Barkley scored 10 points in the half, while Gan Guoyang had 5 points and 7 rebounds. He was clearly saving his energy for the second half, for the third quarter.
For the Trail Blazers, the team is gradually forming a new gaming style and rhythm. The days of sweeping through everything are over; they need to be more precise.
During halftime, Gan Guoyang apologized to Barkley, saying he shouldn’t have called him a pig.
Barkley shrugged, casually saying, "It’s okay. Until I win a championship, I’m a pig."
Clearly, Barkley’s mindset improved after joining the Trail Blazers, and knowing that this was his last season, there was nothing he wouldn’t accept for the championship.
Carl also came over to talk to Barkley, "I know you have the strength to start, but being a substitute will be a better choice for the team. When needed, you’ll still be the team’s starting choice."
Barkley accepted and respected Carl’s choice, the atmosphere in the Trail Blazers’ locker room remained perfect.
In the third quarter, both sides started exerting themselves, and Gan Guoyang, who hadn’t actively attacked much in the entire first half, began attacking from forty-five degrees.
To give more space under the basket for Little O’Neal, Henderson, Barkley, and others, Gan Guoyang reduced his low-post strong attacks, opting for the top of the arc, forty-five degrees mid-range, and beyond the three-point line to initiate his assaults.
This way, he could directly attack the hoop, pass inside, or set screens for teammates at the high post and wings.
Playing like this, Gan Guoyang’s scoring might decrease and his attack success rate and efficiency wouldn’t compare to his peak times.
But playing like this benefits the team more, creating more opportunities for teammates. Assist statistics might not be as conspicuous as in the low post, but the tactical opportunities will be greater, with influence beyond numbers.
The Miami Heat eager to catch up quickly raised the intensity of their defense, making it extremely difficult for the Trail Blazers’ outside operations.
At the same time, all five starters for the Heat had the capability to score solo. Riley’s team’s attack was always straightforward and blunt, with a linear thought process.
Marshon continued to perform efficiently, while Tim Hardaway gradually found his offensive rhythm, using his flexible ball handling and quick stop jumpers to score.
The two skillfully avoided Gan Guoyang’s defense, of course, Gan Guoyang guarded the basket and also didn’t easily leave the Three Second Zone open for the Heat.
Facing the Heat’s fierce catch-up, Gan Guoyang began to exert strength, continuously making mid-range jump shots from forty-five degrees, making PJ Brown shake his head.
Riley called a timeout for adjustments, Rashid Wallace took the initiative to ask, saying he wanted to defend Gan Guoyang one-on-one and lock him down!
Riley thought to himself, it’s been a long time since a player was so bold, whose soldier is this? Oh, this is my soldier.
Hence, in the latter part of the third quarter, Rashid Wallace actively matched up against Gan Guoyang, attempting to shut down Gan Guoyang’s offense.
Gan Guoyang, who hadn’t actively attacked much in the first half, found himself in the third quarter. At this point, it didn’t really matter who came to defend him.
Rashid Wallace, a North Carolina graduate, tall with long wingspan, had a solid defense foundation, coupled with his fiery temper and aggressive nature.
Wallace didn’t require teammates’ assistance on the first two balls, stubbornly backing into Gan Guoyang in the post, but Gan scored with a hook shot after an inside turn, and made a leaning shot from the baseline causing Wallace to commit a foul, sending Gan Guoyang to the free throw line.
Wallace was very dissatisfied with the referee’s call, shouting at the referee, "I didn’t foul, he bumped into me! He hit my arm!"
Gan Guoyang’s leaning turn-around jumper was unique in the league; even if you studied it closely you couldn’t stop it, especially since you wouldn’t accumulate any experience from others.
"Shut up and focus on the game!" Gan Guoyang made the free throw and took the opportunity to teach Wallace a lesson.
Wallace wasn’t willing to be outdone, saying, "The one who should shut up is you! You shut up, shut up!"
Wallace couldn’t really manage any trash talk, just yelling "shut up."
PJ Brown hurried over to pull Wallace away, telling him to stop talking, asking if he didn’t want to live anymore.
As a result, Rashid Wallace got a technical foul called on him, giving the Trail Blazers another point.
Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang grinned slightly, thinking it had been a while since he encountered someone so genuine and passionate.
If he didn’t have a good exchange with him, it would be a waste of his abundant basketball enthusiasm.
So, Gan Guoyang asked Little O’Neal to match up with PJ Brown, to guard the basket, and he wanted to defend Wallace one-on-one.
"You’re dead, Rashid, dead."
Teammate Tim Hardaway reminded Wallace.
Rashid Wallace entered the league in 1995 when Gan Guoyang had already retired.
In the 1996-1997 season, Gan Guoyang returned, and Wallace was in Washington.
The teams met twice each season, so there weren’t many chances to face each other.
These two years Gan Guoyang became more and more temperate on the court, personality growing kinder, especially generous towards young players.
Some young players had already forgotten, or simply never knew, how terrifyingly fierce Gan Guoyang used to be on the court.
Gan Guoyang was internally bothered, in December he had to go to New York for hearings again, traveling back and forth affecting his training and matches.
Various worries both on and off the court distracted him, being a dad and also a mom, helping Carl coach, leading the coaching staff forward.
The two children at home were growing, the son remained as mischievous as ever, while the daughter had a very strong self-awareness and ideas of her own.
His wife was handling a large array of affairs, sometimes losing temper, and the Alzheimer’s with the old man was becoming more serious.
Lately the old man kept forgetting things, making Gan Guoyang very worried, but sometimes he felt like the old man was pretending, because every time there was a dispute at home, he didn’t recognize anyone like he became a stranger.