The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 742 I am Charles Barkley

In the first quarter, both teams had a very high shooting percentage.

The Trail Blazers were superior, with Gan Guoyang quietly scoring 16 points.

The reason he's described as quiet is that most of Gan Guoyang's points come from shots after receiving the ball.

There was only one one-on-one game where he used a hook shot to bully Barkley.

Such scoring efficiency has made the Suns uneasy.

Barkley had 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the first quarter.

He played the same style as in the first game, selectively attacking.

More often than not, they organize the offense and create opportunities for their teammates to pass the ball.

Barkley didn't get carried away and try to out-attack Forrest Gump.

He knew that he couldn't match Forrest Gump in terms of offensive efficiency.

In the entire league, only Michael Jordan could rival Forrest Gump in terms of efficiency in high-volume shot attempts.

If Barkley gets carried away and insists on taking the ball and going head-to-head with Forrest Gump, the Suns' point difference will definitely widen further.

At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led the Suns 36-30 by 6 points.

Scoring 36 points in a single quarter is a terrifying offensive performance, especially considering that Gan Guoyang only had a little over a minute left to rest.

Bellman is becoming increasingly cautious in using this trump card in his hand.

He didn't want the Suns to draw another foul on Gan Guoyang in the final stages of the first quarter.

With two fouls on his record, Gan Guoyang is in trouble; he carries a heavy burden on his shoulders.

In the crucial stages of the playoffs, Berman substituted veteran Wayne Cooper.

Experience is crucial at this point; PJ Brown and Davis are still a bit inexperienced.

Cooper held on for the last minute and prevented the Suns from narrowing the gap further.

The 6-point advantage gives the Trail Blazers some leeway.

During the break, Culp kept massaging Porter's calves to make him feel more comfortable.

Tonight, Bellman needs to limit Porter's playing time to around 20 minutes.

Although Game 2 is crucial, the series could go up to seven games, and player health must be taken into consideration.

Porter can miss the game against the Supersonics, but if he misses the game against the Suns, the situation will be very critical.

Moreover, there's the NBA Finals after the Suns, so even if Porter doesn't fully recover, he at least can't afford to get worse.

At the start of the second quarter, Porter continued to rest on the bench, while Bellman substituted Curry and veteran Bernard King.

Bellman's requirement for veterans like Cooper and King, who are 35 years old, is simply that they can last for a minute or two to provide a temporary transition.

The Suns brought in John Salley, who received a pass from Ceballos under the basket and attempted a layup, but missed.

Cooper tried desperately to disrupt the ball, clearing it out of bounds, and the Suns regained possession.

The brief clashes between substitutes and second-string players have nothing to do with tactics or strategies; they are all about the players' performance and willpower on the field.

The Suns are younger; they have no veterans over 35 years old, and Kurt Rambis has already retired.

除了萨利之外，太阳内线还有身高6尺9，但臂展达到恐怖的7尺7的22岁新秀奥利弗-米勒。

What does 7 feet 7 inches mean? It's 2.31 meters tall, the same height as Manute Bol, the tallest player in the NBA. Such physical gifts are astonishing.

However, Oliver Miller faces a similar dilemma to that of team leader Charles Barkley back in the day: he eats too much and gets too fat.

In college, people speculated that his weight should be between 280 and 335 pounds, which is terrifying for a 6-foot-9 player.

The fact that a short and overweight center like Oliver Miller was able to gain favor with college and NBA teams is all thanks to Barkley.

Barkley's success has led college coaches and NBA general managers to wonder, when they encounter a big guy like him during the draft phase, "Could this be the next Charles Barkley?"

Before this, these short and stocky interior players were often eliminated when they went from high school to college—Quentin Stephens, Forrest Gump's bodyguard, was an example. If he had waited until Barkley became successful before starting his career, he might have received much better treatment, been able to get into a better college, and perhaps even made it into the NBA.

In his rookie season, Oliver Miller managed to control his weight and became an important backup center for the Suns in the playoffs.

His performance in the playoffs was better than in the regular season, much better. His scoring increased, and thanks to his wingspan, he averaged a team-high 2.5 blocks, 5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.

All major stats have risen across the board, making him a true "mini-Barkley," and along with Richard Dumars, he has become an indispensable force on the Suns' bench.

After Sally's ball was cleared, the Suns attacked the paint again. Oliver Miller received the ball, turned and pushed past Wayne Cooper, and scored with a left-handed layup!
Seeing the Suns' young players perform well in this game, the NBC commentators criticized that Bellman was too conservative in his player selection.

