Unexpectedly, the Rockets played incredibly strong, dominating the first quarter.
Tomjanovich positioned Robert Horry as a small forward and Tracy Murray as a shooting guard. The two big men, each over 6’7", constantly fired from beyond the three-point line.
At halftime, the Rockets made 7 out of 11 three-pointers, achieving a frighteningly high conversion rate and briefly leading by 7 points going into the third quarter.
The Rockets displayed the vigor of a young team in the first game of the playoff series; their fearless attitude like newborn calves taking on tigers.
Although during the regular season they were often toyed with by the crafty Gan Guoyang, the playoffs were different, and the Rockets’ morale was high throughout the team.
During halftime in the locker room, Bird was dissatisfied with the players’ performance, especially the abysmal external defense, which was penetrated by the two tall shooters.
Yet Bird understood that this weakness couldn’t be changed this season. Their strategy wasn’t to improve the defense but to overpower the Rockets on the offensive end.
Among them, Van Exel and Riddle needed to perform, or else Gan would have to handle it all alone again.
Their performances in the first round were criminally bad, with shooting percentages below 40% and three-point percentages below 30%. They needed to find their rhythm.
When the second half began, the "King of the Third Quarter" started to shine, and Gan Guoyang continued his low-post iso plays, indiscriminately breaking down Willis, Campbell, or Weber.
Compared to the first round, Gan Guoyang added more mid-range shots from the top of the arc and three-pointers from the 45-degree angle, as the Rockets’ defense was much stronger than the Timberwolves’.
Their interior and wing sizes were ample; although their help defense and double-teaming weren’t overly forceful, they were executed flawlessly. Without carefully choosing offensive strategies, efficiency easily drops.
Gan Guoyang knew he had to maintain his iso plays at a high efficiency to lead the team to gain an advantage; otherwise, it would easily lead to a vicious cycle.
Two points from an iso play and two points from team offense are just points; on the scoreboard, they are no different.
The real difference lies in the long-term accumulation; iso plays make the overall team offensive feel colder, while proper team offense tends to heat up the more it’s played.
Once the critical point of quantity and emotion is reached, iso plays start to harm the team, while team offense feels increasingly good until it becomes unbeatable.
For iso players, the lower the efficiency of an iso play, the earlier and more apparent this critical point occurs; the higher the efficiency, the simpler the means, the later it arrives, or it might not come at all.
Gan Guoyang is the highest efficiency iso player in League history, and during the third quarter, he again exploded with 20 points, helping the Trail Blazers overtake the score, though the lead wasn’t substantial.
Because the Rockets’ three-point shooting rate remained high, Chris Weber continued threading and playmaking for his teammates and punished the Trail Blazers’ contracting defense with mid-range shots, skillfully avoiding Gan’s sharp retaliation.
Going into the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang took a two-minute rest, with Bird himself handing Gan Guoyang a towel and water, saying, "Honestly, I don’t like the way you play."
Gan Guoyang took a sip of water and said, "I’ve won championships playing this way."
"Are you talking about 1987? No, that’s different; back then, your defense was much better."
"It’s ’we’."
"No, it’s ’you’; back then, I was with the Celtics."
"I don’t care how I play or whether you like it or not. I just want to win. If the team needs me to score, I will, simple as that. If my teammates are good, I’ll pass; if not, I’ll handle it myself."
Sitting beside Gan Guoyang, Kobe silently took these words to heart.
But Gan Guoyang didn’t tell Kobe that there is a precondition for this: your efficiency should best match Jordan’s level.
When your efficiency starts to drop, you must be aware of it and make adjustments promptly.
Even Gan Guoyang, once his iso play feels off, will immediately adjust, draw fouls, and assault the basket.
Otherwise, he’ll continue down the path of destruction, harming himself and the team further.
Bird knew that Gan was doing this out of necessity; this playoff journey, the Trail Blazers hadn’t made comprehensive preparations.
