At this time, Gan Guoyang casually walked to Malone’s side, leaving the jump ball in the center circle to Little O’Neal; he didn’t need to jump.
"50 points." Gan Guoyang suddenly said to Malone, without turning his head, only moving his mouth, the words squeezed out from between his teeth.
Everything came very suddenly, without a hint of preparation, Malone was somewhat incredulous. Ah Gan, what did you say?
Fifty points? What fifty points? My muscles fifty points?
No, fifty points, this guy says tonight he wants fifty points!
Malone quickly realized that this was Ah Gan’s classic pregame declaration.
He often, before some game, would suddenly say to the opponent, "50 points, 60 points," and then there’s no escaping a high-scoring slaughter.
Malone couldn’t understand, this isn’t scientific, firstly, I didn’t provoke you, secondly, I didn’t do anything!
Finally, come on man, you’re already 36, don’t be so provocative, okay?
Why not peacefully finish the game, then go to the locker room, shower, and rest, isn’t that better?
Not young anymore, regular season, just make do, whatever happens in the playoffs, right?
Why out of nowhere you want 50 points?
"Sonny..." Malone wanted to say something.
"55."
Alright, alright, no more talking, talk again and it’ll be 60 points.
Fine, fine, I’m unlucky, 55 is 55, I refuse to believe you say 55 and it’s 55?
Malone was momentarily ignited with a bit of fighting spirit, Ah Gan this guy was too much.
You’re chatting happily with two old friends, in a good mood, then damn it, come to me and right out say fifty points, did I provoke you?
But Gan Guoyang being too much wasn’t a one-day thing, Malone was long used to it, he was ready for confrontation and battle.
To say stop Ah Gan, Malone never thought he could do it.
But wanting to get 55 points on me is definitely not easy!
This season the Jazz team was in quite good shape, facing the emerging Western Conference elites, the Jazz hadn’t slipped up.
Facing the Lakers, Supersonics, Suns, Kings, the Jazz showed strong combat power.
The three veterans are stable, the team’s system is well-established and refined, definitely not an easy opponent, Malone had that confidence.
But three minutes into the game, Malone started to lose confidence.
Gan Guoyang started by receiving the ball, shooting a three-pointer from the outside, seemed like his touch tonight was excellent.
Then, Brian Russell made a jump shot from the outside too, but the Trail Blazers quickly inbounded, Gan Guoyang made a fast break layup.
The Jazz had a problem communicating defensively, in the fast break who should follow Ah Gan? Malone? Or Brian Russell?
Jazz still scored, Stockton hit a jump shot after a pick and roll, but Gan Guoyang immediately made a catch and jump shot from the top of the arc.
In just three sequences, Gan Guoyang already got 7 points with drives and shooting, more terrifyingly, his touch was clearly excellent tonight.
Everyone on Earth knows, when players like Jordan and Ah Gan start with a blazing touch, tonight is destined to be their night.
Malone started sweating coldly, with other opponents, he’d start using little tricks on defense.
Elbowing, pushing, upping the physical contact, tripping etc., using these to break the opponent’s offensive rhythm.
These tricks worked quite well in the NBA, offensive rhythm is like a glass cup, beautiful, crystal clear, but also can break with a touch.
A player’s ability to withstand interference, maintain offensive rhythm, often distinguishes whether he’s an ordinary player, a star, or a superstar.
But Malone didn’t dare to use these tricks on Ah Gan, hasn’t he received enough hits? Moreover, these tricks are useless.
Meanwhile, Malone quickly realized tonight the Trail Blazers were set to engage in a shootout with the Jazz, defense was relatively lax.
Thus Malone also started to commit to offense, trying to pin down Gan Guoyang in the shootout, but his jump shot didn’t succeed.
Henderson grabbed the rebound, obediently threw it to Gan Guoyang, Gan Guoyang accelerated again from the back court, directly initiated an attack!
To get 55 points, at the start, you must take advantage of weak defenses to score more, while finding the offensive rhythm.
Another fast break, Gan Guoyang’s such play made Jazz quite uncomfortable, the defensive line was pierced again.
Gan Guoyang drove straight to the basket, faced Jazz’s double-team defense, forced the drive, drew a foul, and went to the free throw line.
Made both free throws, Gan Guoyang already had 9 points, Jerry Sloan saw it was bad, immediately called a timeout.
Things aren’t right, lately, Ah Gan has been quite laid-back, why tonight against the Jazz playing so aggressively?
This isn’t game seven Western Conference finals, no need like this, could it be Malone provoked Ah Gan?
Since Lan Bi’er, Thomas retired, Malone could be said to have the worst relationship with Gan Guoyang in the league.
During the timeout, Sloan asked Malone: "What happened Karl, did you say something to Ah Gan?"
Malone shrugged: "Said what? I said nothing, said shit. He stood beside me, opened his mouth and said 50 points, I really didn’t even fart."
Sloan asked Stockton and Hornersek again, both shook their heads, saying Ah Gan’s mood was quite good, everyone reminiscing, one less game to play.
Stockton then said: "Probably... Ah Gan wants to leave Karl with some lasting memories."