Gan Guoyang couldn't waste too much energy tangling with Pippen at the fourth position. They still relied on him as the Sea-Calming Needle near the Three Second Zone.
As a result, Pippen could organize freely without any pressure, easily handling the first pass.
The Lakers consistently executed a smooth Triangle Offense, while the Glory Team could only rely on occasional bursts to catch up.
Whenever the point difference narrowed to 10 points, Gan Guoyang would stand out and go for a series of solo plays, either with a hook, a fadeaway, or drawing a foul, reducing the difference to under 5 points.
Then the Lakers would adjust again, slowly widening the gap.
This back-and-forth made Gan Guoyang sigh; this is how mortals play games.
Let it be three chasing two, or three chasing three. In any case, don't let the opponent widen the gap too much. But indeed, he didn't have the explosiveness to forcefully overtake them anymore.
No longer young, he had to wait—wait for a better opportunity in the second half to deliver a powerful strike.
Just like a young tiger that doesn't need to stay hidden too long, it charges straight at its prey with speed, explosiveness, weight, and strength, sometimes so strong it can twist the prey's neck.
Once old or sick, it had to be more patient, spend more time ambushing, getting closer and closer to the prey, before launching an attack with great assurance.
In his youth, Gan Guoyang would sometimes make lazy moves on the court to confuse his opponents.
Now that he's older, such instances became more frequent. By the second quarter's end, he could occasionally be seen strolling on the court.
Passing the ball to his teammates to handle while standing at the side, unmoving.
But even while standing still, the Lakers had to assign someone to mark him tightly.
Because Gan Guoyang's shooting was too accurate, especially the 45-degree angle and top-of-the-arc three-pointers were extremely precise.
Letting him take a shot in an open space was essentially gifting points; who dared to leave him alone?
This gave the young players more space; Arenas finally, on the right 45-degree angle, used a screen and raised for a three-pointer!
Despite missing previous shots, Arenas dared to shoot the three confidently, showing exceptional self-assurance.
The shot hit accurately, and after scoring, Arenas excitedly pumped his fist, marking his first points in an NBA game, a three-pointer.
Thanks to Arenas' three-pointer, the Glory Team kept the gap at 6 points by the end of the first half.
48:54, the Glory Team scored 24 points in both the second and first quarters, while Gan Guoyang had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists at halftime, single-handedly supporting half of the team's efforts.
The NBC commentators frankly stated they couldn't imagine how the game would be played without Ah Gan, or who would even come to watch.
Like the Raptors and Timberwolves, those early expansion teams struggled with ticket sales initially, with their sales departments racking their brains to promote season tickets and conducting various marketing.
Latterly, with drafts and trades, nurturing new talent, they gradually established a local presence. Those unable to build one, like the Grizzlies, relocated.
The Glory Team didn't need that; Gan Guoyang was the best advertisement, guaranteeing box office returns. With him, the Glory Team wouldn't lose money.
Besides, this season, the Glory Team's salary expenditures were only 70% of other teams', as they had a low salary cap.
Regarding the luxury tax in the new labor agreement, it was irrelevant to the Glory Team; it's foreseeable that after splitting profits with other league teams, they'd be making money, and quite a bit.
Back in the locker room, Gan Guoyang encouraged the young players, saying they played well, only trailing the defending champions by 6 points.
Arenas' three-pointer was decisive and beautiful. He didn't mention previous missed shots.
This made Terry Porter a bit displeased, muttering that back in their day, Gan wasn't like that.
Back then, although Gan could cover for his teammates, he was very strict, especially about the details.
What he couldn't stand most were turnovers and wasted opportunities; anything related to "waste" would receive a stern warning from Gan in various ways.
Porter, Kossie, Curry, and Hornacek, those young players then, played under Gan's immense intimidation and pressure.
They were cautious on the court, afraid of making mistakes, choosing shots carefully, afraid of wasting opportunities, or catching Ah Gan's attention.
Now, as he aged, he played the good old guy act, while in the first half, those young players had numerous turnovers, wasting lots of opportunities?
Not to scold them was one thing, but to praise them? But Porter only kept these thoughts to himself.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the intensity of both teams' offense and defense rose another notch, testing the Glory Team's young lineup.
Gan Guoyang decisively switched to a strong back-down mode, receiving the ball in the low post, continuously going one-on-one against Walker, scoring two out of three attempts.
Yet the Lakers always had a response, with O'Neal and Pippen hitting a turnaround hook shot and a mid-range jumper, respectively.
The stability of the veteran players was crucial, while the younger ones seemed a bit reckless.
On offense, Arenas was called for an offensive foul by the experienced Lindsey Hunter, losing possession.
Gan Guoyang wasn't as lenient as in the first half; he gave Arenas a light push, signaling him to focus.
"Be decisive. Either take down your opponent, attack the basket, or pass the ball. If you're unsure of what to do, think it over before acting—don't dribble for the sake of dribbling, or make a move just to make a move."