They didn't know that this was a gift Gan Guoyang intentionally gave them.
Kobe, however, was furious, saying: "Is this how you play basketball? Is this how you taught me to play?"
You tell me to stay calm, and I'm calm, but then you turn around and start making chaotic shots, and they all go in.
Gan Guoyang replied: "Did you forget that I taught you that being double-teamed is the best time to shoot?"
Kobe thought about it and realized Ah Gan did teach him that. When you're hot, you have to take forced shots.
What's the difference between a double team and an open shot?
Kobe immediately got fired up and took a forced shot on the offensive end!
With a "bang," it missed, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound, with the Glory Team launching a counterattack.
"I told you to stay calm; you are not me, Kobe, you are not me."
The counterattack was unsuccessful, as Big Ben and Little O'Neal got back on defense very quickly, blocking Gerald Wallace's layup attempt with a two-man block.
Anderson grabbed the ball and countered, passing to Kobe, who charged hard at Gan Guoyang, causing Gan Guoyang's foul, sending Kobe to the free-throw line.
He made both free throws, and after scoring, Kobe said, "I'm not you, but I will surpass you."
"Heh, as I've said, first catch up to Michael."
Not long after saying this, Gan Guoyang caught the ball for the sixth time at the left baseline corner, with Kobe quickly coming over to help.
Gan Guoyang turned around, forced into a corner, did a series of fake moves, adjusted his posture, and forcibly took a fadeaway shot.
Kobe leaped hard to block but still couldn't reach; the release point was too high, and the ball flew high towards the hoop.
Again, an absolutely despairing arc, and damn, it was a three-pointer, as Gan Guoyang had just stepped back.
"Swish!" It went in again!
In the desperate double-team, Gan Guoyang hit a high-difficulty fadeaway three-pointer.
The king of the third quarter, a gift to Portland fans, his spectacular consecutive scoring performance.
Although this shot widened the gap even further for the Glory Team, the on-site fans kept cheering non-stop.
This hit the Blazers players hard; after all, whose home court is this?
Rick Carlisle could only call a timeout, not because he thought of a way to deal with Ah Gan, but because he had no choice and had to call a timeout to break Gan Guoyang's offensive rhythm and cool him down a bit.
Kobe hung his head and left the court, full of frustration.
Ah Gan, that liar, he lies all the time.
He told me to stay calm in the first half, and in the second half, he started exploding.
Talking about retirement, once he came back, twice he came back again.
Looking again at the on-site fans, celebrating like it's a festival.
At this moment, Kobe looked up and saw the 11 championship banners hanging at the top of the Rose Garden, 10 of which were won by Ah Gan.
Then, the big screen in the venue, taking advantage of the timeout, started playing a short commemorative video of Gan Guoyang.
It's said this video has more than a dozen segments; there's simply too much footage to edit, and they play a segment whenever there's a break, whenever there's a break.
The mountain-like pressure, like the hand of The Buddha, pressed down on Kobe from above.
He cursed softly, "Shit," and had no choice but to lower his head and listen to Carlisle's tactical arrangements.
As they approached re-entry, Carlisle said to Kobe: "Do what you need to do, don't compete with Ah Gan. You can't surpass him, but you can defeat him."
Kobe nodded, thinking Carlisle had also endured a lot of damage.
The 2000 Olympic Games loss drew heavy criticism on Carlisle, and he once thought of quitting his position as the Blazers' head coach.
It was Bird who insisted on keeping him, with the players' support, that he stayed.
After losing the 2001 West Finals, another wave of pressure came, but he still made it through.
Kobe thought to himself, I do need to stay calm, do what I need to do, and just win the game.
As for Ah Gan, let him perform for his Portland fans however he wants; they can build their bonds with each other, and it's none of my business, I don't want to deal with it.
After returning, a calm Kobe came back online, again breaking the defense with a drive and passing to Reed in the corner.
The Glory Team was defending with a zone defense, providing an opportunity in the corner as Reed caught the ball and quickly shot, hitting a three-pointer.
Just when the Blazers players thought Gan Guoyang would run to the corner again to catch the ball, alert and ready.
Gan Guoyang moved to the top of the arc, in a high, far-out position, setting a screen for Arenas.
After the screen, he cut out wide, positioning himself three steps behind the three-point line.
Arenas passed back, and Gan Guoyang caught it, launching a super long-range three-pointer!
The Blazers players weren't prepared at all, as Little O'Neal was still standing at the top of the arc.
The ball flew over his head straight to the hoop, going through the net with a swish!
A super long three-pointer, and Gan Guoyang raised his arms high; the venue had turned into a joyous ocean.
Kobe was about to go mad with anger; what kind of play is this? You're just playing chaotically like this? Is this how you teach me to play basketball?
This game is just a party between you and the Trail Blazers fans; we're just the clowns supporting the act.
Gan Guoyang's touch was scorching hot, and the timeout period hadn't cooled him down at all.
This is the arena he's most familiar with, the hoop he's most familiar with, his place, how could he easily cool down.
Kobe still tried to compete, forcing a three-pointer, but it missed; shooting with a negative mindset is hard to make.
Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound, and at this time, the Trail Blazers were on high alert against him, resulting in him making a long pass straight down to the basket, where Gerald Wallace caught and laid it in, also drawing a foul on Big Ben, going to the free-throw line.
The Blazers actually played quite well, but Ah Gan's fiery touch and the emotional betrayal from the on-site fans broke them down.