Gan Guoyang nodded to indicate no problem, as long as the outside shooting percentage is high enough, the Trail Blazers definitely won’t fear the Rockets.
At 7:30 p.m., the fourth battle between the Rockets and the Trail Blazers began, Summit Arena was full, and Houston fans eagerly awaited Ah Gan’s downfall here.
Old grudges from 1986 are still remembered by many veteran fans; back then, if the Rockets had won Game 6 at Summit Arena, they would have reached the finals.
The young Rockets team is also full of confidence. Defeating the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan would mark a leap in their confidence.
Rockets’ head coach Tomjanovich had a solemn expression. He knew that if the Rockets could surpass the Trail Blazers, the team would transcend.
Chris Weber might clear the shadow of the NCAA finals timeout, rejuvenate his athletic spirit, and escape the recent university scandal.
But will it really work? Tomjanovich was uncertain.
News came out before the match about Van Exel’s self-exposure, which was good news for the Rockets.
Yet Tomjanovich knew that unless Ah Gan self-destructed, it’s not absolute good news.
Moreover, Van Exel’s performance in the previous three games wasn’t good, his inefficiency greatly helped the Rockets.
Without Van Exel now, the outcome is hard to predict.
Making substitutions is like changing a knife, and after only a few rounds, the Trail Blazers quickly displayed a different game style.
They played more set plays, and most of the offensive rounds started from Gan Guoyang holding the ball in the low post.
The Rockets doubled him, so Gan Guoyang passed, reorganized, fed the ball again, exhibiting extreme patience.
When Van Exel dominated the offense, he often threw the ball impulsively, but Porter wouldn’t.
This made the Blazers’ offense look less aggressive, seemingly ordinary, yet contained some strength.
In the first quarter, both sides ended tied at 24:24. The Rockets were fierce, appearing to crush the Blazers from the outset.
They took an 8:2 lead, but soon, with Porter hitting a three from the arc top and Gan Guoyang consecutively making mid-range shots, the Trail Blazers turned the score around.
On the defensive end, although Alon Magee and Kobe were perhaps inexperienced, their physicality and enthusiasm were unquestionable.
Both played cautiously on offense, took chances decisively, not holding onto the ball too long themselves, making the Blazers’ offense look much more cohesive.
At halftime, the Rockets and Trail Blazers tied at 49:49, both teams performed well, and the outcome was uncertain.
Among them, the Trail Blazers left a deep impression on the NBC TV Station commentator, who said, "I see the long-lost orderly beauty in today’s Portland Trail Blazers."
During halftime, Bird reviewed Kobe and Alon Magee’s performance, his only dissatisfaction was, "If only your shooting was more accurate."
Low outside shooting accuracy was the main reason the Trail Blazers didn’t lead in the first half, though their outside open shots outnumbered those of the Rockets.
The Rockets’ two forwards often threw with defense, while Kobe and Magee didn’t seize two or three open chances, squandering the potential lead.
The critical third quarter that would determine the game’s direction saw Gan Guoyang stop Kobe before it started, asking, "Any confidence in shooting more?"
Kobe’s eyes lit up, he nodded, saying, "Certainly, yes!"
Gan Guoyang replied, "Good, I’ll pass to you more in the third quarter, be decisive in shooting. Don’t shoot threes, focus on mid-range shots."
"I won’t betray your trust, Ah Gan. But does the coach know?"
"On the court, I’m the coach, listen to me."
Thus, without informing Bird, they decided to play this way in the third quarter.
In the first three games, the Rockets’ defense on Gan Guoyang was still good, not allowing his shooting percentage to hit 70%.
At the same time, the Rockets used their forwards’ height and wingspan to try cutting off Gan Guoyang’s connection with his teammates.
In the first three games, Gan Guoyang scored normally, but his assist numbers dropped significantly from the regular season, from 10.8 to 6.5, a considerable decline.
Actually, not just this season, every time in playoffs, other stats for Gan Guoyang rose: points, rebounds, blocks, steals, shooting percentage, only assists dropped.
But this time, the assist drop was particularly large because the regular season’s 10.8 assists had some water.
Some games had generally lower intensity, both sides attacking, or deliberate tactics that made assists easily up.
Come playoffs, it doesn’t work, Gan Guoyang inherently lacks super talent in assists and organization.
Early on, he averaged only 2 assists, which through effort and some talent slowly accumulated higher.
It can be said that Gan Guoyang is the Karl Malone of organization, in tough playoff clashes, he trusts himself to attack more than passing to teammates.
Bird once commented on Gan Guoyang’s organization and passing, saying, "Lacks talent and imagination, much below mine."
Gan Guoyang responded, "That’s because I can’t deeply understand mediocrity like you."
Gan Guoyang suddenly inexplicably trusted Kobe, handing him the ball for ending offense, seemed unusual.
When the third quarter began, Chris Weber scored first, using a beautiful reverse turn in the low post to slip past PJ Brown, scoring with a reverse layup from the baseline.
Weber has great talent in offense, mastering many skills inside and outside, he was also touted "the second Ah Gan," but compared to Gan Guoyang, he wasn’t proficient in many skills, and his shooting stability was insufficient.