The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 492 Death Ray
The fourth quarter was about to begin, and Gan Guoyang remained on the court.

The Great Western Forum arena was all too familiar to him.

He loves playing here, loves the bright yellow floor, and loves the enthusiastic, colorful fans.

Of course, his favorite victory is here.

Every time Gan Guoyang comes to Los Angeles, there are always many Chinese fans.

They came from all walks of life, from various parts of California, after all, California has the largest Chinese population.

Tonight was no exception; pretty girls kept shouting at Gan Guoyang from the sidelines, just like Hong Kong fans chasing stars back in the day.

In Los Angeles, there is a huge Gan Guoyang fan club, most of which are female fans.

In terms of appearance, Gan Guoyang is no less handsome than Hong Kong and Taiwan stars.

In terms of physique and temperament, he is far superior.

His abundant masculinity led the aesthetic of the Chinese community in the 80s and 90s. People lost interest in the effeminate pretty boys, and male celebrities started to work out and tan to follow in Forrest Gump's footsteps.

Faced with the enthusiastic female fans, Gan Guoyang smiled politely at them.

There are even more female fans like this in Portland, and most of them are married, which is infuriating.

Seeing Gan Guoyang being warmly welcomed by the girls, Magic Johnson joked, "Give them a number, and they can come to your room tonight to keep screaming."

Johnson has been, is, and will continue to do this.

For him, sleeping with girls was just as important as playing basketball or eating.

Many girls are chosen on the sidelines during the competition, simply because they like each other.

Gan Guoyang certainly wouldn't do that. He said, "If I still have the energy to do anything else tonight, that would be disrespectful to the Lakers. Of course, you shouldn't expect to either."

Johnson smiled but didn't say anything, because Gan Guoyang was right. After tonight's game, he wouldn't have the energy to spend the night with any girls.

The games against the Trail Blazers are just that intense and incredibly high-intensity. Every time I finish a game, I'm exhausted and have no energy left to do anything else.

To be honest, seeing Gan Guoyang still full of energy and fighting spirit, Johnson felt a little scared deep down.

This is Magic Johnson's ninth season.

Over the past nine seasons, he has suffered serious injuries and needs to rest for about 10 games each season to recover.

He is a very energetic person, but nine years of running wildly on the basketball court and another court every night must have taken a toll on him.

His back, ankles, and knees are in pain every day.

He once told the media that, given his playing style and running frequency, he might not last more than 10 seasons.

Besides him, Worthy has knee problems, Byron Scott has patellar tendon problems, and Michael Cooper has ankle problems.

Of course, every NBA team has injury problems. In such a high-intensity professional league with such a high frequency of games, injuries are commonplace.

However, the Lakers' extreme running style does indeed consume more energy and cause greater physical strain.

Johnson could sense that, starting in 1984, the entire team was suffering during this long and arduous battle against the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang.

Riley, who left, Jerry West, who became increasingly serious, and Jerry Buss, whose temper worsened, were all troubled by the Portlanders.

Don Nelson said, "When you are in pain, the enemy is in just as much pain as you, or even more pain. Persevere and wait until the enemy collapses."

Nelson is right. Judging from all the information, the Trail Blazers are indeed in trouble this year.

Vandeweghe is injured, Paxson was traded, Drexler seems unhappy with his position, Thompson is sluggish, Gilmore is getting old, and Jack Ramsey is distracted.

The Lakers have failed to defend their title several times, so they know how difficult it is to win back-to-back championships.

The Trail Blazers must have had a tough time in this arduous title defense.

This gave the Lakers and Johnson the motivation; they had swept the Trail Blazers three times, and they were determined to persevere.

As the playoffs draw closer, the competition between the two teams is becoming increasingly intense, which will determine the psychological advantage in the playoffs.

However, Magic Johnson has a concern: he sees no sign of Forrest Gump breaking down, not even the slightest indication.

This is the source of that faint fear deep in Johnson's heart.

Gan Guoyang remained focused and confident, his eyes sparkling with brilliance.

Magic Johnson knew from this that you can't defeat someone like that psychologically or in terms of willpower.

No matter what happens, he will fight to the end and seize any opportunity to win.

You can't just push forward with the wind and pacify the land with a single proclamation.

This often happened when the Lakers were in the West: as the game progressed, the opponents realized that the talent gap was too big, they couldn't beat them, they couldn't even outrun them, and their mentality and physical condition collapsed.

