Once the momentum and feeling in a game are established, it’s very difficult to reverse, and you must act quickly to change it.
The coach needs to make adjustments in personnel and tactics to ensure his players stay in their optimal zone as long as possible, while keeping the opponents uncomfortable.
If a player has a hot hand, they should play more, stay on the court longer, and have the offense revolve around them.
However, sometimes coaches are rigid and substitute players by the clock, regardless of the player’s form.
Bird used to do this last season, but this season, Bird has improved significantly. He watches the game closely and monitors the player’s condition.
Mu Lin’s form has been average lately, lacking the outstanding performance from early in the season. For a veteran player, fatigue in the mid-season is normal.
Bird put Little O’Neal on the court and moved Gan Guoyang to the small forward position to get Gan Guoyang’s outside form going early.
After the substitution, Gan Guoyang transitioned to the perimeter to receive the ball, forcing Reggie Miller to switch to guard him.
"When did you become a guard, Sonny? Are you getting older and more afraid of physical confrontation?"
Faced with Miller’s trash talk, Gan Guoyang just smiled, dribbled the ball, and took a direct three-point shot against Miller.
With a straight arm and relying on powerful wrist strength, the three-point shot had superb interference resistance; whether it went in depended on his feeling.
Miller extended his hand symbolically, then turned to see the ball had already dropped through the net, three points scored.
"I’m not Michael; my threes are accurate, even more so than yours."
Miller was speechless. This freak guy is the strongest inside player and also has the best three-point shot.
After Gan Guoyang moved to the small forward position, the Pacers’ offense also encountered some problems, with Gan Guoyang’s perimeter defense being fierce.
Jalen Rose made a mistake, and Gan Guoyang stole the ball, passing it to Kobe, who finally found a chance to counterattack.
Running the ball towards the frontcourt, ready for a fast break dunk, but was pushed down by Jalen Rose from behind, crashing into the audience.
Kobe scrambled up and charged at Rose, and the situation almost escalated into a massive brawl.
Fortunately, under Gan Guoyang’s friendly persuasion, the Pacers exercised maximum restraint, and no one threw a punch.
The referee called a flagrant foul on Jalen Rose; Kobe went to the line and made both free throws, and the Trail Blazers retained possession.
As the first quarter was coming to an end, the Trail Blazers took the lead with three-pointers and Kobe’s free throws.
In the final play, Gan Guoyang received the ball, stepping back from the three-point line for a long-distance shot, and scored again!
After scoring, Gan Guoyang blew on his fingers, as if cooling down the hot barrel of a gun.
21:25, the Trail Blazers, in a short time, successfully turned the game around by four points, gaining the momentum of the game.
However, the Pacers’ resilience was beyond imagination. At the start of the second quarter, they utilized the time-frame when Gan Guoyang was off the court, when the Trail Blazers lacked a core, and launched a fierce counterattack.
First, Jalen Rose broke through, causing a foul on Sabonis, made both free throws, and scored 2 points.
Then they used excellent defense to force a 24-second violation on the Trail Blazers, succeeding in their half-court offense by slipping in behind them.
Mark Jackson delivered a direct pass to the basket, Antonio Davis received it, made a layup, and scored 2 points, tying the game.
Gan Guoyang sat on the bench watching the game situation, and said to Bird: "In the finals, I would rather play the Bulls than the Pacers."
"Why?"
"The Pacers know me very well, I’m afraid of playing the finals against them because I can’t win 4:0. We might lose a game."
"..."
Bird didn’t want to talk to this guy anymore and focused on observing the game.
The Pacers were indeed well-prepared tonight; they deserved their coaching staff from the former Trail Blazers.
They had a very accurate understanding of Gan Guoyang’s game pace. Once Gan Guoyang was off, they immediately seized the time to score and maximize this window of opportunity.
Without a doubt, the Pacers’ strategy and rotation tonight were at playoff level. For the Trail Blazers to win, they must show the appropriate attitude.
The two teams stalemated at 25:25 for over two minutes, both sides finding it hard to score, as the game entered a fierce and intense battle.
Everyone could feel the Pacers’ desire for victory, to beat the Trail Blazers, and to end this long winning streak.
Over three minutes into the second quarter, Bird tapped Gan Guoyang’s shoulder, letting him go on earlier than usual.
