Before the game started, there was full anticipation, but a small moment of distraction mid-game, and when looking up, they were already 13 points behind, with the game nearing its end.
Just when Riley was lost in thought, Drexler pushed him and said, "Coach, the game’s not over yet. Why did you call a timeout, to run ads?"
Riley glared at Drexler; ever since Olajuwon joined the Heat, Drexler seemed to have found support and sometimes even challenged the coach.
But at this moment, it was good for someone to speak up, and John Starks also said, "Coach, we need to do something, the game’s not over yet."
Riley calmed down, restructured the defense, and took a risk on offense; they needed to quickly catch up.
The last 5 minutes, a 13-point gap was not an impossible chasm.
As soon as the Heat returned from the timeout, Drexler caught the ball outside and made a three-pointer.
92:82, the Heat closed the gap to 10 points.
Porter passed the ball inaccurately, and Drexler stole it.
On the fast break, Drexler passed to Starks, who finished with a dunk!
92:84, the Heat chased down 5 points in a row, narrowing the gap to 8 points.
By this point, both sides had been battling for over 40 minutes, and Riley’s strategy was not entirely ineffective.
At least Terry Porter’s calf was being dragged down by injuries and fatigue, and he felt very tired.
The ball was passed to Petrović, whose knee was similarly uncomfortable, and when he broke through and passed to Ah Gan, a mistake occurred.
A steal from Olajuwon, the center with the strongest steal ability, his third of the night.
The Heat launched another fast break, and Drexler ascended again, catching the pass and jumping from a step inside the free-throw line for a dunk!
92:86, the difference came down to 6 points.
After chasing 7 points in a row, the Heat pulled themselves back from the brink of death, and now it was the Trail Blazers’ turn to take notice.
Beelman stood up to call a timeout, but Gan Guoyang took the ball from the backcourt, obviously intent on attacking himself.
With rapid dribbling, he crossed half-court, suddenly accelerating near the center, cutting straight from the middle.
Olajuwon closely followed on defense, but Gan Guoyang used his burst and strength to forcefully break through, leaping past Mason for a one-handed slam dunk!
Olajuwon was fully committed in defense, attempting to jump for a block, but he was still a step too slow, watching helplessly as Gan Guoyang scored.
It was crunch time, and Gan Guoyang’s stamina was full!
Riley’s worries materialized; Olajuwon followed up with a forceful spin move under the basket for a successful layup.
Once again, Gan Guoyang received the ball in the backcourt, dodged Drexler’s steal, and drove in from the right.
While all the Heat players rushed to block at the basket, he made a quick stop-and-jump shot from the right baseline—a Bernard King-style jump shot.
Two points hit solidly, 96:88, still an 8-point difference, making the situation increasingly challenging for the Heat.
Starks made another three-pointer! In the final stages, the Heat’s offensive efficiency became very high.
96:91, they still held hope for a comeback.
In fact, the Trail Blazers’ perimeter defense indeed slackened, fatigue was disturbing everyone.
Except Ah Gan.
He dribbled over half-court for the third time.
All the Heat’s defensive focus was drawn to him, and they closed in on him.
Gan Guoyang jumped and made a long pass to Sabonis at the top of the arc, who then directly threaded the ball under the basket.
The Heat’s basket was completely open, and Reggie Lewis caught the pass and easily dunked!
98:91, this was a very crucial play, demonstrating the Trail Blazers players’ great chemistry and experience.
Starks tried another three-pointer, but this time couldn’t score, and Olajuwon attempted to grab the rebound.
But Gan Guoyang judged the position correctly, leaped up to seize the ball, and the Heat’s hope of winning essentially shattered with this lost rebound.
With just over a minute left, the Trail Blazers, leading by 7 points, only needed to run down the clock.
At this point, empty seats started appearing again in the Miami Arena; some fans were leaving early!
Coming late and leaving early, on rainy days, avoiding traffic.
That’s just how unrestrained Miami fans are, unburdened by wins or losses.
The Heat made their final struggles and attempts, but the experienced Trail Blazers were extremely stable and composed.
In the final stages, they left no openings, giving the Heat no opportunities.
In the end, the score was fixed at 100:93, with the Trail Blazers defeating the Heat by a 7-point advantage in the first game of the Finals, leading the series 1:0!
When the game-ending buzzer sounded, the venue was nearly emptied of spectators, leaving only a few diehard fans to accompany the players in their disappointment.
Gan Guoyang and his teammates breathed a long sigh of relief, securing another win without any danger, yet Miami’s rain hadn’t stopped.
Riley said nothing after the game, heading straight back to the locker room; he needed a private space to sort out his tumultuous emotions.
Olajuwon still politely shook hands and hugged Gan Guoyang; he performed well tonight, scoring 27 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, blocking 3 shots, and assisting 4 times.
During his matchup with Gan Guoyang, he once held the upper hand.
But Gan Guoyang’s performance of 31 points, 22 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 8 assists proved he was still a head above Olajuwon.
Additionally, Petrović efficiently scored 24 points, Reggie Lewis secured 18, and Sabonis scored 15, forming the most core part of the Trail Blazers.
The Heat truly offered Olajuwon sufficient support, with only Drexler doing well, with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, along with 3 steals.
Just when people thought, in the second game two days later, the Heat would bounce back and hit the Trail Blazers hard, something unexpected happened again.
On June 12th, in the second game, it rained again in Miami; Porter’s calf was still vaguely painful, Petrović’s knee felt uncomfortable, Reggie Lewis was having chest tightness, Sabonis’ ankle was swollen, Mario Ely got food poisoning, Dale Curry’s son fell ill because of being in the rain, causing concern, Beelman reportedly had a quarrel with his wife, affecting his mood, and even Michael Jackson encountered trouble, with petty individuals persistently suing and defaming him, causing a scandal during the Finals.
The Heat played with the momentum of having to win, launching a strong offense from the first quarter of the second game; their suffocating defense left the Trail Blazers scoreless for 4 minutes.
Their largest lead extended to 12 points; at the start of the second quarter, the score was 19:31, filled with passion and a thirst for victory and revenge.
In this game, Miami fans arrived early, filling the stands before the game even started, as the Heat issued a notice urging fans to come early and support the team.
The Heat fans indeed persevered until the end, only leaving the field after the game, but the Heat still lost the game.
Gan Guoyang went on a scoring frenzy of 60 points, marking a day where he found his shooting touch, single-handedly turning the game around.
The second 60-point game in the Finals since Elgin Baylor, coming from the 1993 Finals.
Hitting 17 of 24 two-point shots, 7 of 11 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws, the effortless and unstoppable God of Destruction single-handedly obliterated the opponent.
The Trail Blazers left Miami with a 2:0 series lead, having the advantage of two home games.
As the plane took off, Miami’s rain ceased, and the radiant sunshine returned to the city’s skyline.
Portland’s fourth consecutive championship was within reach.
Ah Gan reached the pinnacle of his renown thanks to this game.
In his long career, this 60-point game cleaved it into two, like a blade.
The first part belonged to the heavens, and the latter, belonged to him.