The two teams continued to miss consecutively, but the Radiant Players held on. Even when their offense wasn’t clicking, they didn’t slack off on defense, fighting and enduring.
After an out-of-bounds play, the score remained 52:50.
Old Tang called a timeout to give everyone a breather; the game was entering a tough phase.
On the bench, he still encouraged the players, saying it wasn’t that they were playing poorly, but that they were entering a difficult period. Everyone had to hold on.
It was time for the veterans to come out. Terry Porter took the stage, replacing Bell, and Gan Guoyang entered, replacing Brad Miller.
Tomjanovich believed that no matter how much they strengthened their defense now, it would remain the same.
Unless Ah Gan was to go head-to-head with O’Neal inside, otherwise, they couldn’t hold him off.
Ah Gan’s energy needed to be focused on more important areas, so offense remained the priority.
Actually, they had been playing quite well; they just missed a few opportunities.
The young players played too intensely and nervously, not adjusting their mindset well, and missed several free throws tonight.
Stamina, energy, mindset — the playoffs are a test and a grind for young players.
Porter is a seasoned veteran, teaming up with Van Exel as double guards, making the offense more quick and agile.
As for defense, Porter could hold off Tracy McGrady for a short time without much trouble.
Before going on court, Gan Guoyang told the young players, "The real tough times haven’t come yet. The second half and the next game are when they really start. Prepare yourselves, guys, and watch how I play."
Gan Guoyang and Porter appeared on the scene, and these old partners were the most seasoned of the seasoned.
Upon entering, they executed a pick-and-roll, with Gan Guoyang receiving the ball and cutting to the basket, drawing a defensive foul from O’Neal.
O’Neal had only one thought in his mind, I’ve fouled; is it time for me to go take a rest, coach!
I was playing well without Ah Gan, but now that he’s here, should I slow down, coach?
But Jackson didn’t give him any time to slow down. At this point, there’s no time to ease up.
Gan Guoyang sank both free throws, extending the lead back to 4 points. Both teams’ scoring efficiency started to decline in the latter half of the second quarter.
The Lakers hadn’t had a second person score besides O’Neal for quite some time.
With three minutes left in the game, Devin George finally scored a basket, marking another scorer for the team.
Gan Guoyang missed a shot, but the Lakers counterattacked, with O’Neal going for a strong inside move, only to be blocked by Gan Guoyang’s help defense.
O’Neal felt annoyed seeing Ah Gan. I was doing fine before he came in, but now that he’s here, I’m being targeted.
The Glory Team counterattacked, and Gan Guoyang didn’t hold back. In the final moments of the second quarter, he accelerated, drove all the way to the basket with the ball, performing a quick same-hand, same-foot left-hand layup, scoring two points.
The Glory maintained a 4-point lead all along.
Tracy McGrady made a jump shot from the arc, and Porter immediately responded with a jump shot from the top of the arc.
Under the guidance of the veterans, the Glory was surprisingly suppressing the Lakers tightly.
The game was exciting and spectacular, with both sides putting in all their effort, and this was just the beginning.
Jackson and Tomjanovich sat on the bench, both looking grim, not knowing what would happen next.
The Lakers players felt somewhat regretful; they shouldn’t have been so confident, thinking it was a sure win and claiming facing the Glory was no big deal as the top seed in the Western Conference.
Pre-game, a lot of experts analyzed that the Glory’s style was particularly effective against the Lakers. The Lakers have always had trouble with streaky teams, and O’Neal was easily targeted by Ah Gan. Avoiding the Glory would make the title defense easier.
But they got careless; just half a game in, the Lakers realized this was a tough nut to crack.
And who cracks whom in the end is really uncertain.