Gan Guoyang stepped on the court, replacing Alan Henderson at the small forward position.
Old buddy Charles Barkley stayed on the court, as Rick Carlisle decided the team needed to catch up quickly.
With Gan Guoyang back in the third quarter, the Trail Blazers rallied to close the gap, seemingly the best option.
As the timeout ended, and players re-emerged, Gan Guoyang pulled Charles Barkley aside and whispered:
"Buddy, honestly, my legs are kinda weak right now. Coming from New York to Minnesota, the whole bumpy ride made my butt numb, not to mention hitting turbulence on the plane; my ability to play strong is definitely compromised."
"So, I need to find my rhythm. Let's start with good defense and team offense, don't rush, play slowly to find rhythm."
"Now, the core on the court isn't me, it's you. Got it, Charles? You're the core."
Gan Guoyang was pragmatic, although his return spiked the team's morale, he pretended to boost his teammates' confidence.
But actually, Gan Guoyang hadn't rested at all to catch this game, let alone warming up.
Thus, after getting on the court, his muscles were stiff, his gluteus maximus was numb, needing a few minutes to warm up his body and hands.
But the situation was urgent, the Trail Blazers were down by 10 points, which in the 2000s playoffs was a significant deficit.
If he recklessly attacked, not only would it increase the point gap but also jeopardize his reputation.
What could've been a legendary return, turning instead into missing shots continuously, sending the Trail Blazers into winning game five, wouldn't that be embarrassing.
At this moment, trustworthy teammates should collaborate, letting Charles Barkley hold for some time, allowing Gan Guoyang to find his game status.
Barkley got the hint, grinned and said: "In crucial moments, it's still up to brothers to help out isn't it, Sonny. Where's that aura you had earlier? You totally fooled me."
Gan Guoyang whispered: "How else would I boost the team's morale? Play well, Charles, let's do a play together."
Barkley nodded, sideline inbound, Gan Guoyang called for the ball, received it from Brellock, organized the offense from the perimeter.
The Timberwolves' defense focused entirely on Gan Guoyang, especially Kevin Garnett, surprised Gan Guoyang made it back to the game.
The entire Timberwolves' defensive weight shifted towards the right wing, Gan Guoyang attempted a hand-off with Kobe but it was just a tactical feint.
Charles Barkley cut in from the weak side to the basket. Gan Guoyang delivered a precise lob pass to the hoop, Kevin Garnett's interception failed.
Barkley caught the ball, bumped off Malik Sealy under the hoop, scored on a layup, also drew Sealy's foul, earning a bonus free throw.
Barkley went to the free-throw line, converted the bonus point, and high-fived Gan Guoyang in celebration — a rather seamless play, exploiting the Timberwolves' defensive weaknesses.
The Timberwolves didn't have a true big at the five spot, once Kevin Garnett was drawn to the strong side, his weak side protection diminished, exposing the Timberwolves' basket defense weakness.
In the first three games, the Trail Blazers scarcely penetrated the three-second zone well, the net Kevin Garnett weaved caused much trouble for the Trail Blazers' basket offense.
Back on offense, half-court battle, the Trail Blazers were not afraid of the Timberwolves' offense. As long as they didn't allow fast breaks, their set defense was quite solid.
Kevin Garnett's high-post catch and jump shot missed, Garnett's shooting rate tonight was really off. If his accuracy was slightly normal, the Timberwolves would surely lead by more than 10 points, the Trail Blazers' comeback would be much harder.
Barkley grabbed the rebound, passed to Gan Guoyang. Gan didn't launch a fast break, dribbled slowly across half-court, adjusted his breathing and dribbling, pretended to attack strongly.
The Timberwolves still dared not relax their defensive focus on Gan Guoyang, stacking their defense on the right, and Garnett kept a close watch on Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang opted to pass to Kobe at the middle, Kobe passed to Little O'Neal at the left 45-degree angle, Charles Barkley was already posting up inside.
Little O'Neal threaded the ball to Barkley, Barkley used his large posterior to fully shove off his defender Joe Smith, turned and tossed.
The position was perfect, the turn was quick, but the final touch was obviously weak, the ball bounced off the board without going in.
The tussle for the rebound! Garnett had Gan Guoyang locked down, but Gan Guoyang used his footwork and strength to counter successfully.
Then, Gan Guoyang used small maneuvers to hold Garnett, leapt up a bit, tipped the ball to Kobe, retaining possession for the Trail Blazers.
Gan Guoyang ran to the right baseline, Kobe feigned a move then distributed the ball to Gan, who after faking a move, drove.
Drawing defense, a lob pass delivered to the hoop's opposite side where Barkley leapt and completed a two-hand alley-oop dunk!
"You useless thing, couldn't score on a solo?" On the way back to defending, Gan Guoyang "criticized" Barkley.
"I gave it my all! Besides, didn't you grab the offensive rebound?"
"Not every time you blockhead. But overall, not bad, good job."
Barkley scored consecutive 5 points, the Timberwolves felt the pressure, Philip Saunders called a timeout.