The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 329 Be careful not to burn yourself
The pause was brief, and the game resumed quickly.

On the Trail Blazers' bench, Jerome Kersey handed Gan Guoyang a water bottle.

Gan Guoyang shook his head and didn't take the water; at that moment, he didn't want to touch anything but the basketball.

He always had a good sense of his own condition, and he knew he was in good shape tonight, but he didn't know when it would disappear.

He needs to seize the time and make the most of the advantage he can gain in the finals. He absolutely cannot relax and he absolutely cannot be polite to his opponents.

On the defensive end, Gan Guoyang doesn't plan to put too much effort into it. He mainly roams around the perimeter of the three-second zone, leaving the hard work of protecting the rim to Walton, Thompson, and Drexler.

Before the game, Gan Guoyang specifically instructed Drexler to go inside more often and participate in protecting the rim and grabbing rebounds, as Drexler's steal and block abilities have always been quite good.

The glider, having clearly defined his role, performed admirably, defending against Marquez Johnson's drive and deflecting his layup.

Gan Guoyang got the ball and passed it to Porter, saying, "Remember to give me the ball."

Gan Guoyang gave Potter some instructions, and Potter nodded, sensing Gan's intense desire to attack that night.

A high pick-and-roll play, Porter faked a drive, then passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who took a mid-range jump shot from the top of the arc!

A high-arc anti-aircraft gun, two points hit!
Bird slammed the ball down, hesitating whether to respond.

Gan Guoyang called for a kill right from the start, giving Bird no chance to breathe.

Bird is conflicted. According to the game plan, KC Jones hopes that McHale and Marquez Johnson can get going early.

Especially McHale; if he can get going, coupled with the backcourt's offensive firepower, the Celtics will have an easier time later on.

McHale established position in the low post, and Bird passed the ball to McHale as planned. McHale backed down Thompson and tried to shake him off for a layup by turning and using his footwork, but was double-teamed by Walton and had no space to shoot.

The ball was passed to Parish, who received it and attempted a high-arcing shot, but Gan Guoyang blocked it from behind!

Cheers erupted in the memorial stadium as Gan Guoyang dribbled the ball across half-court and passed it to Drexler.

Then, after blocking Parish in the low post, Drexler passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who quickly walked up to the baseline and drove to the basket for a strong layup.

Three Celtics players surrounded Gan Guoyang, but he missed the layup. However, he grabbed the rebound and went on another run!

This drew a defensive foul from Bird, and Gan Guoyang went to the free-throw line.

Bird became increasingly agitated, complaining to the referee about how a foul could have occurred.

"Trust my call, Larry. You definitely fouled him. You bumped him with your leg. I saw it. Watch your dirty tricks."

The referee officiating tonight's game is Jack Madden, someone Bird knew was going to have a bad feeling about tonight's game just from seeing his name.

This referee started working in the NBA in 1963, and in his first game officiating the Celtics, he gave Bill Russell a technical foul.

At that time, Russell was already a big name in the league, and most referees didn't dare to go too far with this championship center and well-known tough guy, but Jack Madden didn't care.

In terms of officiating, there is not much controversy surrounding him; he is a ruthless whistleblower machine, which means there is very little room for negotiation with him, especially here in Portland.

Moreover, this referee had never been a fan of the Celtics, and in November 1985, Madden broke his leg in a game at Boston Garden.

Dennis Johnson was chasing a ball out of bounds when he collided with Madden, causing Madden to fall. Dick Bavetta then officiated the rest of the game by himself.

This was an unexpected turn of events, but it undoubtedly increased Madden's dislike for the Celtics. As a referee, he wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for the Celtics, but expecting him to make calls in their favor was definitely out of the question.

Gan Guoyang stepped up to the free-throw line and made both shots; he is becoming unstoppable.

Bird responded with a mid-range jumper, giving the Celtics a brief respite.

Gan Guoyang immediately called for the ball in the low post again, but the Celtics double-teamed him very quickly this time.

Parish blocked the bottom line, leaving Gan Guoyang no chance to turn around, and opened up his other side, forcing Gan Guoyang to go to the top.

Bird immediately double-teamed Walton, who cut in from the middle. Gan Guoyang made a high lob pass, and Walton caught the ball and slammed it home with one hand!

After scoring, the two gave each other a light high-five. As the finals approached, their teamwork improved significantly.

With three tall players on the roster, the Celtics' two tall players double-teamed Gan Guoyang, leaving Walton completely exposed. He wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by.

At 4:14, the score difference reached 10 points, and the Trail Blazers' advantage gradually widened.

But Gan Guoyang knew that this advantage was nothing, and the Celtics could catch up very quickly.

Dennis Johnson drove to the basket, using his strength to push past Porter, and scored with a floater.

Porter attempted a mid-range jumper to counter Dennis, but missed, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the offensive rebound.

He dribbled, drove hard into the paint, drew the defense, and then passed the ball to Thompson on the baseline. Thompson caught the ball and easily dunked it! 6-16.

The Celtics' interior defense was a bit overly cautious, frequently collapsing to double-team, focusing on Walton but leaving Thompson completely unguarded.

Gan Guoyang is frighteningly calm now. Whether to throw or pass, his thinking is very clear. He can't hear the cheers from the crowd at all.

