During the break, Adelman asked Gan Guoyang, "Gan, why did you foul Bird just now?"
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Gan Guoyang thought to himself that even in January, the arena was quite warm, with poor ventilation.
"To stop the Celtics' fast breaks, I didn't want to let them gain momentum."
"But you wasted a foul."
"What's the difference, I only had one foul in the first quarter."
"Perhaps it wasn't necessary."
"No, it was necessary. The Celtics have been trying to play a quick game and score easily; I won't allow it. We had to slow the game down. Can't you see that from the sidelines?"
Adelman didn't answer; he indeed hadn't quite noticed, as the pre-game strategy didn't mention this.
