Catching the ball, O’Neal used his body to squeeze inside, but it was hard to find space; Gan Guoyang held his ground steadily.
O’Neal opted for a forceful inward turn, his elbow striking Gan Guoyang’s chest.
The force was considerable, and Gan Guoyang felt a heaviness in his chest, stepping back.
The referee immediately whistled, calling an offensive foul on O’Neal, and Gan Guoyang was a bit angry.
"Watch your actions, Shaq, keep your elbows down," Gan Guoyang said.
"That’s how I play ball," O’Neal retorted and went back to defending.
Gan Guoyang thought, this kid has a bit of temper; that’s good news.
It looks like Beelman gave O’Neal some advice during the timeout, making him a bit fired up.
Gan Guoyang thought O’Neal might play better with a bit of temper, but O’Neal was actually boosting his own courage.
He wanted to provoke Gan Guoyang, to make Ah Gan strike first so that O’Neal could have some justification.
If they started fighting, teammates and referees would come over to separate them, and he could just muddle through.
If O’Neal were to make a move himself, whether face to face or by surprise, he was afraid of being taken down directly.
Gan Guoyang executed a pick-and-roll with Van Exel at the high post; after the pick, Van Exel passed the ball to Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang had the opportunity to take a mid-range jump shot, which was his scoring method, but he deliberately didn’t shoot and dribbled inside.
He was going straight at O’Neal; the two collided in the three-second zone, and Gan Guoyang charged fiercely, while O’Neal turned sideways and bumped Gan Guoyang.
The tonnage of O’Neal, combined with the sideways impact, made Gan Guoyang stumble out of bounds; this play resulted in another foul, O’Neal’s second consecutive violation.
This time, Gan Guoyang was a bit fired up; aren’t you pretending to have a temper? You are intentionally causing trouble, aren’t you?
For a typical inside player, getting hit would send them flying; only Gan Guoyang could steady himself without falling.
Even so, he was still feeling pain on one side of his body from the collision.
Gan Guoyang put down the ball, walked up to O’Neal, and asked, "What’s wrong with you, Shaq? Getting dirty because you can’t play the game? Why don’t you just hit me outright?"
O’Neal didn’t respond, just avoided eye contact, thinking that he did want to hit him but hadn’t found a good opportunity yet, still brewing his emotions.
The referee and players from both teams came over to separate the two, and Thorpe grabbed O’Neal, saying, "Shaq, calm down, are you crazy? We can win if we play well."
O’Neal wiped his sweat and said, "I know, I’m playing well, don’t worry about me."
During his rookie season, O’Neal was hit hard by Gan Guoyang partly because he lacked a protector like a bodyguard.
Later, the Orlando Magic signed Horace Grant; with Grant around, O’Neal had a good helper for both defense and confrontation.
After joining the Lakers, Jerry West immediately traded Campbell from the Rockets to get Audie Norris, showing effort for O’Neal.
But whether it was Norris or Horace Grant, they were particularly effective against others but became ineffective when facing Ah Gan.
Grant and Bill Cartwright both suffered from a notorious fear of Gan syndrome, collapsing whenever they faced Ah Gan.
Having such teammates with the Magic meant counting on Grant to handle Ah Gan was wishful thinking.
Thorpe was better than Grant; he and Gan Guoyang were from the same batch and had a great personal relationship.
In the summer, Gan Guoyang would play golf in Florida with Thorpe, even though Gan Guoyang didn’t like golf and Thorpe was a golf enthusiast.
The only ones who played golf with Gan Guoyang were Barkley, Jordan, Stockton, Old Tang, and a few others, with Thorpe among them.
The overly good private relationship meant that Thorpe would manage affairs officially without actively stepping in to help O’Neal against Gan Guoyang.
This left O’Neal feeling isolated and helpless; after consecutive fouls against Gan Guoyang, O’Neal felt a bit of anger inside.
He realized Beelman’s advice was correct; he should courageously give Ah Gan a real beating and vent his grievances.
"The best way to overcome fear is to face it," O’Neal recalled Beelman telling him.
For now, the conflict between the two was temporarily defused; a sideline ball for the Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang passed the ball to the outside, and Van Exel’s three-point attempt didn’t score.
Jide grabbed the rebound in the backcourt and started a fast break, while O’Neal rushed toward the front court to join the fast attack.
Seeing this, Jide immediately accelerated, dribbling along the sideline past half-court, making a precise diagonal pass to the three-second zone.
O’Neal, like a tank, charged into the basket, the ball falling accurately into his hands, ready to dunk.
Gan Guoyang wouldn’t allow him to score easily; he leaped from behind with a formidable block, pinning O’Neal down firmly.
Two of the strongest individuals in the NBA had the most direct collision and confrontation, and O’Neal lost his balance, pinned down on the ground, but the ball was still in his hands.
Landing back on his feet, Gan Guoyang gestured to the referee for a jump ball, confident that he hadn’t fouled—a beautiful defense.
Falling to the ground, O’Neal finally flared up, thinking of what Beelman said about being targeted by Ah Gan since his rookie season.
He recalled considering Ah Gan an idol, only to be misled with talk of "relax," eventually beaten to an unrecognizable state.