12:5.
Jordan quickly realized that tonight Gan Guoyang is playing seriously from the first second.
Jordan also stopped talking, no more words, and stepped up to take part of Johnson’s organizational duties.
Jordan passed the ball to Pippen, Pippen then passed to Ewing in the low post, Ewing faced Shan Tao, turned and jumped shot successfully!
The game speed showed signs of increasing.
Gan Guoyang knew this was an opportunity, quickly inbounding from the backcourt and dribbling past half-court himself.
Jordan and Pippen came to block, the Dream Team’s overall defensive formation pressed forward.
Gan Guoyang tossed a long pass to the inside, Shan Tao caught the ball and scored with a layup!
Besides Gan Guoyang, others could also score now.
However, on the defensive end, China Team really struggled to block the Americans.
Against Croatia they could rely on zone defense to block the Three Second Zone, allowing the three-point line.
Against America, Gan Guoyang alone was unable to hold them back.
Another pass to a cutting Ewing after a pick-and-roll, Shan Tao couldn’t hold, and Ewing went in for a dunk!
Johnson noticed Gan Guoyang was trying hard to help his teammates defend the perimeter, guarding Jordan, Pippen, and having to keep an eye on Malone.
He couldn’t possibly take care of Ewing too, if he did, Jordan and Malone would certainly exploit openings.
Nevertheless, Gan Guoyang noticed Johnson’s leg injury, his ball handling was clearly not smooth.
Gan Guoyang backed down with the ball, pushing into the middle after crossing half-court using his strength.
You’re blocking the breakthrough lanes? Then I’ll use my back to forcefully squeeze out a path.
Spinning through the middle to the basket, against the trio of Ewing, Malone, and Johnson, he made a hook shot that went in!
16:9, China Team hasn’t been left behind in score.
Then Johnson made a mistake in organizing the attack, his legs truly weren’t agile enough.
Hu Weidong stole successfully, but China Team didn’t launch a fast-break counterattack, instead they slowed down, continued slowly.
China Team wished they could drag the attack time out on each play, which was most advantageous for them.
Gan Guoyang dribbled outside, seeking opportunities like a guard.
He suddenly stopped and shot for three, the ball went in accurately!
With the shot clock about to expire, he hit a three-pointer!
16:12! At the beginning, China Team was only trailing America by 4 points!
Off the court, Head Coach Bobby Berman, Assistant Coach Daley, and Wilkins were all somewhat anxious.
"Should we call a timeout?" Daley asked Bobby Berman.
Since the Dream Team’s assembly, they’ve never called a timeout voluntarily in official games.
Because they simply didn’t need to, the players could solve problems themselves on the court.
For this group of players, calling a timeout might be considered an insult.
But facing Ah Gan, his fiery and terrifying state was as usual.
"This kid, won’t he score 80 points tonight?" Bobby Berman’s heart trembled at this thought.
But it was too late to call a timeout, Team USA launched their attack.
Still Johnson and Ewing’s partnership, Johnson himself lacked the ability to break through—his leg hurt too much, he could only keep passing to teammates.
Malone matched with Ah Gan, Jordan seemed to have no intention to take over the game for now, the best scorer was currently Ewing.
A high pick, cut in, China Team double teamed, Johnson delivered a behind-the-back pass to the top of the arc to Ewing.
Ewing shot from the open mid-range but missed!
Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound, calmly organizing the offense.
Ma Jian came around at this moment to set a screen for Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang used Ma Jian’s screen to drive to the baseline, then broke through from there, facing Ewing’s defense, scored a left-handed dunk!
Since they blocked the middle and wings, I could really circle around to the baseline to break through, there’s always a way.
Gan Guoyang’s large strides, imposing and powerful drive still left the NBA players puzzled and with no solution.
In this situation, how would you possibly defend? It’s one thing not being able to defend the low post, but this guy can break through?
16:14, China Team was only 2 points behind! 9 minutes of the first half had already passed.
After a 10-0 run, China Team was vigorously catching up, and after Team USA’s tight defense lost its effectiveness, their offense seemed to lose its sharpness.
Jordan decided to step up, he told Johnson to give him the ball for the next possession.
However, the referee blew the whistle for a timeout, Bobby Berman called the first timeout of this Olympics.
Jordan was not pleased, upon returning to the bench during the timeout, he said: "We can solve the problem! Why call a timeout, Bobby?"
Berman only said one thing, "Because facing us is Ah Gan."
Nobody spoke further, Berman added, "Do you want him to score 80 in this game?"
Everyone shook their heads, nobody wanted to see that scene, it would definitely be a disaster.
Looking at the opening situation, if it continued like this, it might indeed happen.
Berman’s timeout was quite timely, he subbed out Magic Johnson with a leg issue for Stockton.
Then swapped Pippen at small forward for Charles Barkley to enhance vigor.
Berman understood well, at times like this, don’t bother with rotating everyone evenly to share time.
Attack with all your might, must suppress Ah Gan.
"Remember, tonight our goal is to win the game, not to suppress Ah Gan. If our focus is entirely on defending Ah Gan, the situation will definitely get worse. We need to focus on the game itself, focus on the entire China Team, defeat them with better offense. We need to run faster, not just think about slowing Ah Gan down!"
"Sometimes, that’s why you can’t beat Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers!" Berman couldn’t help adding.
Everyone gave Berman strange looks, Berman yelled angrily: "Get on the court losers! Tonight you damn well better win XX!XXXXXXX!"
Under Berman’s series of fierce expletive attacks, the Dream Team made adjustments and continued the game.
On the other side, Gan Guoyang, during the timeout, adjusted his breathing and drank some water.
At this moment, he didn’t care about the score at all, he didn’t look at the scoreboard, he only focused on the game itself.
His own state, his teammates’ state, his opponents’ state, and the basketball.
"Don’t look at the score, don’t have any pressure or fluctuations, calm down, play well, play your best state."
Gan Guoyang gathered with his teammates, Ma Jian and Adi Jiang were about to take the court, he also attended to some details.
Timeout ended, the game continued, Gan Guoyang took a deep breath, ready to re-engage in the battle.