Gan Guoyang hasn't lost his temper with referees in a long time. Most of the time, they respect him quite well.
The NBA referees today are very different from those in the past, especially the younger ones, who carry much less of a streetwise character.
Besides antiques like Bavetta, many NBA referees haven't been in the League as long as Gan Guoyang or Jordan.
Tonight's head referee is the famous bald Joe Crawford, who is considered one of the more senior ones among the referees.
He started blowing the whistle during the 1988-1989 season and has officiated some major games involving Gan Guoyang. He's somewhat renowned for his performance art on the court.
But facing Ah Gan, he has no desire to perform, only explaining to Gan Guoyang, "The new rules are like this, I didn't make a wrong call, I know you two haven't had much contact, but you invaded his shooting space."
