Back in the locker room, Gan Guoyang called home to explain the situation. Wang Fuxi complained a bit, but still supported her husband.
"If you didn’t throw a punch, O’Neal would’ve pounced on you. Can you handle a 300-pound giant? One punch is light."
Gan Wenshan also grabbed the phone, saying to Gan Guoyang: "Dad, Dad, you hit O’Neal, now you can’t hit me when you come back!"
"Dad never wanted to hit anyone; hitting is wrong. But Mom’s right, with a 300-pound fat guy charging at you, it’s hard to control your fist."
After finishing the call, Gan Guoyang decided to visit the Lakers’ locker room.
On the court, none of the Lakers security dared to stop him. Gan Guoyang walked straight to the home team’s locker room.
"How’s Shaq?" Gan Guoyang asked the Lakers’ doctor, Gary Vitti.
Gary Vitti had been working for the Lakers since 1984, he entered the League with Ah Gan back then, serving as the Lakers’ physician and trainer.
"Not a big issue. Sonny, you’ve hit someone again," Vitti said with a helpless tone.
"He came at me; I had no choice. I didn’t want him pinning me down. I also didn’t want to lift him and slam him to the ground; that’d be too scary. Giving him a punch to let him sleep for a while was a good idea, right?"
Vitti remained noncommittal, while Jerry West and Lakers owner Jerry Buss also came into the locker room.
Buss glared at Gan Guoyang, initially wanting to ask why he was there, but then glanced at Gan Guoyang’s fist the size of a sandbag and O’Neal lying there, and ultimately didn’t ask.
In a cramped indoor space, fists often prove more effective than money or social status, especially when those fists pack such power.
West pulled Gan Guoyang aside, and said, "Sonny, you...sigh... why are you so impulsive, hitting someone again?"
Gan Guoyang didn’t explain; he simply patted West’s shoulder, and left the Lakers locker room, knowing this wasn’t a place he should linger.
On his way out, Gan Guoyang saw Jide sitting on a chair, icing his eye, and said: "You’ve got guts, Jason. Gary didn’t pick the wrong man."
The Gary he referred to was, of course, Gary Payton, Jide’s big brother.
Jide didn’t speak; he didn’t know why he rushed forward.
Normally he had an average relationship with O’Neal, but seeing O’Neal knocked down, motionless, filled him with anger, wanting revenge.
Unfortunately, he encountered Ah Gan, and was instantly cleared with a punch; Ah Gan’s fists are truly fast.
As Gan Guoyang left the Lakers locker room, O’Neal suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.
"Did Ah Gan leave?" O’Neal asked.
Everyone in the locker room was startled, West quickly asked, "How are you, Shaq?"
"I felt heavily asleep, then... I woke up hearing Ah Gan speak. Shit, I didn’t dare open my eyes. Did I fight him?"
"No, you were hit."
Jerry Buss, quite angry, said: "Why would you just rush in? Don’t you know what kind of guy he is?"
O’Neal internally gave Buss a white-eye, thinking why are you mad? I’m the one who took the hit, and I’m the one in the fight.
Afraid I get hurt and can’t make you money?
O’Neal and old Buss were nothing like Magic Johnson and Buss’s rapport; he always kept his distance from Buss.
Moreover, although O’Neal loved to play, he didn’t engage with Buss, as per his principle: don’t get too cozy with the boss.
"No big deal, I just wanted to hit him. What’s so great about him? From now on, I’m not afraid of him; I fought Ah Gan."
"You got hit," West reminded him again, but O’Neal acted as if he didn’t hear.
Soon, with the second quarter over, Beelman and the Lakers players returned to the locker room to check on O’Neal’s condition.
O’Neal stood up and told everyone, "I’m fine. I’m good. I can play the second half!"
Vitti reminded O’Neal that it’d be best for him to get a concussion check and examine his jawbone.
O’Neal, however, insisted he was fine with no issues, saying Ah Gan’s punch couldn’t do anything to him.
He was determined to play again.
"Was Ah Gan thrown out?" O’Neal didn’t forget to ask Beelman.
