Not only Phil Jackson; Bobby Berman also couldn’t understand what Ah Gan was thinking or how he was playing.
His positioning was totally unconventional from regular training and game tactics, with his passing and shooting being so unpredictable.
Yet, it all made perfect sense, because this guy could get the ball into the basket.
Gan Guoyang’s sudden, wide-open plays started offensive moves not even halfway through the field, leaving the other nine players, including Jordan, somewhat stunned.
Petrović was the first on the Blazers side to react, actively moving to find opportunities in ghost positions.
Gan Guoyang’s fast and expansive attack style started showing cracks in the Bulls’ defense.
Pippen’s absence made the gaps more apparent, and although Cartwright and Grant guarded the inside, Petrović still seized two chances, scoring with passes from Gan Guoyang.
The Trail Blazers were extending their lead.
Jordan was the second to react, knowing he couldn’t wait, nor could he expect Ah Gan to slow down to grind on defense; that would surely end in disaster.
After losing points, Jordan immediately sped up, rushing from the backcourt to the basket with a solo effort, only to be encircled by three Blazers players. In the air, he passed the ball to Grant, who was following through the middle, but the pass was intercepted by Lewis.
The Blazers counterattacked as Gan Guoyang led the charge, receiving Porter’s pass to cut through the middle, making a large stride from the free-throw line, and dunking with one hand!
Layup? No such thing, it had to be a dunk, layups were just flirting with shooting percentages.
The Bulls’ retreat was swift and their interference was adequate, leaving others either having the ball intercepted or missing layups.
In the playoffs, the Bulls’ ability to stop fast breaks with quick retreats was exceptionally strong, defusing many seemingly certain counterattacks.
This was the terrifying aspect of their defense and part of their strategy, forcing opponents to play positional offense, which was at least somewhat more reliable.
Only Gan Guoyang, with his strong build, unwavering momentum, and outstanding dribbling skills, maintained control of the ball to complete the finish.
"Shit."
Phil Jackson cursed silently, pacing back and forth on the sideline.
The Bulls’ counter-defense had always been the strongest in the league, and it was Phil Jackson’s trump.
In the semifinals against the Miami Heat, Drexler’s fast-break success rate was kept very low by the Bulls.
In the first two games of the finals, Reggie Lewis’ fast-break attempts were similarly suppressed, removing a vital scoring point for the Trail Blazers’ offense.
Jackson thought that if they could suppress the Blazers’ fast break, as long as Ah Gan didn’t perform miracles, the Bulls would have a great chance at victory in the positional battles.
Unexpectedly, Ah Gan didn’t start with positional plays or low posts, but instead spearheaded breaks himself, bulldozing forward like a truck.
Pippen was knocked out early, and they couldn’t afford to risk Jordan too, but losing points and momentum in such counterattacks was troubling.
What was more troubling was yet to come; the game seemed to have returned to the chaos of the 1991 finals, with the Bulls and Jordan drawn into confusion by Ah Gan.
Jordan controlled the ball to organize the attack, Grant got it in the middle, attempted a jump shot, found no opportunity, and tried to break through, only to have the ball knocked away.
The Trail Blazers were on the counter again, and the Bulls nearly gave up on offensive rebounds, retreating quickly.
After losing the ball, Grant tried to steal it back on the spot to prevent Gan Guoyang’s counterattack, and Jordan closed in as well.
Gan Guoyang still controlled the ball, immediately following up with an extremely bold long pass.
The ball flew across the midcourt, landing in Lewis’s hands, and Lewis passed it to Petrović.
Petrović caught the ball at the flank, stopped abruptly for a jump shot, avoiding the Three Second Zone challenge from Buck-Williams and Bill Cartwright.
The ball hit the backboard and bounced into the hoop for a bank shot success!
A smart choice, Petrović’s decisiveness helped the Trail Blazers widen the gap to over ten points.
Phil Jackson called a timeout, realizing the situation was developing in an unfathomable direction.
Is this how the Trail Blazers play? Is this how Ah Gan plays? What happened in those two days?
Jackson originally expected the Blazers and Ah Gan to heat the game to a fiery, hellish intensity like last year’s finals.
The Bulls were prepared to endure the ordeal in hell, but unexpectedly, Ah Gan had brought the game into clouds and confusion.
"I don’t know what’s happening, but I know something’s wrong. This isn’t our plan! We can’t let a center start the attack from the midcourt, finish under the basket, only to run beyond the three-point line to organize... Everyone, keep your eyes on Ah Gan, keep them on him more than ever before, watch his every move, no matter where he is or what he’s doing. Put pressure on him, make sure to pressure him!"