The second game began quickly, and for the Trail Blazers, this was a match they couldn’t afford to lose.
If both home games were broken consecutively, their championship path would become perilous.
Prior to the game, news of the fight between Kobe and Little O’Neal spread like wildfire in Portland.
Although Ah Gan told the media to keep quiet, the fans would not stay silent, especially in 2003, when the internet was already widespread in America.
Many fans would leave comments and opinions online, and these reviews were often much sharper and more critical than usual remarks.
Once people donned the cloak of anonymity online, they expressed opinions more recklessly.
It was from this point that the era of superstars gradually came to an end because no one could maintain perfection in the online world.
This incident of Kobe getting punched in practice would remain in his online archives, although compared to future events, this was a minor detail.
Yao Ming once again won the jump ball, tipping it to Jordan, starting the Glory Team’s offense.
Jordan, upon hearing of Kobe’s beating, didn’t have the same benevolence as Gan Guoyang; he was ecstatic.
He and Kobe were always 30% mutual admiration coupled with 70% mutual hostility.
Right at the beginning, Jordan coordinated with Gan Guoyang on the wing, using a series of alternating real and fake screens to confuse the Lakers’ defense.
Jordan cut from the right, quickly shaking off the defense and found the open shot space, executing a base stop-and-jump shot to score.
The Trail Blazers’ defense intensity at the start was high, but Gan Guoyang’s screens were solid, and the threat posed by these two players forced the Trail Blazers to occasionally miss their marks on defense.
Kobe listened to Carl’s instructions and did not act impulsively on his own in the beginning. He knew well that this game was critical and therefore engaged actively in team offense.
The mistakes from the previous game couldn’t be repeated, so in the first half of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers’ offense was decent.
Fully utilizing Michael Redd’s range and movement abilities to disrupt the Glory defense system.
Redd’s presence made the Glory team hesitant to use zone defense casually, opting for man-to-man coverage.
Man-to-man coverage provided opportunities for Kobe and Little O’Neal.
Both sides quickly tied at 5:5, the scene was calm yet fraught with potential danger.
What reassured Carl was that Kobe didn’t refrain from passing to Little O’Neal.
He even successfully assisted Little O’Neal once, helping him score with a jump shot despite Yao Ming’s defense.
On the surface, it seemed the conflict didn’t affect their team cooperation.
But, those on the court could sense there was an issue because there was no communication.
The NBA matches are extremely noisy because the fans are already loud to the extreme; players must constantly shout while playing.
In a setting like the Finals, with over 20,000 people in the Rose Garden Arena, not shouting at teammates would likely mean not hearing what the other was saying.
However, tonight Kobe and Little O’Neal remained silent, only cooperating without communicating, their mouths hardly moving, which was evidently abnormal.
In the fourth minute, with both sides tied at 8:8, Gan Guoyang suddenly ramped up with the ball.
Receiving the ball from Jordan at the low post, he observed briefly, with no help defense, going one-on-one.
A quick turn followed by a leaning shot, made successfully, also drawing a foul on Little O’Neal.
This free throw was made; Kobe should have come over to offer help defense, but he didn’t.
Little O’Neal also didn’t call for assistance, watched Gan Guoyang score and fouled, knowing he couldn’t defend.
Later, Kobe received Anderson’s pass at the top arc, a direct feed to the basket, where Little O’Neal turned around for a jump shot, getting blocked by Yao Ming!
Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound, dribbled past half-court himself, Little O’Neal’s defense was somewhat lax, suddenly, Gan Guoyang accelerated to the basket, brushed aside Big Ben for a successful layup, also drawing a defensive foul from Big Ben.
Due to the lack of communication, the Trail Blazers failed to set up the formation in time during transition defense, allowing Gan Guoyang to seize the opportunity and rush to the basket.
His speed wasn’t very fast, but once he got going, he was unstoppable, and Big Ben also paid the price with a foul.
Carl and Bird both looked grim; had Ah Gan started exerting force this early?
Carl hoped Ah Gan would exert force early to consume his stamina, but not like this.
He hoped Ah Gan was forced to exert himself because his teammates couldn’t score, obligating him.
Such proactive attacks indicated that tonight Ah Gan was out to take a toll, which was terrifying.
The free throw was made; the old fans familiar with Gan Guoyang at the Rose Garden Arena were basically sweating.
Younger fans, wearing Kobe and Little O’Neal jerseys, were still on the sidelines cheering.
Some impudent folks even taunted Ah Gan with trash talk, which the parents quickly covered.
On the left corner, Little O’Neal received Redd’s pass, executed a mid-range jump shot, scoring.
This was a technique Little O’Neal learned from Ah Gan, mid-range at the baseline, the sweet spot area.
Gan Guoyang received the ball at the same spot, waiting for defense, suddenly sped up, breaking through the baseline.
Big Ben dared not come up for help; Gan Guoyang dunked easily, scoring another 8 points consecutively.
Carl immediately called for a timeout, needing to reassess defense strategy against Ah Gan to avoid being overrun.
But, the Trail Blazers’ defensive adjustment was within Gan Guoyang’s expectations; upon returning from the timeout, Kobe hit a mid-range jumper, and Jordan scored right after, assisted by Gan Guoyang’s screen.
Tonight, the Trail Blazers’ defense had a fatal flaw: when their core lacked communication, their defense lost resilience.