"Definitely, absolutely, haven’t sold me out, have you?"
"Of course not, I’ve said nothing."
Though hit by a punch, O’Neal’s physique could sustain it.
And after being hit, O’Neal suddenly felt proud: I’m among those who’ve stood strong against Ah Gan!
This was a curious psychological shift; though a punch knocked him unconscious, it felt like some kind of honor.
If it was a punch from some minor character, O’Neal’d be humiliated, and certainly go some place to retaliate.
But Ah Gan’s different; in the NBA, those worthy of Ah Gan’s fists are famous enforcers; he never hits nobodies.
So now, having taken a punch, O’Neal joined the ranks.
Thus, O’Neal returned to the court in the second half.
The Great Western Forum Arena erupted in cheers, as if welcoming a hero’s return.
Only after getting socked by Ah Gan does one achieve such effect.
O’Neal, seeing Jide’s swollen eye, felt touched internally.
Turns out, when hit, Jide was the one who stood up for me.
Their relationship thus shifted, becoming much warmer than before.
Without Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers instantly became a scattered team.
Especially on the inside, PJ Brown couldn’t withstand O’Neal at all.
In the third quarter, O’Neal wreaked havoc, scoring in low-post plays continuously.
In a single quarter, he drew three fouls on PJ Brown and pinned him to the bench.
Bird, seeing the inside crumble without Ah Gan, could only swap in Little O’Neal and Ben Wallace.
The two rookies couldn’t stop O’Neal’s rampage in the Three Second Zone, while Little O’Neal seemed as fragile as a ribbonfish in front of Big O’Neal.
But the duo didn’t resign, instead in some plays, defended O’Neal and Thorpe rather awkwardly.
Especially Ben Wallace, despite significant height deficit, relied on keen defensive intuition to deliver three blocks within limited playtime!
This seemingly ordinary young man hadn’t relaxed his self-training since entering the League, patiently waiting for opportunity.
Tonight, the conflict between O’Neal and Gan Guoyang unexpectedly provided him the chance to shine, which Bird firmly remembered.
Ultimately, the Lakers, at home, defeated the Portland Trail Blazers by 102:98, claiming victory in the Christmas showdown.
Post-game, Gan Guoyang’s punch still stirred quite a storm, with the League office sharply criticizing Ah Gan’s violent act.
"This isn’t Ah Gan’s first time using violence on the court, we’ve been patient, but this time we’re giving strong punishment."
Stern aimed to shape the NBA free from violence and drugs for middle-class families, but Gan Guoyang, as the League’s jewel, kept throwing heavy punches, always defying Stern.
But upon seeing the ratings—Lakers vs. Trail Blazers’ ratings surged when Ah Gan swung his punch, far exceeding Bulls vs. Heat.
Moreover, during the chaotic minutes when Gan Guoyang knocked down O’Neal and punched Jide, the ad fees surged to sky-high prices.
Gan Guoyang’s punch even influenced the combat sports market; late December and early January boxing event ticket prices rose 40% because "Ah Gan’s punch ignited people’s interest in boxing."
Seeing such results left sociologists curious: why did Ah Gan’s violent behavior yield more positive outcomes than negative ones?
People even jokingly dubbed Kermit Washington’s punch "the punch of evil," while Ah Gan’s punch was "the punch of justice," "the kind punch."
For the NBA and broadcasters, Gan Guoyang’s punch was "the punch of ratings," "the punch of money."
According to calculations, from the 1995-1996 season to the 1996-1997 season, the salary cap only increased by 1 million US dollars, indicating limited NBA revenue growth.
Yet with Ah Gan’s return in the 1996-1997 season, the salary cap expectedly might increase by 4 million US dollars or more in 1997-1998, even without new broadcasting contracts.
Ah Gan’s viewership and monetary effects were unparalleled; even if he hit someone or simply farted, it was sought after.
Ultimately, the League made a big fuss but did little, fined Gan Guoyang some money, suspended him for three games, and that settled the matter.
And Gan Guoyang’s 1996 had to end in rest due to the suspension, rather than on the court.
passed in such manner, and 1997 was about to arrive.