“Westphalia can use two rookies, Oliver Miller and Richard Dumars, and he uses them very well. But Berman only dares to use Wayne Cooper and Bernard King, who will be leaving the NBA after this season. It’s a real case of sending off the old with the new.”

This year is indeed Cooper and Bernard King's last season, and Bellman has certainly shown his conservative side.

But he wasn't a completely conservative person; he was just conflicted, trying to maintain his advantage in a steady way.

But when the situation becomes truly critical and a turnaround is needed, Bellman will go all in, revealing his gambler's mentality.

However, such situations were rare in Bellman's coaching career because he had Forrest Gump as a safety valve.

Furthermore, Bernard King did not commentate as if he were completely useless, as if he were a total failure and could not play any role.

The Suns' defensive pressure wasn't too high for King, so after receiving the ball on the wing, he used a fake to shake off the defender.

He drove to the basket at a moderate pace, pulled up and made a floater, scoring 2 points!
For a substitute player, scoring one goal during their brief playing time in the playoffs is already considered a accomplishment.

Following that, Oliver Miller facilitated from the high post, delivering a beautiful through ball to the basket.

But guard Frank Johnson, who received the ball, was a step too slow. Instead of immediately going for a layup, he dribbled and adjusted his position.

As a result, his short stature led to his layup being blocked by Wayne Cooper, and the Trail Blazers regained possession.

Frank Johnson is 6 feet 1 inches tall, the same height as Kevin Johnson, and the two even look somewhat alike.

People often ask if the two are related, but they are not.

Frank is a true veteran, the oldest player on the Suns, having entered the league in 1981.

He was teammates with the Washington Bullets and Charles Barkley, and in 1988 the team reached the NBA Finals but lost to the Portland Trail Blazers.

He later played in Italy for three years before being signed by the Suns this season to become Kevin Johnson's backup.

It's fair to say that the Suns have a backup for both Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson on the bench.

But a backup is just a backup; it's never as good as the original. Westphal's idea of ​​catching up with the second unit was shattered by the offensive and defensive pressure from the two veterans.

Because then, Bernard King hit another pull-up jumper on the counterattack, widening the gap to 8 points and forcing the Suns to call a timeout.

When Bernard King left the court, Gan Guoyang gave the veteran a high-five and joked with him, "It would have been great if you had made two three-pointers."

Jin shook his head and said, "I can only do this much with the money you've given me. You'll have to pay extra for shooting three-pointers. From now on, it's up to you, Sonny."

The second quarter lasted only two minutes before both teams' starters returned to the game; the playoffs don't give starters much rest.

Barkley replaced Oliver Miller, while Frank Johnson remained on the roster. Barkley received the ball on the left low post.

A relatively shallow position, a one-on-one offensive and defensive duel with Gan Guoyang face to face.

In most cases, Barkley struggles to score in one-on-one situations against Gan Guoyang's defense.

This time, Barkley chose to turn his back to the basket, using his shoulder to block Forrest Gump, and then made a small step-back and fake move.

Using the distance created in an instant, he dribbled down the court and drove straight into the basket from the left side.

Cooper couldn't help defend in time, and Barkley scored with a left-handed layup!
A beautiful dribble, but Gan Guoyang was not convinced.

He gestured to the referee, indicating that it was a travel violation. "Traveling! That was a travel! He moved both feet before dribbling!"

Based on the slow-motion replay from NBC's live broadcast, it was indeed a traveling violation; both feet moved before the dribble.

After creating some distance between himself and Agan, he dribbled and charged forward. By then, it was too late for Gan Guoyang to catch up. How could you possibly catch up if you were running with the ball in your arms?

But the referee didn't call a second call, after all, this is Phoenix, and the referee's judgment of traveling can sometimes be made in an instant.

If the speed is too fast, it is possible to miss a call. Of course, some referees are indeed blind; perhaps they used to referee rugby.

"Forget it, Sonny, forget it, it's too fast, I can't see it clearly."

If it were someone else, the referee might have given a technical foul.

But this is Forrest Gump, so we have to give him face. The referee said a few kind words.

Gan Guoyang didn't dwell on it any longer; he simply put some pressure on the referee.

Barkley, having benefited from the situation, quietly went back to defend without saying a word.

But Gan Guoyang immediately retaliated in a low position, also in a low position on the left.

