The 76ers’ coach called a timeout upon seeing this, and Gan Guoyang walked over and tapped Allen Iverson on the head, said nothing, and returned to the bench.
Allen Iverson returned to the bench with encouragement and support from his teammates, drank some water, adjusted his mood, but still felt very broken.
The humiliation during four months on the farm seemed to replay, flooding back like a tide, making it hard for him to control himself.
At the same time, he knew that after the game, the news of "Allen Iverson cried after being beat by Ah Gan" would make the headlines.
However, Iverson did not regret it; he didn’t regret challenging Ah Gan. He always believed it was the right and courageous thing to do.
Coach Davis substituted the emotionally unstable Iverson off for a while, waited for him to return to normal, and then put him back in, instructing Iverson to avoid Ah Gan.
Once Gan Guoyang was off the court, Iverson quickly scored his first basket of the game—facing Kobe, he used a baseline breakthrough jump stop to score two points.
Seeing this, Kobe immediately countered with a jump stop after a series of crossovers on offense.
Bam, missed.
Gan Guoyang sat on the sideline, covering his face in frustration.
The two faced off on the court for about five minutes.
Kobe actively defended Iverson, and after breaking his scoring drought, Iverson’s offensive feel quickly returned.
A three-pointer, a fast-break layup, a jump stop, and a shot breaking into the Three Second Zone, helped the 76ers close the score to within five points.
Facing the skilled Iverson, Kobe seemed very naive; some of his moves clearly lacked variation, and his shots were not precise.
Moreover, Kobe’s shot choices were very poor; he didn’t make good use of the team or tactics, instead going solo away from his teammates.
In terms of one-on-one ability, Kobe is clearly not as adept as Iverson now; those two years at college were not wasted.
But when Gan Guoyang returned to the game in the fourth quarter, Iverson felt somewhat constrained again, and that sense of nimbleness suddenly disappeared.
It’s like prisoners encountering the Prison Warden; even the most arrogant guy has to sit down and shut up.
In the end, the Trail Blazers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 107 to 102 on the road, calmly securing a victory.
Iverson shot 4 out of 15 overall, scoring only 12 points, with 0 points in the first half and scoring nothing against Ah Gan, which was a disgrace.
Kobe didn’t fare much better, shooting 1 out of 6 in front of his hometown folks, scoring only 2 points, with 3 turnovers and 3 fouls.
At the end of the game, Gan Guoyang also rubbed Kobe’s head vigorously, saying: "The night is long and the road is far, kid!"
Kobe walked away with his head down, left the court through the tunnel, and returned to the locker room without any cheers, not even boos.
On the other side, Iverson felt equally bad; though he did not regret challenging Ah Gan, this result was painful for him.
He sat in the locker room and cried for a while, finally understanding why the devil is a devil, and what kind of existence Ah Gan truly is.
But in the post-game press conference, Gan Guoyang didn’t use this to mock Iverson but instead said fairly: "He is very brave; it’s not easy for a six-foot tall ordinary person to play in the NBA. He has made some mistakes; we all make mistakes, including me. But some of the things a person does, some behaviors, especially his courage and character, will always remain, no matter what happens in the end. That is strength."
Upon seeing these words, Iverson said nothing. In future games, he continued to challenge Ah Gan, but he never said "I don’t like you" again.
[Veteran players said Iverson was immature and inexperienced, and it wasn’t just them holding this view.
He clashed with Charles Barkley, referee Tim Donaghy, and teammate Jerry Stackhouse, even getting into a physical altercation with Stackhouse, forcing the 76ers to trade Stackhouse away.
Bulls guard Ron Harper said: "This kid is too disrespectful. When you enter the league, you have to do something."
Lately, Jordan sought out Iverson to offer some advice, but according to the New York Post, Iverson told Jordan to "Get lost," to which Jordan simply rolled his eyes and complied.
The only exception was Ah Gan, whom Iverson is not close to nor friends with, but he always respected him greatly.]
———— Published in 2015, excerpt from Allen Iverson’s biography "Not a Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall Of Allen Iverson".