On one hand, he was a bit worried, this guy Gan said he wouldn’t use verbal attacks, and indeed he didn’t, instead, he played targeted defense.
But on the other hand, he was also eager to see if Duncan could break through the targeting and limitations set by Gan.
On the other side, Larry Bird also realized what Gan Guoyang intended to do, he wanted to completely lock down Duncan.
Just like back then at Boston Garden, what Gan Guoyang did to him.
"If Duncan is smart enough, he shouldn’t clash head-on with Gan but should use passing and coordination to break his entanglement, that way the Celtics might catch up, otherwise..."
Bird recalled the times when he was suffocated by Gan Guoyang’s defensive entanglement.
Fortunately, basketball is a team sport, and making good use of team connections can break this kind of defense.
Ilgauskas is Duncan’s good partner inside; when Duncan failed to break Gan Guoyang’s defense twice at the low post, he chose to create opportunities for Ilgauskas with an inside pass.
Ilgauskas twice cut in for layups, scoring as Sabonis’s legs couldn’t keep up, getting fooled by his Lithuanian younger brother’s footwork.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers didn’t have a defensive forward at the three-position who could play both inside and outside, which was their only major lineup weakness.
Duncan keenly seized on this weakness, assisting his teammates when he couldn’t score, easing the team’s crisis.
However, relying on their higher offensive efficiency, the Trail Blazers maintained a roughly 10-point advantage, not allowing the Celtics to turn the game around.
Every time the Celtics narrowed the point gap to around 5 points, Gan Guoyang would step up, using his one-on-one play and drawing fouls to disrupt the Celtics’ rhythm and re-establish the advantage.
The back-and-forth tug, this first half was the hardest half the Trail Blazers played since the start of the season.
In some games, when the Trail Blazers hit their offensive stride, they usually wrap it up in two quarters, leading by over 15 points at halftime, stretching to 20 points by the third quarter, leaving no suspense in the fourth.
The Celtics, worthy of having Duncan and Beelman’s careful coaching, matched many rounds evenly with the Trail Blazers.
Although Duncan was still scoreless, he had 4 assists at halftime, collaborating with Ilgauskas to score 11 points and grab 3 rebounds.
The Twin Towers acted at this moment, when one point dimmed, the other could light it up through collaboration, supporting each other.
On this point, Beelman was very experienced, as the Trail Blazers also had such a configuration.
Duncan + Ilgauskas were almost the young version of Gan + Sabonis.
But many might have forgotten, including Beelman, that when young, Gan Guoyang had a nickname: Twin Towers Nemesis.
Any team with Twin Towers inside would be thrown into disarray by Gan’s offense and defense, ultimately leading to the whole team collapsing by concentrating resources inside.
Gan Guoyang hadn’t faced a Twin Towers team in a long time.
At the end of the first half, the score was 59:52, with the Trail Blazers leading by 7 points.
During the halftime break, the Trail Blazers players returned to the locker room, but Bird stayed courtside.
Because Robert Parish’s jersey retirement ceremony was scheduled for halftime.
This old Chieftain fought until 43, and in his career’s last year, he won a championship with the Chicago Bulls, truly concluding on a high note.
The Triumvirate reunited, smiling happily.
As Bird’s career on the Trail Blazers progressed, his resentment towards the Celtics diminished.
His relationship with Kevin McHale also eased with every exchange and clash.
The two became much closer than during their playing days; they truly became friends.
At the end of the ceremony, Robert Parish raised his number 00 jersey to the arena’s rafters.
The Celtics didn’t have many jersey numbers left for future players.
The second half resumed, and the broadcast showed the core players’ stats from both teams.
Duncan’s "0 points" was particularly glaring; he didn’t score at all in the first half.
He excelled in coordination and defense, keeping the Celtics’ defense from collapsing.
But as a core player, and as an inside player, scoring zero on offense, how do you win?
Duncan said he didn’t mind, yet anxiety secretly grew little by little.
It’s like water dripping during torture, it won’t suffocate you, but makes you gradually feel the fear of suffocation.
Evidently, Gan was creating a unique horror for Duncan:
It wasn’t a sudden scare, a violent shadow.
But a submerged, unknown threat, unpredictably looming.
The third quarter began, and Gan Guoyang shifted focus to offense.
He started dismantling the Twin Towers: aggressively targeting Ilgauskas.
Earlier, while Bird wasn’t in the locker room, Gan picked up the tactical pen and directly instructed on the whiteboard, demanding more passes to himself in the third quarter.
Since Bird wasn’t around, the Trail Blazers were already playing well, and now, everyone found it rather comfortable.
Facing the towering Ilgauskas, Gan Guoyang began attacking with footwork.
He utilized pivot turns and jab steps, combined with his strong body and nimble skills, consecutively scoring three times and drawing two fouls.
Seeing the bad trend, Beelman called for Fox to double-team Gan Guoyang, but a double-team wasn’t enough, so Duncan came over to help, barely stopping him once.