To beat Forrest Gump, you must have superior skills and maintain focus and a high level of performance from start to finish.

In this regard, Johnson believes that his willpower and determination are no less than Forrest Gump's. He is confident that he can keep competing with Forrest Gump until the playoffs and see who can't hold out any longer.

He longed to see despair, confusion, and even fear in Forrest Gump's eyes, for that would mean the Trail Blazers were doomed.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Johnson chose to back down the ball and drive inside. After holding off Drexler, he turned and drove to the middle, facing Gan Guoyang's help defense, and made a hook shot.

The Lakers regained the lead, but it only lasted 15 seconds.

Gan Guoyang received a pass from Drexler at the top of the arc and made a mid-range jump shot.

Faced with increasing double-teaming in the low post, Gan Guoyang began to use mid-range shots to solve the problem.

The Lakers are happy to see this result, even though Gan Guoyang's mid-range shot is very accurate, his offensive power is still less than when he is in the low post.

Both teams' key players scored on their respective attacks, signaling the start of a back-and-forth battle in the fourth quarter.

Nelson held back, not bringing out his signature move in the fourth quarter. After all, it was a regular season game, and he only asked Johnson to give it his all and try to win.

On the other side, Jack Ramsey made substitutions, bringing in rookie Anderson in the fourth quarter when Mitchell Thompson had a poor performance tonight and Gilmore was fatigued.

Anderson needs this kind of competition experience to enrich his experience.

When he was present, Gan Guoyang would constantly give him pointers, teaching him how to defend, how to position himself, and how to find opportunities in the attack.

Anderson performed well, with no major defensive lapses, and scored twice under the basket after receiving passes from Drexler and Gan Guoyang.

As the game progressed into the latter part of the fourth quarter, the atmosphere became increasingly tense, and the pressure on the players grew.

Every shot is a test of both skill and mentality for the player.

This kind of competition is a great way to develop young players. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Trail Blazers are the defending champions; they have quite a few young players on the team.

This is exactly what Jerry West is most worried about: how is this any different from the young Boston Celtics of yesteryear? A group of young men in their 20s who dominated until they retired in their 30s.

The stars of the same era outlasted Bill Russell before they had a chance to win a championship.

The New York Knicks' championships in 70 and 73 were a huge success, but if Russell hadn't retired in 69, the Knicks simply couldn't beat the Celtics.

The Lakers were able to win a championship in 1972 only after Russell retired.

Now, a huge shadow has fallen once again, and West desperately wants to nip it in the bud. Sitting on the sidelines, West has a somber face; he rarely smiles, his expression is always downcast, his gaze deep, pondering all serious topics related to basketball.

Few people know that West had been suffering from depression for a long time.

He came from West Virginia, one of the poorest places in the United States. His father was a coal miner who frequently beat West.

His brother David was killed in the Korean War in the 50s when West was 12 years old.

West's depression was exacerbated by his brother's death. Poverty and domestic violence made him taciturn. He kept a shotgun on his bed, intending to use it both to deal with his abusive father and to kill himself.

Basketball saved him; he redeemed himself through the sport, using basketball to try his best to fill the huge void left by his tragic childhood.

But if only I had won more championships with the Lakers, the void wouldn't have gotten so big.

Several excellent plays in the 80s, coupled with being drafted number one, made his life a little easier, but the sudden arrival of the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump made him nervous again.

Their red and black color scheme infuriated West, always reminding him of the distant East and his brother who died on the Korean Plateau.

Gan Guoyang did not leave the court for a rest in the fourth quarter, and refused to sit back on the bench during the timeout.

He knew that even a two-minute rest could put the Trail Blazers in a losing position.

He stayed on the court to put pressure on the Lakers, which made Johnson hesitant to leave the game.

Both sides were locked in a fierce battle in every round, with both teams' error rates soaring and their shooting percentages declining.

This is not what West wanted to see; this is the kind of game rhythm the Trail Blazers are familiar with.

"Damn, why is this guy so energetic?"

West sat anxiously on the sidelines, while Gan Guoyang stayed on the court and, at crucial moments, blocked the Lakers' fast breaks twice in the paint.

Gilmore came on in the final stages, and when he sprinted back to defense, Gan Guoyang could rush out and leave the three-second zone to Train, while he went to guard Scott, Johnson, and others.

Scott's pull-up jump shot was blocked by Gan Guoyang.

