Sure enough, the Glory team, trailing by 16 points, didn’t panic. Van Exel suddenly pulled up from the outside for a three-pointer and scored!
Fisher of the Lakers took an answer-ball but missed, Gerald Wallace grabbed the rebound, crossed the half-court, and passed again to Van Exel, who did consecutive crossovers on the right, broke through, stepped back, creating distance from the defender, and took another three-point shot!
The ball went in! Fan Madman was going crazy again; his hot hand was terrifying.
And the Lakers seemed to revert to the previous game, first looking for O’Neal when they encountered problems.
Raja Bell deliberately fouled, sending O’Neal to the free-throw line.
He made one of two, an 11-point difference, and Van Exel took the ball again, the entire crowd was anxious.
Compared to Ah Gan’s bulldozer-like steadiness, Fan Madman was a wild card; you never know when he might strike, truly intolerable.
This time, Van Exel jumped into the Three Second Zone and unexpectedly passed the ball to the top of the arc to Willis.
Willis caught the ball and hit a mid-range shot from the free-throw line, and it’s good!
Gan Guoyang jumped up from the bench; while he wasn’t on, everyone was trying their best to support.
With just over four minutes left in the second quarter, the score was 38:46, Glory down by 8 points.
The Glory team called a timeout, Gan Guoyang took off his warm-up jacket, he’d had enough rest.
Tomjanovich subbed out Van Exel for Porter, took out the tactical board and said, "For the last four minutes, we’re going to start a full-court press."
Old Tang’s words made the players tense up.
Four minutes of full-court press was a desperate strike for the first half.
"The target is to narrow the gap to within 5 points, or even tie it up!"
"If things don’t look right, abandon the press and return to a zone defense."
"Guys, success or failure hinges on this. Fill in the hole we dug in the first quarter and get back to level ground for the second half."
Returning from the timeout, on the offense, Gan Guoyang received the ball in the low post, spun past Holi, and slammed it in with one arm!
40:46, just 6 points behind now, the Lakers fans at Staples Center started to panic.
Even Jack-Nicholson, who promised he wouldn’t watch this game after the last one ended, still came.
He continued to pull his hair, "Damn, here we go again!"
After scoring, Gan Guoyang didn’t go back on defense; he started pressing with his teammates in the frontline against the Lakers’ backcourt!
The pressure on the Lakers’ ball-handling suddenly increased, and they barely managed to inbound the ball; Bell almost got a steal, Gan Guoyang and Wallace double-teamed Tracy McGrady, forcing a jump pass and causing a turnover!
The ball was grabbed by Miller, and Gan Guoyang immediately headed toward the basket. Miller gave a bounce pass to Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang caught the ball and slammed it with both hands! Another two points, 42:46, just 4 points behind.
The Lakers had scored 17 points so far, which was not bad, but their defense was starting to crumble under Glory’s sharp dissection.
Princeton as a basketball strategy indeed has its advantages, enhancing players’ overall game thinking.
Phil Jackson called for a timeout; he realized Glory intended to perform a full-court press, and it had to be cracked in time.
If not, the successive lost points would completely erase the lead the team built earlier.
After reconfiguring their offensive strategy, the Lakers successfully passed the ball to the frontcourt through quick ball movement.
O’Neal rushed to the basket, caught the ball, and slammed it in with both hands!
Gan Guoyang immediately played strong in the low post, turned, hooked, and scored again, down to 4 points.
Soon after, a pass by the Lakers was intercepted again by Wallace.
He passed it to Gan Guoyang, who made a fake three-point attempt outside the arc, bypassed the defender, stormed into the Three Second Zone, and made a stop-and-jump shot for another score!
The gap closed to just 2 points! 44:46, the advantage the Lakers had established in the first quarter was nearly exhausted.
The Glory team continued to press in the front court, the Lakers inbounded, and again they turned it over! They were flustered.
Gan Guoyang intercepted the ball from Pippen, steadied it to control possession, and secured a play.
The anxiety among the audience was explosive; in just one quarter, how did everything change so drastically?
Gan Guoyang dribbled slowly, and before the Lakers could double-team, he suddenly accelerated, tricked Pippen, and then executed a classic Kiki-step, leaned back, and shot a three!
Gan Guoyang’s immense strength ensured the ball stayed stable flying toward the basket despite all the maneuvers.
"Swish!" It went in!
It was Gan Guoyang’s second three-pointer of the game, helping the Glory team take the lead!
After the basket, Staples Center was not silent but filled with wailing.
Tomjanovich raised both hands high, his strategy succeeded.
Ah Gan, like a long-compressed spring, sprang out with tremendous energy.
The Lakers’ tight three-man clamp from the first quarter was forgotten as time passed.
Moreover, Glory was in a full-court press; the Lakers had no time to organize an effective defense after turnovers.
The entire half was wide open; they didn’t dare to press, resulting in Ah Gan continuously scoring.
55:54, they took the lead, and thereafter, O’Neal took the ball under the basket, trying to score quickly to catch up.
Gan Guoyang withstood O’Neal, and as he turned to dunk, blocked him with a monstrous rejection!
A powerful block with immense force; O’Neal was too hasty, he couldn’t push Gan Guoyang away.
O’Neal was toppled by Gan Guoyang, the ball was lost, and Glory gained possession, counter-attacking.
Porter held the ball, made a mid-range stop-and-jump shot, and scored! Took a 3-point lead, Glory turned it around.
Meanwhile, O’Neal had just turned over and stood up; he looked so embarrassed.
As the second quarter was about to end, the last shot, Tracy McGrady forced a three-pointer but missed, and Glory ended the second quarter 49:46.
They had only scored 14 points in the first quarter, yet they rampaged with 35 points in the second, successfully turning the tide.