As a result, the Lakers passed the ball on the outside several times but just couldn't find a good offensive opportunity.
O'Neal asked for the ball in the low post but couldn't get it. Finally, Pippen took a three-pointer from the top of the arc, but it didn't go in.
Gan Guoyang judged the rebound well in the middle, grabbed it, leaving O'Neal empty-handed.
"Welcome to Las Vegas, Shaq!"
"There's no water in the desert, it's hard to swim, little Shark!"
"There's a pool at the hotel. I'll take you swimming after the game."
As Gan Guoyang crossed half-court, he chatted with his buddy O'Neal.
Seeing O'Neal with a look of disgust, Gan Guoyang felt satisfied.
This is the damn joy of playing in the NBA! Something you can't enjoy after retiring.
Gan Guoyang's 2000 retirement was somewhat unexpected, forced out.
Now taking advantage of the 9/11 events, I'm back again!
No matter if we win the championship or the game, the play must be fun.
For the first offensive play, the Glory Team, of course, had to let Gan Guoyang play.
The Lakers played man-to-man defense. Gan Guoyang smoothly moved to the low post, backed against Samaki Walker, and called for the ball.
As soon as he got the ball, Gan Guoyang quickly spun around, getting a step ahead of Walker.
Then, with a smooth step and hook shot, the ball traced a curve and scored two points precisely!
The MGM Sports Center erupted in cheers as this was the team's first official score, from Gan Guoyang's classic hook shot!
Cameras from the baseline frantically captured this important moment.
After scoring, Gan Guoyang calmly ran back and said to Walker, "Is Phil crazy, letting you guard me alone? Weren't you my fan before?"
Samaki Walker entered the league in 1996 and, like Kobe and Iverson, is 25 this year—a standard, diligent power forward.
Walker helplessly said to Gan Guoyang, "I'm your fan, but Phil told me to stay on you longer."
"Well, just hang in there a bit longer. It's okay if you can't hold up, it's not embarrassing."
Gan Guoyang tried to comfort Walker while the Glory Team defended with a zone again to disrupt the Lakers' offense.
The Lakers slowly tried to find a way in their half-court offense. O'Neal attempted a backdoor cut under the basket, and Pippen lobbed the ball. O'Neal tried to dunk, but Gan Guoyang blocked it from behind.
Another classic block; O'Neal didn't understand why Ah Gan's judgment was always so precise.
Or was it that because Ah Gan was there, it made him hesitant and slower? He couldn't figure it out himself.
But Walker grabbed the offensive rebound, passed it out to the perimeter. Richmond on the right, at 45 degrees, received the ball and hit a three-pointer.
The fatal weakness of a zone defense is its poor defense against three-pointers.
Meanwhile, Gerald Wallace was clueless on defense.
He thought of grabbing rebounds at one moment and rushing to defend another, but ultimately, he did neither well.
It's very normal for young players to be rash during their first game.
Back on offense, Gan Guoyang again received the ball at the 45-degree angle, and the Lakers quickly double-teamed.
Gan Guoyang immediately passed the ball to Bell outside, but the Lakers players didn't even bother to guard Bell. They just focused on Gan Guoyang since there's no illegal defense now.
"Shoot!" Gan Guoyang shouted.
So Bell attempted a three-pointer, but it was way off.
Gan Guoyang fought hard to grab the offensive rebound, faced three converging Lakers players, and still made a hook shot, scoring again!
The fans cheered again, but after a few plays, the immaturity of the young Glory Team players was evident.
Especially against these championship-winning veterans of the Lakers, it was noticeably inadequate.
Five minutes later, during an official timeout, the Lakers had already taken an 11:6 lead.
On the Glory Team, besides Gan Guoyang's 6 points, no one else had scored.
During the timeout, the young players felt very discouraged as they couldn't make shots or defend and were putting more pressure on Gan Guoyang, with the Lakers focusing their defense on him.
Tomjanovich was also a bit anxious, wondering if it was too risky to have so many young starters.
He was preparing to make substitutions and bring in more veterans.
Gan Guoyang reassured his teammates and coach, casually saying, "It's okay, guys. In tonight's opener, I'll score 50 points and give us a good start. Relax, relax. But for future games, it'll still depend on you guys. Keep pushing hard."
Gan Guoyang's comfort was always so plain yet inspiring, never using empty motivation but solid scoring support.
Having played half a quarter, Gan Guoyang felt he was still in decent shape, with good touch, strength, and reaction, though his explosiveness was clearly declining.
He thought, if I keep playing like this, I'll decline to the level of Larry Bird.
Truly, time waits for no one.