In the fourth quarter, both sides started a battle of entanglement, taking turns to lead—a situation that also occurred during the regular season.
Van Exel and Riddle finally regained some offensive form, with Van Exel hitting two consecutive three-pointers.
Meanwhile, Riddle connected on Gan Guoyang’s pass, scoring with a post-up move and a fast break—standing at 6’5", with average wingspan, Riddle faced considerable challenges against the Rockets’ tall forwards.
The playoffs can be incredibly straightforward and brutal at times; strategies, techniques, and touch, ultimately all pale compared to raw talent like height and speed.
Both parties fought tenaciously until the final moments, where Sam Cassell used his leisurely middle-path breakthrough and stop-and-jump shot to tie the game for the Rockets.
The Trail Blazers called a timeout. After returning, Gan Guoyang received the ball outside, suddenly making a long pass to the interior, where PJ Brown caught the ball for an aerial dunk.
Tonight marked PJ Brown’s first field goal, with Chris Weber distracted on defense and failing to guard his man.
Ever since losing the championship due to a non-existent timeout in the NCAA finals, Weber has carried a slight psychological shadow, causing him to make mistakes at crucial moments.
Immediately afterward, Gan Guoyang, who had been lurking in the three-second zone all game, suddenly expanded outward and took a gamble with Van Exel, double-teaming Cassell, resulting in Cassell’s turnover.
By relying on an assist pass and a steal from Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers won the first game of the series against the young Rockets with a 113:110 victory by a margin of 3 points.
It was a hard-fought win, ultimately relying on the power of a superstar, with Gan Guoyang putting up 40 points, 20 rebounds, and 5 blocks with a 67% shooting rate, ending with a three-point victory.
Because tonight, the Trail Blazers’ outside offense was dismal once again, and defensively, they allowed the Rockets to shoot nearly 50% from beyond the arc.
Even though the Rockets lost this game, they realized that Gan was strong, but the Trail Blazers weren’t invincible, and indeed, they had many flaws.
If it were the regular season, a loss might just be shrugged off, but the playoffs are different; coaches and players will make targeted adjustments, exploiting opponents’ weaknesses to further widen the gap.
On May 6th, during the second game, the Rockets continued their bombardment strategy from the first game, again achieving a high three-point shooting percentage, while defensively employing veteran Kevin Willis to shadow Gan Guoyang the entire game to reduce his offensive efficacy.
"Keep Gan’s shooting rate below 60%!" That was Tomjanovich’s demand of Willis.
Willis succeeded, as Gan Guoyang’s shooting rate was just 59% for the game, scoring 34 points, while the Trail Blazers lost their home game 109:114 to the Rockets.
This not only tied the series but also led to losing their home-court advantage, making their semifinal outlook not quite promising.
On May 8th, during the series’ third game at Houston Peak Arena, the Trail Blazers encountered a rare and significant defeat.
Gan Guoyang experienced his "ugly girl’s night," feeling some gastrointestinal discomfort before the game, with his offensive touch being terrible. Despite adjustments, his shooting rate was also below 50%.
As a result, with Gan Guoyang’s slightly lower efficiency, the Trail Blazers collapsed under a vigorous assault from the Rockets, who possessed strong home-court morale, falling early behind by 15 points.
With a score of 95:110, the Trail Blazers lost to the Rockets by a 15-point margin in the third game, trailing 1:2 in the series and plunging into a significant crisis.
After the game ended, Gan Guoyang grabbed Bird on the way back to the locker room and said, "We need changes, major changes."
Bird replied, "How about putting me on court?"
"A good idea, if it were feasible."
Bird waved his hand, expressing his frustration with a joke.
He knew Gan was right; major adjustments were necessary.
They couldn’t keep letting the low-performing pair waste too many offensive chances in the starting lineup.
Though they performed well during the regular season, the playoffs aren’t their stage.
Bird thought seriously, realizing that this series might belong to the youths.