After receiving the ball and facing Barkley's defense, he dribbled and then made a simple left-handed hook shot, which went in!
Barkley, who was undersized, was helpless against Gan Guoyang's bullying hook shot.

The only way to deal with this is to score goals in attack, and then score more goals.

This may be Barkley's most silent game against Forrest Gump, or even a series.

There was no trash talk, no small talk, just the competition on the basketball court and the clash of muscles.

Both teams' starters returned to the game, and the Suns' bench did not gain any advantage tonight; in fact, they suffered a bit of a loss.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Suns team started to run into some trouble, and their shooting percentage began to decline.

Danny Ainge even threw an airball, which Gan Guoyang caught and launched a counterattack from the backcourt.

He drove straight to the basket and slammed home a one-handed dunk!
The Trail Blazers gradually widened the gap to 10 points.

The Trail Blazers' offensive efficiency is simply too high.

So far in the first half, their shooting percentage has been astonishingly high.

Forrest Gump contributed the most shot attempts and the most points—his field goal percentage was 80%.

Who could possibly handle that?

Charles Barkley stepped up again, hitting a three-pointer from the top of the arc!

Then, during an attack under the basket, Barkley seized the opportunity, sneaking in from behind and blocking Gan Guoyang's seemingly inevitable layup!

The Suns realized that it would be better to have Mark West primarily defend Forrest Gump, as Barkley's presence on the court would be a mismatch.

Barkley couldn't handle those hook shots, one after another.

Instead, his stealthy block prevented Gan Guoyang from scoring, allowing the Suns to launch a counterattack.

Barkley drove through the middle, received a pass, and slammed home a two-handed dunk! He closed the gap to 5 points in a row.

Barkley wasn't the best three-point shooter, nor was he a great shot blocker.

But when needed, he can contribute to the team in various ways.

This side of Barkley made Gan Guoyang even more focused.

He didn't care about being blocked and continued to drive to the basket.

Facing the obstruction of three Suns players, he jumped up and passed the ball in mid-air.

Sabonis received the ball and immediately made a quick one-handed dunk.

The game became increasingly close, with Sabonis nearly blocking Barkley's shot on defense.

The ball went too short, hitting the front of the rim. Suns players fought hard for it, but the ball eventually went out of bounds.

The referee awarded possession to the Suns, and Gan Guoyang shrugged at the referee and shook his head.

This should be the first time the Suns have gained an advantage in the offensive rebounding battle tonight; it's been tough.

Barkley received the ball but had no opportunity, so he passed it to Kevin Johnson in the middle.

Johnson changed direction, dribbled to the basket, and tried to shoot, but was blocked by Agan!
Using his momentum, Gan Guoyang sprinted towards the frontcourt, received a pass, and scored with a fast break dunk!

At this point, Gan Guoyang had already scored 26 points, leading his team to widen the gap to 9 points again.

Barkley seemed a little discouraged as he ran back, but only for a moment before he threw himself back into the attack.

However, the Trail Blazers also changed their defensive strategy against Barkley, no longer allowing Sabonis to defend him one-on-one.

Instead, they had Gan Guoyang and Sabonis take turns guarding Barkley, putting different pressure on him and disrupting his rhythm.

Barkley, who had been having a good run of success, ran into some trouble when he took another tough shot but missed.

However, the Suns fought desperately for rebounds, trying to gain possession of the ball while also preventing the Trail Blazers from launching fast breaks.

The Trail Blazers' fast breaks were too frequent and intense tonight, and the Suns were struggling to keep up.

He fought hard to grab another offensive rebound, snatching the rebound from Forrest Gump's hands like a tiger taking food from a tiger's mouth.

On the perimeter, Richard Dumars received the ball and immediately drove to the basket, leaping up like a spring!
He jumped really high and fast, with top-notch speed, but lacked power.

As a result, his dunk was blocked by Gan Guoyang again.

A scramble ensued under the basket, but the Trail Blazers regained control of the ball.

At this point, the Trail Blazers stopped rushing to counterattack and slowed down the pace to improve their shooting percentage.

The strategy remains the same: pass the ball to Agan. Gan Guoyang receives the ball in the low post on the right side.

The Suns double-teamed Gan Guoyang, who passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who then received it, quickly turned and leaned forward to shoot!
Another one in! Gan Guoyang's shooting percentage tonight is terrifyingly high.

At this point, Suns fans should be thankful that with Agan's shooting percentage, the Suns are only down by 11 points.

