Although Kobe played with great flair, Jordan helped the Eastern Team gain an advantage with one mid-range shot after another.
During halftime, Jordan shouted to Gan Guoyang, "You need to step up, softie. Are you always going to let your little brother take the lead for you?"
"Show some respect, Michael. What’s wrong with you lately? Losing too much at gambling, or messing around with Jerry Krause and getting all messed up mentally?"
"Screw you, don’t mention that disgusting guy. I just want to tell you, stop watching the show and join in the game, let’s settle this."
Watching Kobe indeed struggle to hold the fort, he played hard and was talented, but after all, he was just a second-year rookie.
And this kid was as disrespectful as ever; when Malone wanted to come over and screen for him, he directly told Malone to get lost and not to interfere with his isolation play.
To this, Gan Guoyang responded, "Nicely done. But next time, don’t say that to your Trail Blazers teammates, or I’ll find a way to trade you to Salt Lake City."
In the second half, Gan Guoyang stopped pretending, no more watching, he personally took the stage to perform.
Gan Guoyang led the West Team in a storming comeback in the third quarter.
This time, Gan Guoyang completely took the Small Forward position, anyway, defense wasn’t that important in the All-Star game.
The important thing was offense, rapid counterattacks, and quick scoring.
Larry Bird thoughtfully subbed in Stockton, his cooperation with Gan Guoyang was simply seamless in the low-intensity All-Star game.
Player to ball to player, constantly tearing open the Eastern Team’s defense with ease, a large number of fast break counterattacks quickly added points.
The 12-point gap from the first half was erased in just half a quarter, bringing both teams back to the same starting line.
Jordan also began to fire up, breaking through, a quick stop jump shot, an underhanded layup, all kinds of spectacular shots, making it hard to imagine he was already 35 years old.
At this age, Dr. J Irving was already finding it hard to take off, on the brink of retirement, yet Jordan was still playing like an MVP.
Of course, that guy on the opposite side was the MVP, the game became an arena for the two of them, and the battle grew fiercer.
The fans on site got tense, not knowing who would win tonight, both teams seemed to get serious.
Eastern Team coach Bobby Berman started using timeouts quickly at the start of the fourth quarter, deploying and even designing tactics.
Bird refused to back down, also subbed in the strongest lineup, putting Kobe on the bench to observe.
Kobe felt dissatisfied, saying, "You promised to let me play more."
Bird replied, "At this moment, watching is more important than playing. Look closely."
In the final moments, both sides entered the tiebreaker mode, everyone gave 100% focus to the game.
The excitement of this scene was even better than the Finals, the Finals couldn’t bring together 10 superstars battling like this.
As Jordan hit a difficult fadeaway jump shot against Gan Guoyang’s defense, the Eastern Team changed the score to 134-133 in the final moments, leading by 1 point!
The entire Madison Square Garden erupted in cheers, although Jordan often devastated the Knicks here, the New York fans all loved Jordan.
In the previous plays, Jordan didn’t score against Gan Guoyang’s defense, but this crucial shot, Jordan made it.
Larry Bird immediately called a timeout, subbing in Kobe as a surprise element because Kobe had previously completed a game-winner off a Gan Guoyang assist.
Bird then laid out a very simple tactic, Gan Guoyang to screen for Kobe, then receive the ball on the flank, directly initiating the attack.
"Do you have the confidence to finish this play?"
"Of course, I’m Sonny Gan."
A few seconds later, Gan Guoyang set a pick for Kobe on the flank, Kobe took away the defense.
Gan Guoyang caught the sideline pass from Stockton, at 18 feet from the basket on the right wing 45-degree angle, received the ball, directly turned, and made a hook shot!
A move that only Gan Guoyang could make, with his back to the defender, receiving the ball, turning, and with one hand, hooking the ball towards the basket.
An extremely long range, extremely high difficulty, but the ball smoothly flew towards the basket, swishing through the net, helping the West Team to 135-134, killing the Eastern Team!
After scoring, Gan Guoyang raised his right hand high, like the Statue of Liberty in New York, securing victory while being named the Star Among Stars.
When David Stern presented the award to Gan Guoyang, he couldn’t help but sigh, "What an amazing guy, no matter what happens in the future, we must keep him, or the league will be doomed..."
The league has invested too much in Ah Gan, there’s no turning back now.