In terms of strength, Barkley couldn’t push past Ah Gan; he could only receive the ball beyond the three-point line and initiate an attack facing the basket.
Attempting a direct breakthrough, unable to shake off the defense with speed, he resorted to a single-handed push shot.
Clearly too short, hit the front edge of the rim, Barkley was exhausted, and knew it wouldn’t score as he released.
Trying to rush into the basket to grab an offensive rebound, he was firmly held off by Ah Gan, and the rebound fell into Gan Guoyang’s hands.
"Shit!"
Barkley cursed internally, feeling frustrated against this damn guy.
Gan Guoyang, who took the rebound, immediately launched a fast break like a tireless machine.
Barkley chased fruitlessly, unable to catch up; Gan Guoyang stormed past the half-court like a gust of wind.
Breaking into the three-point line, faced with encirclement, he passed the ball to Cooper, who slammed it in with both hands unguarded!
This was Gan Guoyang’s 10th assist, achieving an unprecedented quadruple-double in the playoffs, including 10 blocks.
The TV station displayed this astounding statistic, noting that the game was not yet over.
Westphal immediately called a timeout to give Barkley a rest.
"Charles, you should rest for a while."
"No need, I’ll have plenty of time to rest after I’m dead," Barkley replied.
"But it’s only the second game; the series is still long!" Westphal advised.
Barkley reluctantly went to rest, with John Salley replacing him.
Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang seemed to have no intention of resting; with ample time in the fourth quarter, a 12-point lead was not secure.
After the timeout, Danny Ainge hit a crucial three-pointer, this guy was tenacious as hell.
During his time with the Celtics, he was a tough, bold white player.
Since joining the Suns, as he aged, he transitioned from a main scoring threat to more of a role player.
However, when it was time to score, apart from Barkley, Ainge was more reliable than Kevin Johnson.
Johnson had been thoroughly blocked by Gan Guoyang tonight, completely losing confidence in penetrating the interior, with a poor external shooting touch as well.
The difference narrowed to 9 points, but soon, Petrović and Gan Guoyang executed a pick-and-roll, stopped for a jump shot, and nailed it, pushing it back to 11 points.
Oliver Miller received the ball and cut into the basket for a layup, reducing it to 9 points; the Suns refused to give up, awaiting Barkley’s return.
Gan Guoyang received the ball, surrounded by three Suns players, he passed it to Petrović, who drove in for a floater and scored!
In that play, Petrović launched himself into the air, getting knocked out by a defender, yet the referee remained silent.
No time for complaints, the Suns swiftly inbounded with a counterattack; Petrović could only pick himself up and chase back to defend.
John Salley caught the ball for a layup, but Gan Guoyang flew over, slamming it against the board!
Gan Guoyang’s 11th block of the game; the Suns players were desperate—how could they compete?
The interior had been rejected so many sure points swatted away; catching up seemed impossible.
The two teams scrambled in chaos, no tactics, no complex coordination, relying solely on intuition and personal ability.
The Trail Blazers resisted the Suns’ frantic counterattacks, keeping the score gap above 10 points.
When Barkley returned to the court with five minutes remaining, the score was 103-91, still a 12-point difference.
The Suns fought bravely; the Trail Blazers had their fair share of defensive and offensive lapses but couldn’t break through Ah Gan’s impregnable defense.
After Oliver Miller was substituted, he sat on the bench gasping for air, completely spent.
Unable to hold back, he complained to the coach, "That Ah Gan guy... that guy... doesn’t he get tired?"
Westphal shook his head, resting his chin, continuing to watch the shifts in the game.
In Westphal’s mind, this game was already lost for the Suns, or could be abandoned.
Anyway, it’s 1-1, securing an away victory in Portland would suffice.
Deep down, Westphal couldn’t quite understand why Barkley was so fixated on winning this second game.
Winning would certainly be best, but with the series just beginning, sacrificing a game to conserve energy for the long haul wasn’t a bad idea.
After all, home advantage favored the Suns; Westphal never considered sweeping or winning 4-1 against the Trail Blazers.
Losing this game, they could regroup and adjust for the matches ahead.
Paul Westphal didn’t believe Ah Gan could maintain such a superlative quadruple-double performance for the rest of the series.
If Ah Gan faced any fluctuations, the Suns would have the opportunity to bite down on the Trail Blazers in Portland and regain series advantage.
However, Barkley thought otherwise, with ample rest behind him, he had no intention of relaxing, launching a final charge upon returning to the court.
First, he attacked the basket, drawing a foul from Sabonis and sinking both free throws.
Then Petrović missed a shot, and Barkley seized the defensive rebound, propelling a counterattack himself.
Unable to break through head-on anymore, he chose to move near the three-point line, backing in, and spun along the baseline cut into the basket for a reverse layup!
Chased 4 points in succession, but Gan Guoyang quickly retaliated, catching the ball in the left corner, rising for a mid-range jumper, and nailed it!
This was Gan Guoyang’s sweet spot; once receiving the ball for an attack there, the opponents had difficulty to double-team, conceding points was inevitable.
Kevin Johnson once again attempted to challenge Ah Gan’s defense in the three-second zone, not getting blocked though.
However, in trying to evade Ah Gan’s block, Johnson’s layup veered too far, bouncing off the boards without even touching the rim.
Barkley fervently fought for the offensive rebound, but as he attempted another layup, Gan Guoyang slapped the ball away!