The Trail Blazers were riddled with injuries at the start of the season, and for Ali, this was definitely a great opportunity to prove himself. He was no longer young and could not afford to waste time, so he would absolutely not miss it.
However, Beelman’s decision left Petrović somewhat discouraged.
Before the third quarter ended, Petrović had already scored 21 points, leading the team.
But at the same time, he only had 3 assists and 3 turnovers, with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1:1.
Starting and playing as the sixth man are different. The sixth man can focus on scoring, while the starter has more to pay attention to.
Obviously, it was difficult for Petrović alone to support the Trail Blazers’ external organization and offensive ball handling.
In the latter half of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers began to slowly increase their efforts. Gan Guoyang started a fierce attack on the Nuggets’ inside from the low post.
Mutombo was fouled by Gan Guoyang twice in a row. With four fouls in the third quarter, he had to leave the game early to rest.
With both free throws and shots, Gan Guoyang scored 6 consecutive points, helping the Trail Blazers to end the third quarter leading the Nuggets team 80:76, a lead of 4 points.
The Nuggets would not easily give up victory. For the defending champions, every regular season game is challenging.
Because opponents regard defeating the defending champions as a great honor, young players and fringe players treat it as an opportunity to become famous.
Lawufo, who scored 32 points in the last game, started the fourth quarter actively attacking the inside, challenging Ah Gan’s dominance in the three-second zone.
This guy is indeed fast, and his combination of man and ball is quite good. On the outside, he can rely on changes of direction, step backs, and accelerations to make defenders dizzy.
Follow him, and he can step right into the inside and directly challenge the center’s rim protection.
In the fourth quarter, the referee’s whistle became stricter, and Gan Guoyang dared not defend with full force on every possession.
Lawufo scored with continuous floaters and pull-up jumpers, and the Nuggets once tied the score.
In terms of the viewing enjoyment of perimeter players’ offense, the 90s had greatly improved compared to the 80s.
In the 80s, it was difficult for many small guards to break into the basket in half-court offense.
The starting move of a set offense was to give the ball to the low post, letting the inside or small forwards use their large posteriors to pave the way, looking for scoring opportunities in the crowded three-second zone.
The best way to score was to play fast breaks, never stopping running, running, and running once you stopped, small guards had to stand guard.
Now in the league, small guards like Lawufo are becoming more common, with more skilled dribbling and advanced offensive thinking. Of course, the referees are increasingly lenient on traveling, double dribbling.
Gan Guoyang had no doubt, some of Lawufo’s dribbling breakthroughs would have been called traveling in the 1985 season, but in 1992-1993, referees turned a blind eye, and this situation became more common.
When Lawufo tried to attack the basket for the third time, Gan Guoyang used a very proactive defensive play to curb his speed, quickly lowered his center of gravity, reached out, and stole the ball directly from Lawufo’s hands.
Gan Guoyang turned his back to protect the ball, squeezed away Lawufo, and dribbled himself in a fast break, taking long strides from near the free throw line in the backcourt, Mutombo could not keep up with his pace.
The entire Rose Garden Arena’s fans stood up. They knew that Ah Gan’s performance awaited all game long was coming!
With a few steps, he dashed past half-court, entered the three-point line, and then grabbed the ball single-handedly, stepping inside the free throw line, then directly jumped!
It was like the gliding of a heavy assault aircraft, not light but violent, flying towards the basket, smashing the ball fiercely!
The Rose Garden Arena erupted with the most enthusiastic cheers of the game. Many fans came here just to see this.
No Nuggets player dared to block Ah Gan’s move, anyway, it was just a dunk, so be it.
Trying to foul would not only fail to stop him from scoring but also cost a foul and possibly one’s own health.
Unexpectedly, Gan Guoyang’s gliding dunk was too violent, causing an issue with the backboard.
The connection between the rim and the backboard showed cracks, with the rim tilting downward from the initial 90 degrees, like a chicken with a broken neck.
The live audience was in uproar, followed by applause and cheers. How long had it been since they last saw Ah Gan break the rim?
This was the third time Gan Guoyang broke the rim in an official game, previously once in the finals against the Celtics and once during the regular season against the Mavericks.
Especially the time during the finals caused the game to be interrupted for more than half an hour. Since then, the NBA reinforced the rims to prevent them from being easily broken.
Yet surprisingly, tonight, Gan Guoyang’s one-handed dunk still damaged the rim. Gan Guoyang looked at the broken backboard, shook his head, and told the referee: "Jack, did David get kickbacks from the rim supplier, providing such low-quality backboards for the venue?"
Jack Madden shrugged and said: "I only referee, not manage the equipment. Also, if you’re going to talk nonsense don’t involve me, Sonny. I’m about to retire..."
Fortunately, the Rose Garden Arena was well-prepared, with spare rims and backboards. Staff entered for urgent replacement and repairs. Commentator Schonely joked: "Ah Gan showed terrifying power at the start of the season, apparently aiming for a fourth consecutive championship... I’ve always thought Ah Gan should have taken up weightlifting instead of basketball; he would surely achieve greater success there."