The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 433 Cancer
Riley's timeout was indeed not timely enough.

Rationally, he realized that this game was absolutely crucial for the Lakers.

But emotionally, he didn't reach that point of despair.

His earlier outburst at home, kicking the door wildly, had triggered his emotions too early.

Riley is feeling a bit empty after releasing all that stress, and he's not really in form tonight.

During the timeout, Riley loudly reminded the players to stay focused and keep up with the Trail Blazers on both offense and defense.

Despite saying that, Riley himself seemed somewhat unsure of himself.

With both home games taken away, the Lakers no longer hold the initiative in the series.

On the defensive end, besides double-teaming, there was no way to deal with Gan Guoyang.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's aging is a major weakness for the Lakers. Without a challenger in the paint, the Lakers can continue their dominance in the West.

Once a new dominant force in the paint like Gan Guoyang emerges, Riley and the Lakers become increasingly less confident.

The inside game remains decisive.

After the timeout, the Lakers didn't make any major adjustments on offense, continuing to let Kareem Abdul-Jabbar attack.

After receiving the ball, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took a slow step and used a hook shot to evade Gan Guoyang's block, scoring two points.

This veteran superstar is the Lakers' most reliable anchor. Riley doesn't dare to think about how the Lakers will deal with the emerging new big men if Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retires.

During the Trail Blazers' offensive possession, Hornacek remained on the court.

Mitchell Thompson replaced Bill Walton, and Gan Guoyang continued to play.

Van de Wesley was substituted off for a rest, Porter and Hornacek partnered in the backfield, and Drexler replaced Kossie.

Gan Guoyang received the ball in the low post, and the Lakers immediately double-teamed him. Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Thompson, the double-team broke apart, and Thompson immediately passed it back to Gan Guoyang.

This time, Gan Guoyang squeezed into a deeper position, received the ball, turned and made a jump shot. When he turned, he used his hips and lower limbs to block Jabbar, while leaning forward to prevent him from jumping and interfering.

Gan Guoyang has mastered these technical details very well, which is an important factor in his high success rate in singles matches.

When Magic Johnson wasn't feeling his best from beyond the arc, he squeezed into the paint and hit a hook shot after a turn.

This is one of his key scoring methods – the intensity of the game decreased in the second quarter, and Johnson tried to drive inside.

Porter missed a three-pointer, and the Lakers countered. Johnson drove into the paint again and scored with a hook shot, bringing the score to 33-36, just 3 points behind.

Then Gan Guoyang came out to facilitate, and with a pick-and-roll with Porter, he attracted the defense and then passed the ball directly to Hornacek, who cut to the basket and easily made a layup.

This was Gan Guoyang's fifth assist tonight, and Hornacek scored 6 points, showing increasing confidence on the court.

The Lakers then committed a turnover on the counterattack, with James Worthy dribbling the ball out of bounds, giving possession to the Trail Blazers.

Hornacek broke through the middle with the help of a screen, but his layup was interfered with by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and missed. The ball was about to fly out of bounds in a scramble for it.

Gan Guoyang made a diving save, rushing into the stands. The ball flew to Thompson's hands, who caught it, cut to the basket, and easily made a layup!
"Forrest Gump's diving save! Wow! What a selfless play! The Trail Blazers have regained the lead, 33-40, a 7-point advantage!"

Bill Shawnley loudly praised Gan Guoyang's bravery, saying that he really went all out, completely losing his balance and rushing into the crowd of spectators at the baseline.

Several female fans took the opportunity to grope Gan Guoyang. With so many people around, he couldn't argue for the moment and immediately got up to join the game.

After losing possession, the Lakers launched a counterattack, creating a 5-on-4 situation in the frontcourt. However, Johnson's pass was intercepted by Drexler.

Drexler then made a long pass to Gan Guoyang, who had just gotten up and returned to the court. Gan Guoyang received the ball unguarded and easily dunked it!
The entire Memorial Arena erupted in cheers. The score was 33-42, a difference of 9 points, and the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for the Lakers.

Tonight, the Trail Blazers' offense and defense did not rely too much on Gan Guoyang. Gan Guoyang became part of the team, and they performed very well as a whole.

James Worthy backed down Thompson, but his subsequent floater missed, and Drexler grabbed the rebound.

The entire audience stood up; this was a great opportunity for the Trail Blazers to extend their lead.

But the Lakers were very resilient, and AC Green defended Drexler's drive to the basket.