Because the Suns were playing really well, Barkley stepped up again, using the same low post on the right side to isolate and attack Forrest Gump.

Barkley chose to step back this time, avoiding Gan Guoyang's block, and launched a one-handed floater with his right hand! There was no other way; the shooting motion is slow, but the floater is faster, just to avoid Gan Guoyang.

An unconventional move, and it went in! The point difference is back to single digits.

Barkley has already scored 17 points, and his contribution is undeniable.

The fans at the stadium cheered wildly for Barkley and the Suns.

But Gan Guoyang immediately used the defensive draw to pass the ball to Terry Porter.

Porter catches the ball and hits a mid-range shot!
Tonight, Porter is a spot-up pitcher.

The work of organizing and controlling the ball was basically left to Petrovic and Agam.

Subsequently, Gan Guoyang blocked Kevin Johnson's layup again under the basket.

Tonight, he wasn't just scoring like crazy, he was defending like crazy too.

During the counterattack, Petrovic and Gan Guoyang set a screen, and Petrovic drove to the basket for a close-range bank shot, making it again!

With a 13-point deficit, Paul Westphal stood up; he knew he was in trouble.

The Suns were completely outmatched by Agan on both ends of the court; they couldn't defend him and were getting blocked a lot on offense.

There's no doubt that Charles Barkley played well, but not well enough.

Furthermore, his kindness further stimulated Gan Guoyang's focus.

In these few possessions, the Suns players were clearly intimidated by Forrest Gump.

Kevin Johnson is fine when he drives to the basket, but he seems to soften up when he gets to the rim.

But Westphal didn't call a timeout; he continued to have faith in his players.

Finally, Dan Mali drew a foul on Lewis during a drive and made both free throws to stop the bleeding for his team.

Immediately afterwards, the Suns defended one of the Trail Blazers' attacks, while Ainge hit a crucial three-pointer from the corner.

With Barkley's support, the Suns played very tenaciously, not wanting to go into halftime trailing by double digits.

The Trail Blazers, playing away, hope to widen the score gap as much as possible to increase their margin for error in the second half.

With two minutes remaining, the Suns activated their half-court press, forcing the Trail Blazers' ball handlers outwards.

Gan Guoyang came out to assist, and after receiving the ball, he immediately passed it straight to the basket, where Sabonis received the ball and quickly attacked the basket to score.

The Suns were gambling, and then they spread their formation wide on offense, forcing Gan Guoyang out of the paint.

Barkley overpowered Sabonis in the low post on the left, using his strength and footwork to turn around, walk along the baseline, shake off Sabonis, and score a layup!
After a brief period of silence, Barkley stepped up again, becoming the team's mainstay on offense.

Lewis drove hard to the basket, but his pass to the perimeter resulted in a turnover, which Kevin Johnson stole.

On the counterattack, Dan Mali received a bounce pass and made a layup, but Gan Guoyang blocked it!
Gan Guoyang's defense tonight left the Suns players in despair, but luckily they had Barkley.

Barkley caught up, grabbed the ball, and scored on the putback! The gap was narrowed to just 6 points!

With 30 seconds left in the second quarter, each team had one more offensive opportunity.

The Trail Blazers weren't in a hurry. Gan Guoyang received the ball in a very shallow position, avoiding a double-team from the Suns.

He held the ball still to stall for time, and the Suns dared not double-team him easily, fearing Gan Guoyang's pass.

Just as the shot clock was about to expire, Gan Guoyang suddenly dribbled to the outside and took a three-pointer from the right 45-degree angle!
Mark West didn't expect Agan to play like this, and his defense couldn't keep up, resulting in Gan Guoyang hitting a three-pointer!

Suns fans are truly desperate; Agan has already scored 30 points in the first half!

However, with less than 10 seconds left, Barkley dribbled the ball from the backcourt and drove all the way to the basket.

Watching Agan's defensive retreat, he tossed the ball into the air as he broke through, and the ball bounced on the rim before falling into the net.

The referee blew his whistle, calling a foul on Gan Guoyang and awarding him an additional penalty!

The American West Arena erupted as Barkley scored a goal and drew a foul from Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang committed his third foul tonight. Actually, he could have avoided chasing Barkley and letting him score.

But he unusually acted irrationally, because he really wanted to pin Barkley down.

He made the free throw, and the score was 69-63, with the Trail Blazers leading by 6 points at halftime.

In the final two minutes, Barker led his team in a thrilling comeback.

