Before the game, Beelman was worried that the Warriors’ strong backcourt offense might destroy the Trail Blazers’ fragile perimeter.
The fact is, from the first half, Chris Mullin played extremely well.
Hardaway also scored 11 points, and the Warriors’ offense was smooth.
After Don Nelson arrived, he gave the Warriors more offensive freedom.
The team’s low post offense was greatly reduced, with more emphasis on breakthroughs and shooting.
But it was useless, Gan Guoyang used a 34-point quarter to dismantle the Warriors’ defense in the first half.
The Trail Blazers led the Warriors by 21 points at halftime, singlehandedly dismantling the opponent.
During halftime in the locker room, teammates lined up to give Gan Guoyang high-fives.
points in the half, this scoring efficiency and speed is absolutely terrifying.
Petrović exploded last game but only scored 44, Ah Gan did it in two quarters.
At this moment, Petrović realized that Ah Gan was still so unreachable.
This made his early season ambition to win MVP seem laughable.
If Ah Gan was 38, maybe he would withdraw from the MVP race.
The problem is, by then Petrović would also be 38.
But Gan Guoyang, who set a new record, didn’t look particularly happy.
He just smiled faintly a few times, then sat in his spot chewing gum non-stop.
Chewing gum can help someone relax; it seemed that a 21-point lead couldn’t ease him.
In the second half, Gan Guoyang and his teammates returned to the court to cheers.
A large number of Chinese fans wearing Trail Blazers No. 11 jerseys came to watch the game.
Before the game started, a young Chinese fan wearing a baseball cap ran to the sideline to ask Gan Guoyang for an autograph.
Before the security arrived, Gan Guoyang quickly signed his name on the fan’s T-shirt.
"Thank you, thank you, Ah Gan!" the young man shouted as security took him away.
This situation happens every time they play in San Francisco, and it cannot be stopped.
These fans can’t wait to have close contact with their idol.
Once the game ends, opportunities are scarce.
Gan Guoyang glanced and found that the young man was quite handsome.
He was just a little thin and a bit dark-skinned.
Many years later, a Chinese-American actor named Daniel Wu became well-known in China, becoming synonymous with "handsome."
He was an unabashed basketball fan who said more than once, "In my youth, I was a fan of Ah Gan."
"I’m in Oakland, I support the Warriors, but when the Trail Blazers came, we all supported Ah Gan."
"It was because of Ah Gan that I decided to attend the University of Oregon to conveniently watch Trail Blazers games."
However, Gan Guoyang didn’t have a deep impression of this later, as there were too many young people asking for his autograph.
But Gan Guoyang also encouraged this young man, "Your handsomeness is not beneath mine."
The commentators and fans on site were anticipating whether Ah Gan could break his own regular season scoring record of 81 points tonight.
With the defensive intensity of Nielsen’s Warriors, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.
However, the Warriors players obviously didn’t want Ah Gan to set such a record over their heads.
But Chris Mullin knew you shouldn’t provoke Ah Gan.
Giving Ah Gan full intensity could anger him to score 100 points, it’s not impossible.
Mullin and Ah Gan were old acquaintances, frequently training together during the Olympic selection camps back then.
At the 1992 Olympics, they stayed in the same hotel, with Mullin next door to Gan Guoyang.
Mullin knew Forrest Gump’s Law, praising Ah Gan worked better than trash-talking him.
But Mullin sensed that Ah Gan’s aura today was a bit off.
Hard compliments might not have the desired effect, possibly producing the opposite.
Scratching his face, Mullin decided to try a different approach.
During the game, Mullin seized a moment to chat with Ah Gan.
"Sonny, I’ve started drinking again recently."
"What? Didn’t the doctors tell you to quit long ago?"
"Yeah, but I can’t help it. How about having a drink together tonight?"
"Not good, you can’t do this, Chris."
"I can’t help it, Sonny."
Mullin had been troubled by alcohol issues for years.
As early as his college days, he was known far and wide for his drinking problems.
After entering the league, his drinking habits persisted intermittently.
All of Mullin’s friends knew he was plagued by alcohol.
Alcohol is different from drugs; it’s legal, easily accessible, with less immediate harm.
However, because of this, alcohol often poses a deeper and more concealed threat to NBA players.
Bobby Berman beside Gan Guoyang was once deeply mired in alcoholism.
And Bernard King, who in his early career was notorious as a drunk and a troublemaker.
They made tremendous efforts to come out of it.
As friends, Gan Guoyang often supervised them.
Upon hearing Mullin say he was drinking again, the kind-hearted Ah Gan became concerned once more.
"You need to take this seriously, Chris, control your drinking habit."
"How many years has it been, and you still haven’t had enough? Do you want to drink yourself to death?"
Mullin shook his head, saying, "I’ve had enough long ago, but... I can’t stop."
Mullin wasn’t entirely making it up; he indeed had a recent urge to start drinking again.
For him, life often felt like a roller coaster.
He always swayed between sobriety and inebriation.
Whenever he resolved to quit drinking, he would start intense training.
As crazy as Ah Gan and Jordan, it brought him into a good state.
But after some time, he felt a lack of motivation.
Life seemed to become overly monotonous or, in other words, too clear-headed.
He wasn’t the type to enjoy wandering around the colorful world aimlessly.