After the game, Gan Guoyang and Stockton hugged to show respect, and as for Malone, he just gave him a look. Malone definitely needed to be more careful in the next game.
With this victory, the Trail Blazers increased their winning streak to 31 games. They were truly unstoppable.
Last season, the Eastern and Western Conference champions both fell at their feet, and they won quite easily, without much trouble.
The Trail Blazers showed their incredible margin for error and a tactical system two tiers above their other opponents.
Now, everyone wants to see how long the Trail Blazers’ winning streak will last, and how many games they will remain undefeated.
Games will definitely become increasingly tough for the Trail Blazers, as the winning streak number is both an honor and a burden.
After leaving Salt Lake City, no matter which city they play in next, they will face the highest level of resistance.
No team wants to be the one to extend the record, and no team wants not to be the one to end the record.
However, the League’s situation is favorable to the Trail Blazers, because the existence of 29 teams further dilutes the League’s talent.
Just like the 1996 Bulls were able to reach a 72-win season, in part because of their formidable strength, and also because 29 teams meant more weak teams existed, and mid-level teams were weaker.
If it were 1984, when Gan Guoyang first entered the League, back then there were fewer teams, and they had to play five games against teams in their division, so the League’s talent was more concentrated, making it harder to win games.
Now, playing against the Raptors or Hornets in the Eastern Conference, or against teams like the Timberwolves or Grizzlies in the Western Conference, is often a free win.
Especially against the Western team like the Grizzlies, the Trail Blazers have to play them four times this season.
Without the Grizzlies, those four games would have to be distributed to division rivals like the Lakers or the Supersonics.
Playing the Grizzlies is, of course, much easier than playing the Lakers or the Supersonics, making it easier to accumulate wins.
After finishing the battle with the Jazz, the Trail Blazers went to Vancouver, Canada, and secured another win, reaching 32 consecutive wins.
They then went to Seattle and played a tough match against the Supersonics to tie the record — this was the toughest game the Trail Blazers have played so far this season.
The Supersonics, playing at home, absolutely did not want the Trail Blazers to tie the 33 consecutive wins record on their heads, and the Trail Blazers themselves were also feeling fatigued by the victory streak.
Moreover, they were on the road playing back-to-back games, going straight to Seattle after the Grizzlies game, with the entire Supersonics team eager to end the Trail Blazers’ streak.
The regular game time ended in a tie, as Ewing and Payton led the Supersonics in a tenacious resistance, indeed causing problems for the Trail Blazers’ passing game.
Upon entering overtime, Gan Guoyang was no longer polite, scoring 10 points in overtime and 44 points in total to help the Trail Blazers extend their victory streak, tying the record of 33 consecutive wins!
At this point, everyone on the Trail Blazers knew that their next loss might not be far away, with their tense nerves tied to victory becoming increasingly taut, ready to snap at the slightest issue.
Previously, Ah Gan had played the blue-collar style, passing, defending, facilitating, allowing the team to win easily.
In these two games, it was obvious that Ah Gan was dragging the team forward, as everyone else showed fatigue, only he could still stand up.
On January 9th, the Trail Blazers returned to Portland for a two-day rest, finally having a home game.
They were just one game away from breaking the Lakers’ 33-game winning streak record, and their opponent was none other than the road-playing Los Angeles Lakers!
Breaking the Los Angeles Lakers’ historical record on the Los Angeles Lakers’ heads could not be more legendary.
And the Lakers would absolutely not give in, wanting to keep the longest winning streak in history with their own team.
Over the years, the Trail Blazers had taken too much from them, and they were trying to keep whatever they could.