Johnson's drive and pass were intercepted.

The Trail Blazers capitalized on these two crucial defensive plays to launch fast breaks and take the lead.

The Lakers were leading by two points, but suddenly they were down by two points.

Nelson called a timeout; time was running out for the Lakers.

With 30 seconds remaining in the game, each side has one offensive opportunity.

Nelson set up a sideline inbound play. Johnson inbounded the ball, and after A.C. Green received it, Worthy and Scott took turns cutting inside, but the real trick was Johnson.

After a handoff screen, AC Green passed the ball to Johnson, who could then shoot directly from just inside the arc.

But Gan Guoyang anticipated this move, and he defended it, staying close to Johnson in the middle and preventing him from getting a chance to shoot.

Johnson could only pass the ball inside, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar received the ball, turned, and took a shot, but missed!
But AC Green rushed into the basket to grab the offensive rebound, and then went for a layup, which was blocked by Gan Guoyang from behind.

There was chaos under the basket. Somehow, Scott got the ball and immediately threw it out. Johnson received the ball at the top of the arc, with no one guarding him, and took a three-pointer!
Johnson's mid-range shooting percentage improved significantly at the start of last season, and this season he has started practicing three-pointers and has achieved good accuracy.

The ball flew towards the basket and went in perfectly!

The ball went in, and the Great Western Forum stadium erupted in cheers.

106-107, the Lakers regained the lead by 1 point.

The shot went in, leaving the Trail Blazers with only 3 seconds left.

Jack Ramsey called a timeout.

That's how the game goes; the Trail Blazers' defense was excellent.

But sometimes the situation on the field is beyond your control, and luck plays a very important role.

They managed to defend twice, but the Lakers kept possession of the ball, and Johnson finally seized the opportunity.

The Trail Blazers players were very frustrated.

As they left the field, Johnson and Gan Guoyang passed each other.

Johnson made a point of observing Gan Guoyang's eyes—they were as still as a deep well, completely devoid of any emotion.

Johnson's heart tightened, and upon returning to the bench, he immediately said, "We must guard Forrest Gump, we must stop him from shooting!"

Gan Guoyang has made a game-winning shot more than once or twice; his heart is unusually large at crucial moments.

Three seconds was enough for him; the Lakers players didn't want to be defeated by Forrest Gump's game-winning shot.

Nelson made substitutions, replacing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Edwards, and replacing AC Green with Duckworth, all to stop Gan Guoyang.

No one knew what tactics the Trail Blazers would use, but everyone was certain that Forrest Gump would be the one to make the shot.

Three seconds is a very short time; once you receive the ball, you'll definitely launch an attack.

Drexler inbounds the ball, it seems the Trail Blazers won't use Drexler's dribble-drive to the basket, and Gan Guoyang will follow up with the old tactic of putting the ball back in.

There isn't even 3 seconds.

Gan Guoyang stood at a 45-degree angle, with Duckworth pressed tightly against him.

The referee gave the ball to Drexler and blew the whistle.

At this moment, Hornacek came over from the bottom and completed a cross screen with Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang turned and walked towards the inside, waving at Drexler at the same time.

Duckworth and Scott both chased after Gan Guoyang. If Gan Guoyang receives this kind of lob in the three-second zone, he can just hook the ball and you're done for.

Drexler passed the ball, but instead of going to Gan Guoyang, he passed it to Hornacek, who had come around to get it.

Hornacek receives the ball and takes a mid-range jump shot from the left 45-degree angle!

Because there was no one defending him, he even paused slightly and took aim.

The ball traced a perfect arc before falling accurately into the net.

Goal! Lights on! Game over!

The Great Western Forum fell silent.

Gan Guoyang rushed towards Hornacek, picked him up, and the Trail Blazers players started celebrating.

108-107, the Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers with a last-second shot!

Hornacek, an unassuming white defender, scored the first game-winning goal of his career.

In a post-match interview, Gan Guoyang told reporters, "This was a tactic we had designed and practiced many times in training. Hornacek's Death Ray delivered a fatal blow to the Los Angeles team."

From then on, the nickname "Death Ray" began to accompany Hornacek in his NBA career.

P.S., Hornacek's historical nicknames were 'Horny' and 'The Paperboy'. The former is a catchy nickname, and the latter means newspaper boy, both related to the Utah Jazz. The nickname "Death Ray Gun" was given to him by Chinese fans.



(End of this chapter)