Typically, Gan Guoyang’s regular season rotation would have him resting till midway through the second quarter; tonight, it seemed infeasible.
He put on his jersey and got on the court, replacing Little O’Neal, appearing again at the power forward position.
As soon as he came on, Terry Porter missed a three-pointer on the outside, and Gan Guoyang grabbed an offensive rebound, scored two points with a hook shot, breaking the deadlock.
Antonio Davis got a mismatched opportunity in the low post against Mu Lin because of a problem in Trail Blazers’ defensive communication.
Davis turned and made a little hook shot, pointed at Gan Guoyang after scoring, indicating that’s what Ah Gan taught me.
This Pacers team indeed had a lot of Trail Blazers’ blood, with much of Gan Guoyang’s basketball wisdom flowing through them.
To some extent, other teams would be a little intimidated facing Gan Guoyang, especially younger players.
The Pacers, from top to bottom, were very excited facing Ah Gan, with an eagerness to prove themselves in front of the former boss.
Reggie Miller, both in high school and when he first entered the league, was thoroughly outplayed by Gan Guoyang, making him nervous when facing Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers.
With Coach Adelman and staff, plus Ali, Davis, and others joining, Miller would hear stories about Ah Gan from them every day.
As he listened, the fear of Ah Gan gradually disappeared, understanding that although this guy was very strong, he wasn’t some bloodthirsty Demon King.
By playing well with him and understanding some of his characteristics, one would know how to play against Ah Gan.
Understanding this, Reggie Miller was naturally not afraid anymore but moved forward bravely, actively confronting Ah Gan.
Tied again, Miller hit a three-pointer in the next offensive play, helping the Pacers take the lead again.
After the shot, Miller trash-talked Gan Guoyang, trying to provoke him into a three-point shootout showdown.
He knew Gan Guoyang’s hand was quite tough, but even toughness didn’t equate to a hundred percent shooting accuracy.
If Ah Gan started flinging threes and missing, it would be an opportunity for the Pacers to counterattack.
But Gan Guoyang didn’t take the bait. Just returning, not sure of his touch, he chose to take the ball at a low post.
Facing Pacers’ double-team, Gan Guoyang passed the ball, caught it back on the outside, transferred it to the other side, and made a turnaround jump shot, scoring.
A very stable low post two-point play, Gan Guoyang played very calmly as the Trail Blazers trailed by one point.
Miller kept talking, and Gan Guoyang looked at him and said, "Are you sure you want to keep yapping?"
Miller gulped and shut up.
Adelman had mentioned, provoking Ah Gan must have limits.
It mustn’t go on endlessly, or else he’ll go at it endlessly with you.
True Kung Fu should manifest in basketball skills rather than in talking.
Tonight, Miller’s mouth was sharp, but his hand was even sharper.
Outside, he ran actively, once again finding an opportunity.
Receiving a pass from Dale Davis, he shot and made another three-pointer!
The whole stadium was boiling; Reggie Miller started going off in the second quarter.
At this moment, Gan Guoyang didn’t hold back, quickly made a free throw, and dribbled past the half-court.
After drawing the defense, he passed to Mu Lin, who faked a shot, made a fake breakthrough, and passed again.
Gan Guoyang caught it at a 45-degree angle, shot a three-pointer, and made it!
The previously lively stadium suddenly quieted down a lot.
Gan Guoyang hit an answer-ball, calming down the home fans.
After a period of mutual missed shots and wrestling, both teams entered a high-scoring phase.
As expected, the two teams, sharing the blood relation, had remarkably similar game rhythms.
Next, the teams alternated scoring, reaching 40:41, with the Trail Blazers still trailing the Pacers by one point.
Kobe came off the bench, bombed a shot from the outside but successfully assisted Gan Guoyang, who scored a second-chance dunk!
A brilliant assist! The Trail Blazers took the lead again!
But when Gan Guoyang ran back to defense, he saw Kobe and Jalen Rose had started fighting!
The two were grappling, with Kobe throwing punches but missing and instead getting punched in the chin by Rose, almost stumbling to the ground.
As both sides’ players rushed to break them apart, Kobe was restrained by his teammates, shouting, "Let me go, let me go!"
But Jalen Rose, seeing Ah Gan approaching, had already sneaked away, hiding behind Double Davis for safety.
Kobe indeed suffered greatly against Rose.