The evening game between the Trail Blazers and the New York Knicks had garnered much attention.
This was the second official encounter between Patrick Ewing and Gan Guoyang on the basketball court.
In the 1984 NCAA quarterfinals, Gan Guoyang led Gonzaga to eliminate Ewing and ultimately clinched the championship.
For the sake of the championship, Ewing had to lie low for another year, finally achieving his desire in 1985, coming to New York with the championship honor and expectations of the masses.
After being continuously ejected in the preseason games, Ewing did not disappoint New York fans during the regular season.
Apart from his first career game where he was dominated by Moses Malone, Ewing showed high standards in subsequent away games.
For example, against the Golden State Warriors, he scored 27 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, with 2 blocks and 2 steals, and against the Eagles, he scored 27 points with 11 rebounds and 2 assists.
