The referee blew the whistle, calling a blocking foul on Sabonis, and Ewing would have to take the free throw.
The ball saw the two jostling in the three-second zone with so physical confrontations; Ewing shook his arm, trying to push Sabonis away.
Sabonis stood firm, pushing back, and Ewing, upon seeing this, lifted his chin in a scornful look at Sabonis.
The referee quickly blew the whistle to separate them and signaled Ewing to take the free throw.
Gan Guoyang clapped his hands on the side and said, "Give Patrick so rough play! You should have been doing that a long ti ago."
After Terry Porter’s three-point shot missed, Oakley scored with a mid-range jump shot.
Sabonis actively called for the ball in the post; Gan Guoyang delivered a direct pass to Sabonis from the high post.
Sabonis played one-on-one against Ewing in the low post, using his body to open space and then scoring with a right-handed hook shot!
That was Sabonis’ first successful post play against Ewing tonight.
Quick to respond, Ewing scored another basket. He received the ball one step inside the foul line, turned, and took a high-release shot, scoring again!
Ewing’s offensive performance was surprisingly good that night; his continuous scoring in the first half had gotten him into rhythm.
Even if Ah Gan personally defended him, he might not be able to clamp down on Ewing right away.
Gan Guoyang thought it wasn’t a big deal; he believed it was a great opportunity to train Sabonis.
But Sabonis was fired up, again positioning himself in the post and calling for the ball.
Gan Guoyang was more than happy to feed the ball to Sabonis from the top, Sabonis received the ball, and also taking the middle route, pushed Ewing aside with a right-handed hook shot, scoring!
The two centers had started a fierce duel in the paint, stirring up the emotions of the audience.
Ewing once again took the ball but this ti passed it to the cutting Mark Jackson up the middle, who caught the ball and scored a floater for two points.
Turning, Gan Guoyang caught the ball in the low post, drawing the defense, and passed it out to the high post to Sabonis.
Sabonis faked a shot, only to suddenly make a surprise pass inside to the cutting Porter.
Porter caught the ball and scored the layup!
"Beautiful offense! Beautiful pass! Rip city!"
Bill Schonely shouted out ’Rip City’ as Sabonis showcased his brilliant playmaking in a flash of genius.
During this period, Gan Guoyang completely beca the hub on the court, creating good offensive opportunities for his teammates.
Sabonis was getting more comfortable with his offense, as he adapted to the Trail Blazers’ offensive and defensive systems.
However, what he was most concerned about was his matchup against Ewing, wondering if he could guard him.
At the very least, he had to restrain the guy.
Sabonis began to push and shove with Ewing in the paint, forcing Ewing away from the middle.
Ah Gan was right; most of Ewing’s attacks ca from the middle, where he excelled.
This was very different from Barkley; Barkley liked the two baselines, and Gan Guoyang also favored the two baselines.
For an undersized forward, the baseline was easier to control because it was less likely to face a congested defense.
If Gan Guoyang played the middle, it was all about power driving, using force rather than finesse.
For a tall center like Ewing, the middle was his preferred area, but once pushed to the sidelines, he was prone to mistakes.
Sure enough, after Ewing was forced to the left baseline, he stepped on the ball while turning, causing a turnover. Trail Blazers’ ball.
Sabonis vigorously clapped his hands, having contributed a good defense.
Ewing’s anger was also rising.
He absolutely held a grudge against Sabonis.
In the 1988 Olympics, Sabonis had led the Soviet Union to defeat Team USA, whose coach was none other than Ewing’s ntor, John-Thompson.
The defeat at the ’88 Olympics dealt a significant blow to John-Thompson’s reputation, trapping him in a maelstrom of public censure from which he struggled to escape.
The 1980s were the height of the sports rivalry between Arica and the Soviet Union. Political reasons caused each nation to boycott the Olympics once in ’80 and ’84, rendering the basketball championships of those years sowhat less credible.
The 1988 Olympics took place in Asia, giving no one a reason to boycott, with full participation from all teams.
At that ti, all mbers of the U.S. Olympic Team wore T-shirts emblazoned with "One Seoul, One Goal" upon arriving in Korea, aiming to win more gold dals than the Soviet Union.
And an Olympic gold dal in n’s basketball was, without a doubt, an honor of substantial weight.
During the Olympic selection process, Thompson, like Bob Knight, faced controversy over his choices.
Bob Knight’s controversy stemd from excluding Malone, Barkley, and Stockton, preferring to keep his own disciples, and the team ended up with five white players.
On the contrary, Thompson ousted white players like Steve-Kerr, resulting in a team that was predominantly black.
In the end, Knight erged victorious, his wins decisive and thrilling, so the controversies turned into re gossip, casually dismissed by all.
Thompson’s case was different; he lost, and on the account of lacking sharpshooters. The 1988 Olympics had three-pointers, but his team failed to capitalize on them.
The failure led to Thompson being subjected to intense criticism after the Olympics, a beating that would visibly continue to be revisited and condemned for decades.
Sabonis was the "chief culprit" who had pushed Thompson into this predicant. By both emotion and reason, Ewing was bound to target Sabonis.
So later, when Sabonis received a pass from Gan Guoyang in the paint and had the opportunity for a slam dunk, Ewing, coming from behind, slapped the ball down with extre ferocity.
The ball smashed onto Sabonis’ head, causing him to stagger upon landing, nearly falling over.
After steadying himself, Sabonis charged forward, ready to settle the score with Ewing.
Gan Guoyang quickly stepped in to stop Sabonis, saying, "Calm down, calm down, hitting people is wrong."
Sabonis glared at Ewing, who still held his chin up high, looking down on everyone with disdain.
Perhaps the foul play affected him, still a bit groggy, Sabonis made one of two free throws.
The score difference remained at around five points. Beelman made a substitution, pulling out Kossie who was struggling against the Knicks’ periter players and bringing in Mike-Sanders.
Kossie, being tall, had difficulty keeping up with the Knicks’ periter, and Sanders would likely be more effective.
When it was the Knicks’ turn to attack, Ewing once again positioned himself and called out to Mark Jackson, "Give the ball!"
This was Ewing looking to take on Sabonis. Ewing wanted the ball near the middle of the court, and the Trail Blazers neither double-tead nor hindered the play, simply letting the two battle it out one-on-one.
Ewing successfully received the ball, and after a spin and a shot fake, he drove through the middle and scored with a left-handed dunk!
Ewing’s drive was beautiful; Sabonis couldn’t keep up. With injuries to his Achilles’ tendon and knee, his mobility was not what it had been in ’86.
After the basket, Ewing bumped into Sabonis, neither man willing to give way, and Ewing forcefully shoved Sabonis.
That was when Sabonis, seething with rage, lowered his head to look at Ewing’s black head and his arrogant chin and drove his head forward in a headbutt!
With a "clang," Sabonis’ blow landed squarely on Ewing’s chin.
Caught off guard, Ewing felt as if he had taken a heavy punch, his head reeling as he staggered backward, eventually sitting down with a thud.
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