He withstood Forrest Gump's superb offensive performance and defense, trailing by only 6 points.

With a different player or team, like the SuperSonics, the game was already over by halftime.

Barkley scored 24 points in the first half and 18 points in the second quarter alone.

In this half, compared to Forrest Gump, apart from a slightly weaker defense, their offense was comparable.

This should be the toughest Western Conference Finals the Portland Trail Blazers have faced since 1990.

In just the second game, the two teams were already locked in a fierce battle.

For the Trail Blazers players, intensity is not a problem.

They played an even more intense Finals series against the Bulls.

The problem remains injuries and fatigue, which are beyond our control.

With this issue in mind, Berman did not use an eight-man rotation in the crucial Western Conference Finals.

At the start of the second half, he even started Petrovic and Mario Elie.

Let Petrovic play for about 5 minutes, then put Dell Curry in, and then Porter later.

Frequent rotations in the backcourt inevitably make it difficult for players to get into form.

But there was no other way; staying on the field was better than getting injured, so the main offensive task was handed over to Agan.

The Suns' situation wasn't much better than the Trail Blazers'. Paul Westphal discovered that the so-called multi-core system, in crucial games, still had to rely on the brightest superstar.

Kevin Johnson had another disastrous performance in the first half, for a simple reason: with Agan playing center, he couldn't penetrate the defense.

Aside from making a layup at the start, Johnson was completely bewildered and disoriented after being blocked by Forrest Gump.

Moreover, with Porter no longer taking on the main playmaking role, he focused his energy on the defensive end, which made things difficult for Johnson.

In the locker room, Barkley simply patted Johnson on the shoulder without saying anything more.

At that moment, the MVP trophy was in the locker, and Barkley had absolutely no intention of taking it out to admire or show it off.

He kept telling himself that he had to play better, much better.

Because the third quarter is when Forrest Gump really shines; if he can't keep up, they'll lose the game.

Barkley really wants to win Game 2, because if the Suns take a 2-0 lead, their chances of making it to the Finals will increase significantly.

At the start of the second half, neither side maintained the sharp offensive momentum of the first half, and their shooting percentage dropped.

I went on a really strong run in the first half, and after a 15-minute break, my hands got a little cold.

After nearly two minutes without scoring, Barkley grabbed a defensive rebound and launched a fast break.

As a result, he ate another big hot pot with Agan. Tonight, Gan Guoyang's three-second no-fly zone terrifies the sun.

However, the Trail Blazers' subsequent counterattack also failed, and Gan Guoyang's mid-range jump shot missed.

Barkley grabbed another rebound and made a long pass to the frontcourt, but Lewis disrupted it, resulting in a back-and-forth exchange of possession.

Finally, Petrovic hit a tough three-pointer from the top of the arc!
Like a shot of adrenaline, it was given to both teammates and opponents.

The Suns knew they had to score, and Barkley scored on a one-on-one against Sabonis.

Barkley's offensive touch is getting better and better, and his confidence is growing stronger.

Mario Elie missed an open three-pointer from the right corner, giving the Suns an opportunity.

Both teams saw their shooting percentages decline in the third quarter, their offensive efficiency decrease, and their defensive intensity increase significantly.

The Suns also attempted a three-pointer but missed, and the Trail Blazers grabbed the rebound and launched a counterattack.

Gan Guoyang's shooting touch wasn't great in the third quarter, so he opted to drive to the basket and draw fouls to get his shooting rhythm going.

Standing at the free-throw line, Gan Guoyang took a deep breath to adjust, but his first free throw was unusually unsuccessful; things were indeed not going well.

The second shot went in smoothly, and the Trail Blazers only scored 4 points in four minutes.

However, the Suns failed to capitalize on this opportunity to quickly narrow the gap. Despite his hot hand and high confidence, Barkley surprisingly didn't choose to attack aggressively with the ball.

Instead, they create more opportunities for their teammates, passing the ball, setting screens, and grabbing offensive rebounds—this is a traditional superstar mindset.

I feel it's good, but if possible, I'd rather lead my teammates than play alone.

In fact, the third quarter presented the Suns with an excellent opportunity to close the gap, but Barkley failed to capitalize on it.

Of course, Barkley may have been exhausted in the first half, and he didn't want to exert himself too early in the third quarter, wanting to save it for the final battle.

At the very least, we should wait until Forrest Gump starts to exert his strength before we can make our own response.

However, thinking this way puts you at a disadvantage and forces you to follow others' lead.

