The final shot was clearly short, hitting the front of the rim. Gan Guoyang turned and secured the rebound, then steadily pushed forward for the counterattack.
At halftime, the Trail Blazers led the Spurs 48:41, a 7-point lead, with both teams scoring relatively low.
During the break, Gan Guoyang complained about the current trend in the league, saying, "The three-point line was clearly shortened, yet the pace of the game has been dragged so slowly. The league is intentionally increasing the intensity, making the offense sluggish. They're lenient with calls on static confrontations, not blowing for screen violations, pushing, or elbowing. But when the pace picks up, they blow fouls like crazy—are they trying to suppress fast breaks intentionally?"
Bird said, "Fans like to watch intense games. Who wants to see both sides endlessly throwing three-pointers? I doubt the shorter three-point line will last long."
