This ancient technique has found new life in Gan Guoyang’s hands; Gan Guoyang discovered that after gaining weight and slowing down in explosiveness, the hook shot became a very efficient and effective offensive method.
The referee called a defensive foul on the Trail Blazers, followed by Jordan passing to the corner where Pippen’s three-pointer missed.
The Trail Blazers had a chance to close the gap, but their counterattack was intercepted by the Bulls, who secured the defensive rebound.
Jordan received a coordinated pass from Rodman and charged into the paint, facing the Trail Blazers’ Gan Guoyang and PJ Brown’s formidable defense; his challenging floater missed.
Aside from a fadeaway by Jordan and a hook shot by Gan Guoyang, neither team scored in the first few possessions of the second half.
Both sides visibly increased their defensive effort, causing the game to stagnate and making scoring opportunities rare.
In the first half, whenever Nike Sal shot, it seemed to go in, but now under Harper’s tight defense, he lost his accuracy and missed two wild shots.
After Van Exel missed two consecutive shots, the Bulls seized a fast break opportunity; Jordan attracted the defense and passed it out to the perimeter.
Lang Li caught the ball, feigned a drive, then passed it to the corner where Ron Harper launched a successful three-pointer!
The Trail Blazers’ coaching staff saw this situation as unfavorable, and Van Exel squandered quite a few chances.
Simultaneously, it was challenging to get the ball to Gan Guoyang; the Bulls were desperately cutting off the passing lanes to Ah Gan, making it difficult for him to receive the ball smoothly.
Rick Carlisle signaled to Bird, perhaps suggesting they should call a short timeout to adjust momentarily, the team needed to change its offensive rhythm.
The late 90s NBA gameplay looked just like this, especially in the third and fourth quarters: slow-paced, heavy on half-court offense, and frequent misses.
It’s possible to have multiple possessions without scoring, leading both teams to feel stuck, and then suddenly one team breaks through, scoring five or six points to take the lead.
Though five or six points might not seem much, in the current game tempo and shooting accuracy, it’s a relatively secure lead; it might sustain against the opponent for the entire match.
Bird, however, shook his head, saying, "It’s not the right time, trust in the players’ ability to adjust."
The Trail Blazers made adjustments indeed, with Gan Guoyang starting to dribble the ball past half-court himself.
Jordan and Pippen approached to surround Gan Guoyang, denying him an easy opportunity to initiate an attack past half-court.
Gan Guoyang fed the ball to Riddle; Riddle, facing Jordan with his back, lacked confidence and opted for a turnaround shot.
It didn’t go in, but Gan Guoyang gained the upper hand against Dennis Rodman in their positioning battle, tipping an offensive rebound.
A long pass was sent to the opposite side, where Van Exel received the ball and went for another three-pointer! This guy really dares to shoot, and it went in!
After scoring, Van Exel made a three-point gesture; tonight, he’s got the hot hand and is precisely the sharp tool the Trail Blazers need.
When Van Exel could score, the pressure on Gan Guoyang lightened, and the teams started the brutal third-quarter battle of offense and defense.
The Bulls at this time executed their signature full-court press, directly pressing the ball handlers tight from the backcourt onwards.
The Bulls’ perimeter players Harper, Jordan, and Pippen, are all tall, strong, and exceptionally capable defenders.
Especially Harper, who became the Bulls’ starting point guard replacing John Paxson, and since he could play shooting guard, he looks exceptionally large at the one position.
Jordan also fits as a shooting guard with his small forward’s build, while Pippen, fitting as a power forward, plays at small forward position; they are the so-called "three tall perimeter players."
Whenever the Bulls operate a full-court press defense, opponents easily make mistakes, becoming chaotic in their offense.
The Trail Blazers were no exception, making consecutive turnovers in the backcourt; even if Gan Guoyang came out as a responder, he was still alone after all.
The Bulls didn’t randomly double-team; they utilized their perimeter height advantage to conduct a high-intensity press, forcing the opponent into mistakes or reckless offense, then capitalizing with fast breaks.
Turnovers were inherently a significant issue for the Trail Blazers, who lacked an organizational conduit on the wing.
Van Exel might initiate the offense himself, but his small stature narrowed his vision, and his aggressive style often resulted in errant choices.
The Bulls launched a 6:0 offensive wave against the Trail Blazers, expanding their lead to 11 points.
Yet Bird still insisted on not calling a timeout; he watched the players make mistakes like a stubborn parent, demanding the kid realize the error and correct it himself.
Even Dick Hart grew anxious, saying off the court, "It’s 11 points behind; is he saving the timeout for after the game as a raffle prize?"
Bird nodded, saying, "Yes, saving it for the raffle; the first prize is the O’Brien Trophy."
Hart had nothing more to say, only watch as the situation on the court turned perilous.
At this point, the Trail Blazers players were also waiting for the coach to call a timeout, yet they received no such directive.
Van Exel wanted to call a timeout but was stopped by Gan Guoyang, who said, "Give me the ball."
After facing continual obstacles, Van Exel obediently handed the ball over to Ah Gan.
Gan Guoyang dribbled past half-court to organize the offense, dodging harassment from Pippen and Jordan using a clever behind-the-back dribble.
Then he shifted direction slightly away from Pippen; after all, he’s a center and can’t perform quick crossovers like Tim Hardaway.
Yet even a small gap was sufficient as he used his strength to lean against Pippen for an inside drive, performing a mid-lane riding jumper.
He scored two and drew Pippen’s foul; Pippen pouted his lips and gestured helplessly to the referee, but to no avail.
This was Gan Guoyang’s fourth time tonight scoring a three-point play; the Bulls’ foul issues were still progressively piling up, though not yet conspicuous.