Barkley made great strides under the guidance of Moses Malone and gradually grew into one of the most eye-catching superstars of the 1984 class.
Two weeks later, Barkley led the Bullets back to Portland and caught the Trail Blazers off guard at the Memorial Coliseum. With a performance of 30 points and 25 rebounds, Barkley helped his team to victory, avenging the defeat they had suffered at home.
His superb low post one-on-one ability also earned him the nickname "Eastern Little Forrest Gump" (coined by Gan Guoyang).
Of course, Barkley's Bullets moment hadn't arrived yet; the Eastern Conference was gradually becoming the domain of the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics.
Leaving Washington with a victory, the Trail Blazers embarked on their long journey in the Eastern Conference, with Chicago being their next stop.
Gan Guoyang was quite happy to have back-to-back games against good friends' teams, as nothing was more enjoyable than defeating them on the court.