Bird passed the ball to McHale again, who attacked in the low post and made a hook shot to keep the score close.

Walton orchestrated the play from the high post, Gan Guoyang positioned himself in the low post on the right, received the ball and quickly turned with a Sigma step, dribbled with his left hand, suddenly changed direction to the right, used his explosiveness to get past Parish, and cut to the basket for a one-handed dunk! 8:18.

"Shit..."

Parish couldn't help but curse, "How is this guy so fast?"
The turn, dribble, change of direction, and explosive burst were all executed in one smooth motion; Parish had never defended a center like that before.

What kind of center plays like that? His dribbling, changing direction, and explosiveness are just like a guard's.

At this moment, Gan Guoyang truly got into the zone, because he began to use some offensive moves that he would never normally use.

Bird dribbled at the top of the key and isolated against Gan Guoyang, then suddenly made a behind-the-back pass to the inside. Parish caught the ball, turned around, and made a hook shot with his left hand.

Gan Guoyang immediately retaliated. This time, he received the ball at the top of the arc, made a strong breakthrough through the middle, suddenly stopped, pulled back, turned, and released a right-handed hook shot, scoring! 10:20.

Parish was completely outmaneuvered by Gan Guoyang's footwork, who was unstoppable in the first quarter, putting immense pressure on the Celtics' offense and defense.

Marquez Johnson received the ball and drove to the basket, but his pull-up shot was blocked by Walton and missed. Thompson grabbed the defensive rebound.

It was still a positional game, and at this moment, the fans in the stadium could clearly see a hint of fear in Parish's expression. He was afraid of being able to defend against Gan Guoyang one-on-one.

Just like last season when he faced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Parish completely broke down mentally and physically by the end of the game. At 32 years old, he is already on the decline.

Still on the left low post, Gan Guoyang will definitely launch endless low post attacks tonight. In the NBA, where double-teaming and zone defense are not allowed, this kind of endless one-on-one attack is almost unstoppable, as long as you have the stamina and ability.

The Trail Blazers players realized that tonight's game was all about Agan, so they cleared the left side completely. Bird was called for an illegal defense by Jack Madden because he was too close.

Gan Guoyang stepped to the free-throw line and made the free throw. He then continued to back down Parish on the left side. He used a shoulder fake, then turned around, leaned back slightly, and shot, which went in!
Meanwhile, in Houston, watching the game from home, Hakeem Olajuwon saw the play and couldn't help but yell, "You're not such a coward, Forrest Gump! You son of a bitch, you stole my skill!"

At 10:23, more than halfway through the first quarter, the Celtics had only scored 10 points.

It wasn't that the Trail Blazers' defense was particularly good, but rather that their offensive efficiency was so high that the Celtics had almost no opportunities to launch fast breaks.

Without a quick counter-attack, the Trail Blazers' three tall players in half-court offense, along with a big spider on the perimeter, forced the Celtics to grind it out, making it impossible for them to be efficient offensively.

KC Jones called another timeout. They needed to deal with Gan Guoyang; he was aiming for 60 points, just like Michael Jordan.

The Trail Blazers are much stronger than the Bulls overall, and McHale needs to be brought into play. KC Jones gave a firm order during the timeout.

At the same time, Parish can no longer be allowed to defend Gan Guoyang; it's simply giving away points. Parish's mentality has been broken, and he can't contain Gan Guoyang one-on-one at all.

"Larry, you guard Forrest Gump. Front him and don't let him get the ball. Our only goal on defense right now is to prevent Forrest Gump from getting the ball! If Forrest Gump does get the ball, Kevin, you come over and guard him."

In the first quarter, Gan Guoyang had already scored 17 points. Bird, who had been tasked with guarding Gan Guoyang, began to relentlessly harass him, going around him and sticking to him, not giving Gan Guoyang any chance to receive the ball.

Meanwhile, McHale finally found his rhythm inside, hitting two consecutive baskets, allowing the Celtics to slightly close the gap.

Both teams played at a slow pace, with Gan Guoyang using low-post offense to drag the game into a positional battle.

On the last possession of the first quarter, Bird used his movement to the right corner to receive a pass from Marquez Johnson and launch a three-pointer!

The ball glided past Gan Guoyang's fingertips and went in! The score was now 21-29, with the Celtics closing the gap to 8 points.

With only 2 seconds left for the Trail Blazers, the Celtics could still accept an 8-point deficit.

Unexpectedly, the Trail Blazers quickly inbounded the ball from their backcourt, Gan Guoyang jumped to receive it, dribbled forward across the midcourt line, and then launched a long-range three-pointer.

The ball crossed half the court and found the target!

Like a celebration at the Glass Palace, the Trail Blazers led by 11 points, 21-32.

The Celtics players were stunned. How could that have gone in? They thought they could close the gap to within 10 points.

Gan Guoyang scored 20 points in the first quarter, missing only one shot, and dominated Parish in the low post.

Gan Guoyang looked very calm after sinking a three-pointer from midcourt. When his teammates rushed over to celebrate, he told them to calm down.

"Calm down, calm down. Don't touch my hands, don't touch them, you'll get burned!"

(End of this chapter)