Gan Guoyang gradually overcame the initial setback at the start of the third quarter, using defense and a slow pace to slow down the Suns' comeback attempt.

Paul Westphal also failed to seize this opportunity to turn things around, which was Westphal's weakness.

He is very smart, extremely smart, but he has never truly experienced the feeling of winning a championship; he is not a champion player.

In this respect, Bellman was better than Westphal. With six minutes left in the third quarter, Bellman called a timeout to adjust the game.

The score is 78-73, with the Trail Blazers leading by 5 points. Halfway through the third quarter, the Trail Blazers have only scored 9 points, showing very low efficiency.

But with his keen senses honed from working with Forrest Gump for 10 years, Bellman sensed that Forrest's moment was coming.

So he immediately called a timeout, replacing Petrovic and Lewis with Porter and Curry.

This is a lineup that can fully open up space, just to leave a stage for Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang took a sip of water, looked up at the time, and realized it was almost time. He felt great.

The Suns have not yet realized the danger and continue with their usual rotation, emphasizing scoring and improving their shooting percentage.

After the timeout, Gan Guoyang received the ball at the corner and took a mid-range shot, but it went too far and missed.

Sabonis made a desperate effort to clear the ball, and Elie grabbed it and immediately passed it back to Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang made another shot from the same spot, and it went in perfectly!

Gan Guoyang punched Sabonis and Ellie to thank his teammates for their support and trust.

On the Suns' side, Kevin Johnson made a breakthrough and floater, but Gan Guoyang didn't jump to block it.

It was still too short; I was scared and hesitated.

Securing the rebound, launching a counterattack, positioning himself in the corner, and holding off West.

I caught the ball, turned around to create some distance, and took another mid-range shot, which went in!
Two consecutive mid-range shots hit, and they were completely unreasonable.

The Suns realized something was wrong, but Dan Mali hit a three-pointer, giving them a breather.

Gan Guoyang received the ball at the corner for the third time. The Suns came over to double-team him, so Gan Guoyang stepped back and passed the ball to Porter on the wing.

Porter hits a three-pointer! Porter, a spot-up shooter, had an outstanding performance tonight.

The Trail Blazers responded with a three-pointer, stabilizing the deficit at nine points, which was crucial.

Barkley realized the situation was bad and stepped up to take on Sabonis one-on-one, driving hard to the basket.

But Gan Guoyang came over to help defend and blocked it with a big block—Gan Guoyang's block count is going to be in double digits tonight.

During the counterattack, Porter passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, but Gan Guoyang did not shoot a three-pointer.

Instead, they go further in, aiming for a more reliable mid-range shot!

Three consecutive mid-range jump shots, clean and crisp, made Suns' scalp tingle.

The point difference reached 11 points, and the Trail Blazers extended their lead to double digits.

The Suns continued their tenacious comeback, but they missed their best chance to close the gap.

Tonight, the Suns were too closely following the Trail Blazers' rhythm, always mimicking their pace.

This gave the injured Trail Blazers a chance to recover and catch their breath.

Midway through the third quarter, Gan Guoyang exerted his strength, and the Suns couldn't keep up.

Gan Guoyang received the ball at the corner for the fourth time, and the Suns dared not double-team him.

Curry, Allie, and Porter can all shoot threes, and Gan Guoyang pushed past West and made another strong mid-range shot!
Barkley tried to respond in the low post, but was then surrounded and blocked by Sabonis and Gan Guoyang!
Gan Guoyang delivered 10 blocks in three quarters, and by the end, Suns players were afraid to enter the paint to shoot.

The Suns held on for two and a half quarters, but suddenly collapsed in the latter part of the third quarter.

When the lead widened to 15 points, Westphal called a timeout, trying to boost his players' morale.

But Westphal himself didn't know what to do; Forrest Gump had entered an unstoppable state.

He scored 10 points in the third quarter, which wasn't a lot, but the Suns couldn't keep up, and the rest of the Trail Blazers were also caught up in the momentum.

Charles Barkley noticed the slowness and hesitation in Westphal's eyes. He held the marker in his hand, but couldn't bring himself to draw anything on the whiteboard.

Barkley snatched the clipboard from the coach's hand, threw it on the chair, and said, "Stop drawing. Give me the ball from now on, I'll handle the problems. If we lose, it's my fault."

At this point, his teammates began to understand the significance of his pre-series statement, "I am Charles Barkley."

(End of this chapter)