Gan Guoyang also caught the ball in the low post, and as soon as he had it, the Rockets double-teamed him. Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Kobe in the middle. Kobe caught it and took a direct mid-range jump shot.
The ball clanged off the front of the rim, missing.
But Gan Guoyang slipped under the basket, tipping the ball back into the hoop before the Rockets players could react.
Then, Wei Bo ran around a screen, caught the ball at the elbow, and took a direct mid-range shot, but he missed as well.
Wei Bo’s shot arc was a bit flat, and he occasionally took some wild shots, indicating that his consistency needed improvement.
Gan Guoyang easily grabbed the rebound, dribbled past half-court himself, drew the defense in, and then passed to Kobe.
Kobe, following instructions, made a quick move at the defender’s right, dribbled to break through, and faced the help defense for a sudden stop shot.
Still missed!
But Gan Guoyang grabbed the offensive rebound for the second time, pushed away Kevin Willis, and hit with a right-handed hook shot.
On the sideline, Bird was a bit anxious. What’s going on with Kobe? Why is he taking wild shots at the start of the second half?
The key is that Ah Gan is still passing to him.
The Rockets gave the ball to Wei Bo, who held it up top to facilitate, then passed to the wing.
Cassell cut to the basket, taking the defense with him, and Robert Horry drove into the paint, but was stopped by Ah Gan.
Another pass to Tracy Murray, who wanted to force a shot, but McGee rushed up, denying him the chance, forcing him to pass again.
To Cassell, pick-and-roll, then to Wei Bo... the ball went around and came back to him.
Wei Bo had no choice, no time left, so he forced a three-pointer from beyond the arc.
No good, Gan Guoyang preemptively positioned and grabbed another defensive rebound.
This defense almost caused a 24-second violation for the Rockets, making Tomjanovich feel uneasy.
On offense, Gan Guoyang received the ball in the low post, was double-teamed, and passed to Kobe again.
Kobe wasn’t like Van Exel, throwing wild threes. In half-court offense, he preferred to use his speed and explosiveness, combining dribbling crossovers to shake off defense and attack the three-second zone.
He liked to take shots closer to the basket, layups, jumpers, and floaters.
His shot trajectory was moderate, his line stable. Once he released the ball, you knew the guy had a talent for shooting.
This time, holding the ball again, the previous two misses did not affect his confidence.
He moved out to the three-point line, faked with a shoulder shimmy and a crossover, tricked the defense, and drove into the paint from 45 degrees!
This time he attacked the rim, faced Wei Bo and Kevin Willis’s help defense, and executed an in-air hand switch layup!
The ball bounced off the backboard, but still didn’t go in! It hit the front of the rim.
At this point, a large hand appeared, palmed the ball, and stuffed it back into the hoop!
A putback dunk by Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers opened the third quarter with a 6-2 run against the Rockets. Tomjanovich immediately called a timeout.
Meanwhile, Kobe, due to that high-difficulty switch hand layup, fell to the floor and slid out of bounds.
Gan Guoyang, after the successful putback dunk, helped Kobe up.
Kobe grasped Gan Guoyang’s strong hand and said, "Sorry Sonny, I didn’t make any shots."
Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "No worries, didn’t I just put them back in?"
Looking at the smile on Ah Gan’s face, Kobe suddenly felt something wasn’t right.
Could it be that Ah Gan passed to him just to miss, so that Ah Gan could make the putback?
Impossible, it shouldn’t be, how could that be, offensive rebounds aren’t that easy to grab.
In just a few plays, Gan Guoyang racked up 6 points and 5 rebounds. Indeed, Kobe’s miss trajectory and line were much easier to predict than Van Exel’s wild throws, and more convenient to position than Reed’s post-up game.
This kid, his hidden contributions are quite numerous.