Malone let out a long sigh, thinking back over the past decade or so, he indeed had some pent-up anger.
Pressed down as soon as he entered the league, even his good partner criticized him because of Gan.
In Salt Lake City, the All-Star game stole the MVP, and in the playoffs, body-slammed in front of the All-America audience, losing face completely.
Malone always comforted himself, Gan’s father once apologized for Gan, so he should forgive Gan.
But what about Gan himself? Thinking of this guy’s smugness over the years, riding on his head and doing his business, Malone felt a surge of nameless anger.
Inbound pass, Malone passed to Stockton, Stockton commanded outside the three-point line, Malone set a pick for Russell and moved inside.
Gan Guoyang let go of Russell and focused on Malone, Malone opened his elbows at the basket to create space for himself by pressing against Gan’s chest.
Stockton accurately passed the ball, Malone suddenly exerted force, pushing Gan aside, caught the ball and charged to the basket for a lay-up!
Gan’s chest was heavily braced, he glanced at the referee, tonight’s chief referee was the young Scott Foster, who turned a blind eye to Malone’s sneaky elbow.
Foster showed no sign, seemingly permitting this small action.
Larry Bird approached Foster and argued, "You shouldn’t allow such moves, they’re dangerous!"
Foster replied, "Normal confrontation, keep playing, continue!"
Bird shook his head, muttering "This guy doesn’t even know what I mean by dangerous."
On offense, Gan warned Malone, "Don’t play dirty tricks with me, play fair Karl. You’ve been performing well all these years, don’t do this cowardly stuff again."
Malone shrugged, saying, "Don’t say that, Sonny, I know I’m a coward, so I’m not doing it on purpose, right?"
With Malone saying that, Gan really had no answer.
Then Gan received the ball in the low post, backing Malone for a solo play.
A turnaround jump shot scored two points, then both sides missed the next two possessions.
Malone still played small actions, but once done, he immediately showed weakness.
"Sorry Sonny, it was an accident, I’m sorry, forgive me."
With Malone like this, someone as prideful as Gan really couldn’t strike.
The third quarter ended, still an 11-point difference, with both sides entering the fourth quarter.
During the break, Bird came over and said, "Karl wants to play some tricks, ignore him."
Gan replied, "I know, but this sneaky bastard, hits me once and apologizes immediately, what can I do with him?"
Gan chewed his gum forcefully, realizing Malone was playing dirty as he couldn’t play head-on.
After being bullied by Gan for so many years, Malone had figured out Gan’s temper.
You just need to sweet talk this guy, and most likely he won’t argue with you.
After all, Gan’s status is there, his age too, a typical case of eating soft but not hard.
If this was 10 years ago, the young Gan in his early twenties wouldn’t care, even if you knelt, he’d still deliver a sweeping leg.
Now Gan wasn’t young anymore, much more restrained in his actions.
Considerations about reputation, bans, fines, sponsorship image aside, being a good role model for his kids was a heavy burden.
With his son and daughter growing up, they would learn from the media about their father’s image on the court, hitting others ultimately wasn’t good.
Malone indeed was sly, never playing big or obvious, specializing in the subtle and sneaky, hidden elbows, pushing lower body, pulling clothes, etc.
Once Gan discovered it, Malone immediately showed weakness, giving his face for you to hit, but Gan, feeling embarrassed, wouldn’t hit, right? Not hitting meant letting it go.
Anyway, I already apologized, if you hit again, wouldn’t that be losing your status?
As for Gan resorting to small tricks or dirty moves?
No way, Sun King is upright and acts forthrightly, would never use underhanded methods as retaliation.
You have to admit, Malone, after being tormented by Gan for so many years, genuinely understood Gan’s temper.
The fourth quarter had both sides’ second lineup play for a few minutes, Hornersek led the bench to close the score to 8 points.
Karl Malone returned to the game, Gan Guoyang also came on, Malone attempted a mid-range shot from the top of the arc.
Missed, Gan turned to grab the defensive rebound, but landed nearly falling because Malone pushed him from behind.
Another small move, slow-motion replay showed Malone seemingly lightly poking, but once a person’s balance is disrupted mid-air, it’s easy to fall.
Luckily, Gan’s core strength was strong, just staggered, this time the referee called a foul on Malone, who immediately raised his hand, it was only his third foul.
Gan was almost fed up, dropped the ball and walked over to Malone, while Malone spread his hands to the league saying, "I didn’t mean it Sonny! Sorry, don’t, don’t!"
"Karl, you know what’s going on, don’t play dumb." Gan’s eyes already showed anger.
Malone moved close to the referee, thinking if Gan charged him, he’d use the referee as a shield.
If Gan ended up knocking the referee over, it would cause a big scene.
Stockton watched everything from the side, as both a friend and an opponent, Stockton had no choice but to remain silent.
Urging Gan would definitely not work, earlier in the half he had advised Gan not to go too hard.
Now, this is it, Karl’s not behaving, playing small tricks, and Gan, for the sake of face, had not yet exploded.