On the plane back to Portland, the Trail Blazers players were in a relaxed and joyful mood.
Although the third game was tough, they still managed to eliminate their opponents and advance to the next round.
In the second round, whether facing the Nuggets or the Spurs, the Trail Blazers would have home-court advantage. They could rest well in Portland and wait for the start of the semifinals.
Everyone was very interested in Gan Guoyang's mid-range buzzer-beater in the final moments of the third game. They wondered when he had learned this "kiki-step."
Gan Guoyang said, "I just learned it, watching Kiki use it a lot yesterday, and I got it."
Everyone scornfully disbelieved, convinced that the kid must have been practicing secretly at some point.
In the third game, Vandeweghe scored 26 points, the second-highest on the team. In the series against the Mavericks, he was the team's second-leading scorer, just behind Ah Gan.