The referee called a foul on the Trail Blazers for rebounding, and the Lakers got the ball.

Both teams then missed their shots, and the basketball hoop in the Memorial Stadium looked like it had been covered.

After a two-minute scoring drought, the Lakers found an opportunity on the left side by patiently moving the ball around.

Michael Cooper hits a three-pointer! 36-42, the Lakers are tenaciously closing the gap. At this point, the second quarter is in its second half, with less than four minutes remaining.

Gan Guoyang didn't rest for a single minute in the first half, so Ramsey called a timeout to let him rest.

On the bench, Gan Guoyang said, "I won't rest for a single minute in the first half, but I ask you all to step up your efforts on both offense and defense and widen the gap even further!"

The meaning is quite clear: if he's leading by a large margin, he can at least get some time to rest!
Jack Ramsey handed the tactical board to Gan Guoyang and said, "Why don't you explain?"

Gan Guoyang shook his head: "Playing basketball is tiring enough, and you want me to be your coach? Don't slack off, Jack!"

After the timeout ended and they returned to the court, Ramsey devised a tactic, with Gan Guoyang and Thompson switching positions at the corners.

This kind of off-ball crossover is meant to confuse the defender, and as a result, when Gan Guoyang moved outwards, the Lakers' defense was drawn away.

Thompson drove to the basket, and Drexler made a through pass to Thompson, who easily made a layup!
36-44, an 8-point lead, Michael Cooper received a pass from Johnson and made a jump shot, making it 38-44.

The score remains at 6 points. It looks like the two teams will finish the first half with a relatively small point difference, probably within 10 points, around 5 points.

Just then, the situation on the court changed. Terry Porter dribbled the ball across half-court, suddenly accelerated and drove straight to the basket, making a difficult layup with his left hand in mid-air!
Johnson tried to counter the opponent's speed with speed, crossing half-court and entering the three-point line, where he took a mid-range jump shot, but missed.

He had a bad night and hasn't recovered yet, only making one mid-range shot.

The Trail Blazers countered, and Porter dribbled into the three-point line, pulled up for a jump shot, and made it!
Porter scored 4 consecutive points, making it 38-48, with the point difference reaching 10 points!
Riley immediately called a short timeout, but the Lakers' offense did not improve.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar received the ball in the low post, was surrounded, and passed it to Scott.

Scott missed his mid-range shot, and a scramble ensued under the basket. Worthy grabbed the offensive rebound and his layup was blocked by Gan Guoyang!
After a scramble for the ball under the basket, Johnson got the ball and drove to the basket, drawing a foul from Drexler.

The Lakers finally scored through free throws, but their shooting percentage tonight was alarmingly low.

With just over two minutes left in the first half, the Lakers had only scored 40 points.

Riley hadn't expected the team's offense to be so poor tonight, with the players' shooting percentage being abysmal.

The Trail Blazers' offensive efficiency was average because Gan Guoyang gave up many opportunities to his teammates to shoot tonight.

With the Trail Blazers controlling the pace of the game, they played with increasing ease.

With the help of Gan Guoyang's screen, Drexler drove into the basket again and scored with a layup after switching hands in mid-air!

Drexler was the main offensive force in this game, with his dunks and reverse layups being particularly spectacular.

The Lakers tried to exploit James Worthy's weakness, but missed two low-post attacks.

The Trail Blazers launched a counterattack, with Drexler receiving a pass from Gan Guoyang on the wing and cutting into the middle for a dunk.

The ball was passed to the corner, and Vandeweghe hit a three-pointer!

The Trail Blazers went on a 7-0 run in the final stages of the second quarter.

The score was now 40-55, with the Trail Blazers leading the Lakers by a whopping 15 points.

When Johnson missed a long-range three-pointer on his final possession, the Lakers had only scored 40 points in the first half.

During halftime, Bobby Bellman found it hard to believe, saying, "The Lakers only scored 40 points."

Gan Guoyang replied, "I only got 16 points."

"But we were up by 15 points, and that was our best half."

"That's right, we crushed the Lakers in the first half."

"We will definitely win this game in the second half."

"If we keep playing like this, we can win the series."

The locker room was filled with high spirits, and everyone looked at Gan Guoyang in unison as they talked.

Gan Guoyang felt uneasy and said, "Why are you all looking at me like that? Is it because I scored fewer points that I'm in the lead?"

The others remained silent, but Ramsey said, "That's possible. Luckily, you realized your mistake in time."

Everyone burst into laughter, and the locker room was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)