The Golden Age of Basketball

This was when King was coaching Gan's fast break techniques in high school.

So many years have passed, yet these techniques he never forgot.

Instead, he became increasingly proficient and more at ease using them.

At this moment, Pierce faced Petrović in a one-on-one, stopped abruptly, and hit a jump shot.

Now it's the Supersonics who were tightly keeping the score close.

This Supersonics team really had a strong foundation and was quite formidable.

Gan Guoyang once again came to the low post, but Porter didn't pass the ball.

He redirected it to Lewis on the wing, who faked before breaking through.

The Supersonics quickly closed in on defense, Lewis passed to Gan Guoyang in the corner.

This was Gan Guoyang's sweet spot; he immediately took a mid-range shot upon receiving the ball.

Shawn Kemp sprang up like a spring, attempting to block Ah Gan.

Gan Guoyang's shot was untouched, landing smoothly into the basket.

"This isn't a high jump competition, Shawn, although you did jump well and almost blocked me."

Actually, Kemp was far from blocking it; Gan Guoyang's release point was high, with a lofty arc, very difficult to block.

Seeing Gan Guoyang's increasingly fiery form on offense with an unstoppable stance.

Karl paced back and forth on the sidelines, believing that his players could withstand this surge.

However, in a crucial moment of scoring efficiency, not even Jordan could outdo Ah Gan.

Rice received a pass for the third time and attempted a jump shot; this time he missed, couldn't hold on.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound without rushing the offense, dribbling slowly past half-court instead.

The pace was completely in his hands, going fast when he wanted, slow when he didn't.

He passed the ball to Petrović, then returned to the low post, easily receiving the pass.

Payton attempted to swipe the ball from behind, but Gan Guoyang lifted his hands, evaded, and drove strongly through the middle.

Gan Guoyang bulldozed Perkins straight into the Three Second Zone, swung his long arm, and slammed it in right over Perkins!

Perkins was knocked flying by Gan Guoyang, and in the end, got called for a blocking foul, giving Gan Guoyang an extra free throw.

Gan Guoyang raised both arms after scoring; the entire Rose Garden Arena cheered for him.

With the made free throw, the Supersonics began to falter against Gan Guoyang's pace, they were tired, out of sorts.

Gary Payton threw a random three-pointer from the outside that missed, merely adding another rebound for Ah Gan.

Instead, Gan Guoyang played more relaxedly, dribbled past half-court himself, took a three-point shot from outside, and hit again!

The resilient Supersonics were finally crushed, unable to compete, they had tried their best to resist, but truly were no match.

The score gap suddenly stretched to over 10 points, with three minutes remaining in the game.

The Trail Blazers firmly had victory within grasp, slowly running out the remaining time.

Gan Guoyang scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Trail Blazers crush the Supersonics.

The final score stopped at 91:98, a 9-point advantage, won the first game of the semi-finals for the Trail Blazers.

Gan Guoyang finished with 30 points, 19 rebounds, 7 blocks, 13 assists, a spectacular triple-double.

Normal games were all under this patient hunter's control, ultimately executing a killer blow for victory.

After the game, George Karl remained unconvinced, he came to tell Gan Guoyang:

"You won't always be this lucky; your teammates can't always rely on you like this, Sonny!"

Gan Guoyang didn't argue with George Karl; he had newfound respect for the Supersonics from tonight's game.

Their defense, offensive talent, vitality, all exceeded Gan Guoyang's expectations.

If, when closing out the game in the fourth quarter, he'd missed or turned over a few balls, the outcome wouldn't have been so light-hearted.

Indeed, they were different from last year; they had grown, becoming a formidable threat.

Back in the locker room, Gan Guoyang inquired the result of the other game, whether the Suns passed the first round.

Shalov told him that the Suns beat the Nuggets in overtime to reach the semi-finals.

Looks like Barkley won't have to bear the infamy of a first-round upset.

The Suns cruised through the regular season, played offensive basketball with abundant firepower.

After trading Sam Bowie for John Salley, the Suns became even lighter.

A fast-paced, small guard, short forward, white line-up, and agile inside players.

The Suns led the league in regular-season scoring and offensive efficiency.

But once the playoffs hit, those things seemed ineffective.

Instead, the cumbersome Nuggets tormented the Suns considerably.

The Supersonics actually shared a similar problem with the Suns: they were too light.

Though against the Trail Blazers, they displayed robust defense.

But that was at the cost of considerable physical exertion, aggressive switching, and extensive movement.

This style of play was exhausting, sometimes hard to sustain for long, requiring team morale support.

The second match continued at the Rose Garden two days later, with the Supersonics vowing to snatch a win in Portland.

But they fell into a new pitfall this time—Ah Gan switched from a late-strike strategy to firing from the first quarter.

With good shooting touch from the outside, Gan Guoyang made 4 out of 5 three-pointers in the first quarter, scoring 15 points and leading his team to a 10-point advantage.

Gan Guoyang did this precisely as a prediction.

He anticipated the Supersonics would slow the pace in the second game, conserving energy.

Then gradually fight until the third or fourth quarter to determine the winner.

So, Gan Guoyang simply played his hardest from the first quarter.

After hitting his first two three-point attempts, with a good feel, he continued to score on consecutive jump shots.

Once again catching the Supersonics off guard, ending the half trailing the Trail Blazers by 15 points.