At this moment, alcohol was the good thing that led him to another world.
The feeling of being drunk all day relaxed him, made him not think about anything.
He would immerse himself in this feeling until everything became terrible.
Then, he decided to quit drinking and make a change.
This back and forth had cycled many times within him.
He sensed that this season, he was already on the verge of being intoxicated.
Gan Guoyang made a three-pointer, followed by a big block on Lister’s layup.
After grabbing the defensive rebound, he initiated a fast break, distributing the ball to Ali on the wing.
Ali caught the ball, faked a shot, then drove along the baseline to the basket, but missed the layup.
Gan Guoyang grabbed the offensive rebound but didn’t rush to lay it up.
He passed the ball out, reorganized the offense, and slowed down the pace.
With the third quarter already halfway through, the Trail Blazers were still leading the Warriors by 19 points.
Under Mu Lin’s "sob story" tactics, Gan Guoyang wasn’t so focused on scoring anymore.
He found an outlet for his emotions in caring about his friend’s health.
The just-made three-pointer was his first field goal of the third quarter.
The Warriors fans could rest assured, Ah Gan wasn’t obsessed with breaking the scoring record tonight.
During the timeout, Chris Mullin warned Spreewell, "Don’t do anything to provoke Ah Gan, I just managed to calm him down."
"Tonight is just a regular game, scoring 34 points in a single quarter is enough, we don’t need another 82 or 83 points performance."
Spreewell felt discontent with others, but he respected Mu Lin.
Moreover, Gan Guoyang’s 34 points in a single quarter during the first half had quite an impact on him mentally.
He could clearly feel that Ah Gan was more than a notch above everyone else on the court.
When he found his rhythm, defending him felt like it didn’t exist.
He played however he wanted, and resisting was futile.
Don Nelson also agreed with Mu Lin’s method, though it seemed a bit weak.
But after all, this is the regular season, and avoiding the edge of an overpowering superstar is the right thing to do.
In the subsequent game, Gan Guoyang gradually calmed down; he only focused on defense and organization.
He constantly created opportunities for his teammates, passed the ball, grabbed rebounds, and chatted with Mu Lin occasionally.
Mu Lin initially just wanted to gain some sympathy, but he realized Ah Gan really cared about him.
By the time the fourth quarter was nearing the end and the win-loss had lost suspense, Mu Lin spoke the truth.
"Sonny, I am indeed on the verge of alcoholism, but I haven’t been drinking lately."
"I said so to distract you."
"Of course, not to win the game, just... didn’t want to lose too miserably."
Gan Guoyang put his hands on his hips and smiled: "I know, I knew it when you started talking to me."
"Praising me, or chatting with me to distract me, rather than saying trash talk to provoke me, right?"
"Since you have a good attitude, I won’t go all out to score, 50 points are already plenty."
Gan Guoyang scored only 6 points in the second half, with a total of 50 points, 21 rebounds, and 13 assists.
This was his stats without going all out, enough to easily crush the Warriors.
Mu Lin didn’t expect everything to be under Ah Gan’s control from the beginning.
In retrospect, when it comes to psychological maneuvers, who could be his match?
This Demon King who controls people’s hearts knows every team inside out.
"But my concern for you is real, Chris. You really shouldn’t drink anymore."
"I know, I know... it’s just..."
Mu Lin was momentarily touched; over the years, not many people genuinely cared about him.
He still remembered when he first joined the Warriors, there were quite a few players in the team who rejected him.
They wouldn’t pass the ball to Mu Lin, "freezing" him out, because he was white.
Due to drinking problems, many people doubted him.
The NBA didn’t promote him much.
The league’s attitude towards him was far different from Larry Bird.
He knew he wasn’t a good role model, much less a beacon for white people.
Many times Mu Lin considered going back to New York to play.
He missed home, even though New York was cold and San Francisco was warm.
This summer, he almost got involved in a three-way trade between the Warriors, Knicks, and Heat.
The Warriors would have signed and traded, sending him to New York, Ewing would go to Miami, and the Warriors would get enough rebuilding resources.
Ultimately, the trade fell through due to an appeal from the Knicks, and Mu Lin lost the chance to go home.
This season, after Nielsen took over coaching the Warriors, Mu Lin felt his situation improved a lot.
Nielsen brought a more relaxed system, putting more emphasis on offense.
The Warriors also beefed up their talent and potential; everything seemed fair.
Mu Lin had performed well in the first few matches.
However, tonight in front of the Trail Blazers, who were short-staffed, the Warriors were no match.
The Warriors couldn’t even find a player to slightly impede Ah Gan’s strides.
The only option was for Mu Lin to "plead" and finally save face a little.
The game ended with the score frozen at 124:110, the Trail Blazers won easily.
Mu Lin took the initiative to hug Ah Gan, and they agreed that when the Warriors play in Portland, Gan Guoyang would treat him to a Coke.
At the same time, Mu Lin had a thought in his heart that in the future, instead of going to New York, going to Portland to find Ah Gan might not be bad.
Winning the game made Gan Guoyang feel a little better.
That night, Gan Guoyang didn’t have time to visit the hospital again.
He had to follow the team on a flight back to Portland overnight.
They would host a back-to-back game against the New York Knicks tomorrow.
Mike Dunleavy became the new coach of the Knicks this new season.