The Heat gained an absolute advantage in the series, firmly holding onto their home-court advantage.
Thus, changes emerged in the Eastern and Western Conference finals, making many realize that Ah Gan was still the same Ah Gan.
And Michael? Michael might still be that same Michael, but this time he encountered Olajuwon and the Heat.
The finest talents of the golden generation of 1984 were engaged in an unprecedented showdown this year, making finals tickets incredibly difficult and precious.
At this moment, Charles Barkley envied Olajuwon at heart as he was in the Eastern Conference, leading 2-0, possessing an unparalleled psychological edge.
On May 29th, in Portland, the Suns faced their third game of the series, aiming to reclaim home-court advantage and the series trajectory with a win.
In the regular season, the Suns had the best road record in the league, having secured victories at the Rose Garden before.
On the flight to Portland, Westphal appeared relaxed, focusing on devising the game plan.
He made a decision: a rotation in defending Ah Gan, involving Barkley and Marley in defending him.
According to Westphal, this could disrupt Ah Gan’s offensive rhythm as he would need to adapt to different defensive tactics each time.
Barkley commented on this as "wishful thinking."
However, Westphal insisted that in the third game, Ah Gan couldn’t play like he did in the second game.
Yet the game didn’t unfold as Paul Westphal imagined; Ah Gan did not show a downturn in the third game.
On the contrary, after the second game, Gan Guoyang truly hit his stride, experiencing a major breakout returning to his stronghold in Portland for the third game.
First-time head coach Paul Westphal had the drive and imagination, but part of his imagination might have stemmed from his ignorance.
The Suns were only able to match the Trail Blazers in the first quarter, from the second quarter Gan Guoyang became unstoppable in the low post and the arc, scoring relentlessly.
Scoring 27 points in the first half, a bit less than the last game, seamlessly continuing in the third quarter with unstoppable mid-range jumpers and low post hooks, switching back and forth between small forward and center play style.
The King of the Third Quarter scored 21 points in one quarter, reaching 48 points by the end of the third quarter, completely crushing the Suns.
Charles Barkley, who fought hard in the second game, lost his touch in this game, which is a normal fluctuation in state.
After a splendid 42 points in the last game, it was inevitable to have a setback arriving in Portland this game.
At this time, someone else from the Suns should have stepped up to respond, or relied on team strength to fight back.
But your opponent is Ah Gan, who was on fire, playing better each game, Gan Guoyang.
In the entire game, Gan Guoyang feverishly collected 54 points, defeating the Suns in three and a half quarters, with the Trail Blazers winning at home 119-98, a dominant 21-point victory over the Suns.
Tonight, Gan Guoyang didn’t achieve any quadruple-doubles; he just focused on scoring, acquiring 54 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks, which was already enough.
Basketball, after all, is a game of scoring; so-called rebounds, blocks, and assists ultimately must translate into points to hold meaning, otherwise, they are ineffective data.
Therefore, why not directly score, crushing the opponent until they’re unable to catch up, breaking their will to resist, and making them unable to keep up with your pace.
This year was supposedly the weakest year in terms of overall strength for the Trail Blazers, but accounting for the 50-point sweep of the Supersonics and the 21-point victory over the Suns, the Trail Blazers, instead, seemed to win bigger scores more often.
The reason is simple: the Trail Blazers can no longer overwhelm with superiority, steadily crushing through opponents.
Gan Guoyang had to step up, like a sharp spear piercing through the opponents, the harsher the better.
It was necessary to hit the opponent mentally and weaken them.
Additionally, this year the Trail Blazers had an offense-oriented playstyle, and such offensive teams tend to create slaughtering scenarios.
After this game, Paul Westphal somewhat understood what Barkley’s words meant.
And after the fourth game, Westphal completely understood.
The fourth game was still held in Portland.
Paul Westphal thought, the team should bounce back in this match.
And Ah Gan, could he maintain such high scoring efficiency again?
Westphal wasn’t sure, but he adjusted the starting lineup, moving Barkley to the three position.
The inside was paired with John Salley and Mark West, a tactic used by Suns Coach Fitzsimmons in 1991.
It was obvious, Westphal didn’t have much to come up with; he couldn’t watch Ah Gan continue to do as he pleased.
However, this tactic did not work, for one simple reason: Ah Gan was no longer Ah Gan of 1991.
He was no longer a purely inside player, nor purely outside; he could attack from any position.
Putting two inside players didn’t help much, even though John Salley was a nimble big guy.
But in Detroit Pistons, he couldn’t handle Ah Gan, and with no Pistons system support with the Suns, he still couldn’t.
A piece of good news for the Suns in this game was that Terry Porter had to miss the game, and possibly the fifth game, due to a recurring calf injury.
The bad news was that Ah Gan could hold the ball more on the outside, pushing fast breaks, and bulldozing his way to attack any defender on the court at will.
From the first quarter, Gan Guoyang fully exploited mismatch tactics, frequently engaging in mismatched isolations against Suns players on the outside.