Gan Guoyang didn’t run in vain; he has the ability to shoot from the outside, but his touch wasn’t great at the start, missing two three-point shots.
The Lakers took the lead in the first phase of the first quarter, thanks to Kobe’s consecutive scoring.
Kobe clearly had a fierce competitive spirit tonight, wanting to go head-to-head with Carter. The two had known each other for a long time.
In 1997, when Tracy McGrady was picked by the Lakers that summer, he stayed at Kobe’s house for a long time.
At that time, McGrady told Kobe that his cousin was amazing at dunking, but Kobe didn’t believe him because he didn’t know McGrady’s cousin was Carter.
Kobe and Carter met very early. In high school, Carter was a year ahead of Kobe, and they both participated in the AAU amateur league as teammates.
Kobe was amazed at Carter’s incredible vertical leap and always tried to beat Carter in games, although they didn’t face each other.
Until they both entered the league, Kobe finally had the chance to match up with Carter, and he showed a strong performance in the first quarter.
On the other hand, Carter seemed more composed, always following the team’s plan and playing according to the coach’s arrangements.
As the general manager, Isiah Thomas wasn’t very satisfied with Carter’s performance.
During the break, sitting behind the bench, he said to Carter, "You need to be more aggressive, go one-on-one with Kobe, take him down!"
Thomas said this with a smile on his face; if you couldn’t hear his words, you’d think he was joking.
But Thomas is like that. The nickname "Smiling Assassin" wasn’t given for nothing; he always says ruthless things with a smile before doing ruthless things.
He always seems peaceful, but in reality, he’s often plotting something sinister. Even David Stern said if you want to see viciousness, watch more of Isiah Thomas’s games.
Thomas appreciates Carter and is determined to train him greatly, but Carter’s softness of character makes Thomas shake his head. In the NBA’s jungle, it’s hard to achieve big success.
During Gan Guoyang’s reign in the NBA, Isiah Thomas was able to lead the Pistons to a championship and become the Trail Blazers’ number one enemy at a certain stage, showing he is indeed a ruthless person.
Thomas hopes Carter can inherit this ruthlessness so that the Raptors can have a place in the league in the future, especially since Ah Gan is nearing retirement.
No matter the respect for Ah Gan off the court, on the court, Thomas will always treat Gan Guoyang as an opponent. Like many managers and coaches at this moment, he’s thinking, "Ah Gan is finally retiring," a feeling of dawn approaching that others can hardly understand.
If it wasn’t for Gan Guoyang’s previous warning, Thomas would have planned a grand farewell ceremony for Gan Guoyang in tonight’s game, complete with clanging and cheering, forcing Ah Gan to retire even if he didn’t want to.
Carter wasn’t too affected by Thomas’s words. Although he kept nodding in agreement, he didn’t quite understand how to take down Kobe or why he should. So he didn’t think much about it.
To him, the competition is also a performance. He now wants to dunk during the game to make the fans happy, so kids can be excited and sleep well at night.
He knows Kobe is competitive, but victory isn’t about one person; it’s a team goal, isn’t it?
The subsequent game became intense; the Trail Blazers took the lead first, while the Raptors gradually warmed up, their outside shooting percentage increasing.
Damon Stoudemire used his speed to hit jump shots in fast breaks, quickly closing the score gap.
The Trail Blazers called a timeout, began slowing the pace, consolidating their advantage, with Gan Guoyang and Sabonis’s Twin Towers appearing.
Their cooperation at high and low positions, combined with Kobe’s solo plays from the outside, regained the lead.
On defense, the Trail Blazers used pressuring from outside, making it difficult for the Raptors to move the ball.
They tried direct passes into the paint to penetrate the Trail Blazers’ defense but were blocked twice by Gan Guoyang’s help defense.
The gap widened to 10 points, and the Raptors’ offense fell into a rut, a moment when Carter needed to stand up and solve problems with one-on-one plays.
Carter didn’t shrink back; he caught the ball on the left and quickly accelerated past a distracted Kobe.
He penetrated the paint against Sabonis, performing a stunning dunk! The entire Air Canada Center erupted; many fans bought tickets just for this.
Tonight’s unlucky person was Sabonis; his help defense and start-up speed couldn’t possibly keep up with Carter.
Following that, Kobe missed a mid-range shot, giving the Raptors another fast-break opportunity, with Carter leading the charge.
He rushed ahead quickly; the Trail Blazers retreated quickly too. But after receiving the ball, Carter attacked the basket, dodging Gan Guoyang’s block with an in-air maneuver, scoring an up-and-under layup.
The continuous brilliant scores ignited the atmosphere at the Air Canada Center and fueled the competitive spirit among the Trail Blazers players.
Gan Guoyang and Kobe executed a high-position screen play, a rare pick-and-roll between the two.
The Raptors were unsure how to handle it. As a result, Gan Guoyang cut into the paint; Kobe threw a high pass, and Gan Guoyang leaped up for an alley-oop dunk!
No matter what Toronto fans say, they enjoyed the dunk; this was true basketball performance, not just a game.
The half-time score was Trail Blazers 59: Raptors 55, with the Blazers leading by 4 points. Both teams delivered outstanding performances; spectators and TV viewers felt the game was worth watching.
Carter scored 15 points in the first half, and Kobe scored 17 points. In the wake of Jordan’s retirement, this duel between young shooting guards was exceptionally captivating.
Gan Guoyang, as usual, played conservatively for most of the first half, creating opportunities for teammates and primarily focusing on defending Antonio Davis, which was basically having a holiday.
However, in the third quarter, Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers took off the circus performance mask and engaged in an intense battle with the Raptors.
At this point, the Raptors’ youth and lack of experience became evident; during a period of high-intensity offensive and defensive exchanges, they repeatedly made basic errors that the Trail Blazers capitalized on.
Backcourt passing errors, fast-break passes out of bounds, traveling, three-second violations, blocking fouls, etc., led to a reduced number of effective offensive possessions for the Raptors, giving the Trail Blazers many scoring opportunities.
How could Gan Guoyang, with ample stamina, miss such opportunities? He used straightforward and precise mid-range shots to launch a 14:2 scoring run, crushing the Raptors.
In his early competitions with Dr. J Irving, Gan Guoyang had the energy to compete in dunking and replicate Dr. J’s classic "Rock the Baby."
Nowadays, Gan Guoyang no longer has the energy to compete in dunking with Carter; mid-range shooting is his destination and the best way to secure victory.
Isiah Thomas watched from the sidelines, shaking his head as Carter performed too softly in these crucial moments.
But he couldn’t say much because the opponent was Ah Gan; even during his time with the Pistons, Thomas couldn’t handle Ah Gan at all, so how could he criticize Carter?
As the game’s outcome gradually became clear, Carter seized a fast-break counterattack opportunity, facing Ben Wallace’s defense. He emulated Gan Guoyang’s classic rookie season turn-around dunk over Tom Chambers with a two-handed dunk over Wallace, paying tribute to Gan Guoyang, the great predecessor.
After the score, the scene went into a frenzy; winning or losing wasn’t important to Raptors fans; watching exciting performances was key.
Gan Guoyang cooperated by high-fiving Carter, contributing again to NBA ratings and discussions.
Perhaps in the eyes of many, NBA increasingly resembles a performance rather than the essence of competition, especially during the regular season.