The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 171 - 66: The Best Basketball Game

At the end of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang and Jordan were both resting off the court, regaining their energy to prepare for the final sprint in the fourth quarter.

The main players of the Trail Blazers were already quite fatigued. Vandeweghe, Parkson, Thompson, and others all felt their legs getting heavy.

Vandeweghe’s two step-back jump shots both fell short, a sign of insufficient stamina, and Parkson’s cuts, and running positions weren’t as active as in the first half.

Ramsay understood the condition of his players, and after the start of the fourth quarter, he kept Drexler, Kossie, and Kolter on the court, pairing up with Gan Guoyang and Kenny-Carl inside.

Lou Holtz, seeing Gan Guoyang take the floor, naturally put Jordan back in. The young players had plenty of energy; if they could play more, they should, especially since the Bulls were trailing and couldn’t afford to be without Jordan on the floor.

These two were destined to play the entire fourth quarter without a minute of rest.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang received the ball, turned, and his jump shot missed its mark, with Jordan grabbing the defensive rebound and initiating a fast break.

Jordan didn’t control the tempo and lead the team’s offense like he did in the second and third quarters.

He immediately dribbled in from outside, charging toward the inside and overpowering Drexler, dodging Gan Guoyang’s block in midair and then shooting off the backboard, scoring!

After the ball left his hand, Jordan was almost sideways in the air, executing an evident hang time, avoiding Gan Guoyang’s blocking hand and tossing the ball towards the hoop.

Not only did the ball go in, but Jordan also landed steadily, just using his hand to support himself on the floor before turning and running back to defense.

"Damn..." Gan retrieved the ball to serve from the baseline, cursing under his breath.

He had been watching Jordan closely, and his positioning and help defense were both on point.

With any other player, that shot would have been blocked or missed, but Jordan could pause in midair, dodge and then shoot.

And he scored.

Gan asked for the ball in the low post, firmly sealing his defender, Karl.

Kolter passed the ball to Gan, who immediately turned outside upon catching it.

A shot fake, he fooled Jordan who had come up to help defend.

Gan caught the ball, dribbled to the baseline, turned around, and dunked it in!

"I won’t make the same mistake twice, Mike!"

After the basket, Gan yelled at Jordan. He had long noticed Jordan sneaking up on him.

Gan’s post-up moves had a distinctive style; he disliked catching the ball and then dribbling inward.

That method of attack was not only clumsy but once you stopped dribbling for a shot, you cut off your following options.

You couldn’t dribble again, and if faced with a double-team, your only choices were to pass or force a shot.

He preferred to fight for position, catch the ball, and then instantly turn to attack, without any hesitation.

If he encountered a double-team or the defense left a bigger gap, he could continue with successive attacking moves.

In this aspect, Jordan and Gan were identical; as long as they caught the ball with their back to the hoop close enough to the basket, they seldom made any extra dribbles inward.

Dribbling inward was meant to get closer to the hoop, so why bother doing it if you’re already close.

Jordan also posted up and asked for the ball in the low position, catching a pass from his teammate, then immediately turning for a jump shot.

As he turned, Gan’s big hand reached out again; at that time, Jordan was not yet skilled at using a fadeaway shot.

He hung in the air again, dodging, then finally pushed the ball single-handedly toward the basket, scoring off the backboard.

The atmosphere in Chicago Stadium had reached a fever pitch, both physically and mentally intense.

Jordan’s evasive shots were like fuel to the flame; not only did he score, but he also drew a defensive foul from Drexler.

Two consecutive shots that almost got blocked depended on his physical prowess, not just to avoid the defense, but also to make the baskets.

At the sound of the referee’s whistle, the fans in the arena exploded like water hitting hot oil, many holding their heads in disbelief.

Drexler was frustrated, wanting to argue with the referee, but Gan went over and held him back, saying, "Play well, Clyde."

Remembering his own struggles against Jordan tonight and seeing the look in Gan’s eyes, Drexler gave up on arguing with the referee.

Jordan made the free throw, completing a three-point play, and the Bulls further closed the gap in the score.

Jordan had not responded to Gan’s taunting earlier, and this time he refrained from engaging in a verbal duel with Gan either.

His eyes, his gaze, were resolute; his heart and his body were fully invested in the game.

Gan also began to focus, with his eyes gradually freed from Jordan; on defense, he was no longer just watching Jordan.

Jordan was just one part of the Bulls; Gan’s aim wasn’t to beat Jordan but the Bulls.

And by defeating the Bulls, he would effectively be defeating Jordan.

Jordan thought the same.

The two young men began to throw themselves into the final duel with the most passion and intensity.

Though they both had a greater understanding of the game beyond their peers and were capable of insightful strategy and tactics,

They were still only 20 years old, hearty young men who could eat a whole cow in one sitting and plow three acres of land in one night.

Their style of play was still in the youthful stage of their careers, so when it came down to a fight, they each brought out their most primal, pure, and impactful styles to influence the game on both ends of the court.

Tonight’s game was not broadcast nationwide, but along the long tables flanking the Chicago Stadium court, sat broadcasters for radio and television, journalists from various news outlets.

They depicted the stunning duel with their live commentary and the pens in their hands.

Jim Durham had been providing live commentary for the Chicago Bulls since 1973, relaying what he saw on the court using words and voice through the radio waves to sports fans across Illinois.