The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 251 - 134: Just Want to Score

On the Trail Blazers’ bench, Jack Ramsey was quiet, having given his speaking rights to Gan Guoyang.

Everyone knew that Ah Gan was going to erupt tonight, much earlier than usual.

Gan Guoyang always excelled in scoring during the third quarter; it was when he scored the most.

But against a team like the Nuggets, a game rhythm that decides victory in the third quarter isn’t effective.

The Nuggets score too much, and once you fall behind in the first half, it’s quite difficult to come back in the second half.

The high scoring diluted Gan Guoyang’s points, even if he efficiently scored 20 points in the third quarter. But if both teams score 40, the significance of those 20 points isn’t noticeable.

Therefore, the key to playing against the Nuggets is to get going in the first half, especially in the second quarter, to seize enough advantage before half-time.

"Tonight I’m going to focus on scoring. Usually, I do a lot on the court. Rebounding, help defense, blocking, screening; I give you all good space to attack, but we are still down 1:2. What does this show? It shows that your offense is somewhat lacking. So this game, you go for rebounds, help out on defense, block out, set screens; I’ll do the scoring. I’ll show you how I score,"

Gan Guoyang commanded his teammates in an indisputable tone, intending to be purely a scorer tonight.

No one objected, and no one had any complaints. With the kind of performance he put on in the first quarter, not letting him score would simply be a crime.

Although just a rookie, Gan Guoyang had built his credibility with the Trail Blazers through his performance in each and every game.

His esteem wasn’t due to the support of management, the hype from media and sponsors, nor from blind fan support after stacking data—those high-end commercial tactics didn’t exist back then.

In an NBA team, a purely high-testosterone, male group, if you want to be the boss, you have to beat everyone into submission.

"Win this game, and then we won’t lose to the Nuggets again."

Before going on court, Gan Guoyang said this nonchalantly, but it made all the Trail Blazers’ hearts surge.

A true leader has the power to transmit their confidence to everyone, noticeably lifting the team’s morale a level higher.

Throughout the timeout, Ramsey didn’t say a word; he ended by clapping his hands and patting Gan Guoyang on the shoulder.

On the other side, Doug Moe was on the verge of a meltdown, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. In the short one or two-minute timeout, he gave everyone an earful.

But this wasn’t the fully transformed, fury-induced Moe yet; the fully transformed one would start yelling at unrelated people too, such as reserve player Bill Hanzlik, who hadn’t played a minute sitting off the court.

Hanzlik was skinny and sported a small mustache; he was a bargaining chip obtained from trading David Thompson. The first time Doug Moe saw him, he bluntly stated, "This is a player with no hope."

In Doug Moe’s dictionary, "dog" represents the lousiest players, those who are losers.

The slightest notch above a "dog" is a "hopeless man," characterizing players who work hard but lack talent, with little hope for improvement.

A bit better than the hopeless is the "stiff man;" he feels they have some talent, but not much, and can help him win games.

Further up, and only then do players have a name in Doug Moe’s eyes, like Johnson, Bird, and of course, Ah Gan was about to join that list.

As a hopeless man, Hanzlik was Doug Moe’s favorite subject for taunts and curses, because Hanzlik liked to talk back.

He told Hanzlik there was nothing above his neck; Hanzlik retorted that Moe had nothing at all.

Every time Hanzlik got on the court, Doug Moe wouldn’t stop yelling, "Hanz, Hanz! Hanz!"

The purpose was to remind Hanzlik to run faster, defend seriously, and attack diligently—constantly winding him up.

If Hanzlik couldn’t take it anymore, he would run to the sidelines and shout at Doug Moe, "Shut the hell up!"

Doug Moe would obediently hush, sit back on the bench and laugh with the players before resuming his shouts five minutes later.

But tonight, when Hanzlik was sent onto the court at the end of the first quarter, Doug Moe said nothing, not even a single "Hanz."

This was unusual for Hanzlik, but he knew the reason—just look at the scoreboard, 44:26. The Trail Blazers were going wild, and the first quarter wasn’t even over yet.

Gan Guoyang, as if equipped with a scope, could score no matter how he shot. With his incredible speed and decisive release, he shot within 10 seconds of receiving the ball.

With threes, mid-range jumpers, hook shots, layups, and free throws, he sent the ball into the hoop in a myriad of ways.

No matter how the Nuggets defended—they were not good at high-intensity press defense to begin with—they simply couldn’t stop Gan Guoyang from scoring.

They even found it hard to prevent Gan Guoyang from getting the ball. As a center, he didn’t need to stay in the low post; he was a threat from beyond the three-point line as soon as he caught the ball.

Both 45 degrees and the arc top were his threatening zones for an attack. His offensive rebound scoring conversion rate was incredibly high, either scoring on second chances or earning free throws.

When Hanzlik entered the game, Gan Guoyang was substituted by Kenny-Carl. He had shot 9 for 8 in the quarter and 3 for 3 from the line, gaining 21 points on his own.

The Nuggets, trying to increase offensive efficiency and match the Trail Blazers’ scoring, had no chance for fast breaks against the high shooting accuracy of Gan Guoyang.

Without the fast breaks, and up against the Trail Blazers’ well-prepared half-court defense, the Nuggets’ fast offense simply couldn’t get going.

Hanzlik played hard after taking the court, but as a transitional substitute player, there wasn’t much he could contribute at such a time.

And without hearing Doug Moe’s "Hanz, Hanz," Hanzlik felt extremely uncomfortable, as if his legs had slowed down.

By the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led 45:28, just seven points more than Gan Guoyang’s entire score.

Doug Moe’s face had reached the pinnacle of ugliness, but he was still holding back; after all, there was the second quarter, and if they could reduce the deficit to within 10 points by the end of the first half, there was still a chance to compete.

However, the second quarter quickly ended, 81:51, the Trail Blazers were ahead by 30 points... Gan Guoyang made 5 of 6 this quarter, hit all 8 of his free throws, scoring 18 points to end the half with a shocking 39 points!

A half-time score of 39 points in the playoffs, he set a new NBA playoff record for points scored in a first half.

This quarter, his offensive rebounds and drawing fouls caused excruciating torment for Nuggets’ interior defense.

During the half-time break in the locker room, Doug Moe finally exploded; he kicked the tactic board to pieces and bellowed with spit flying, "Do you want to let him score a 100 points?"

Everyone was silent until Hanzlik suddenly said, "He probably wants to score 60, as you suggested."

All eyes turned to Hanzlik, and Doug Moe’s face turned from white to red, then from red back to white.

He suddenly calmed down, laughed twice, and said, "That’s right! 60 points! It was my suggestion that Ah Gan score 60 points tonight!"

"Then let him score the damn 60 points!" Doug Moe flipped again, kicked the board, and left the locker room by himself, running back to the court.

Though Doug Moe was emotionally out of control, he was very clear in his mind that if they let the Trail Blazers win tonight, it would be very grim for them going back to Portland for the pivotal game.

Defeating the Trail Blazers tonight, leading 3:1, they would carry an absolute psychological advantage into the fifth game, and Doug Moe promised himself not to repeat the mistake of 1979.

The 1979 defeat gnawed at his heart, being his closest brush with the finals, and this year’s Nuggets was the best team he had coached since his tenure.

Next year, Dan Issel would retire, and the landscape of the League might change again. The Trail Blazers and the Rockets were rising rapidly, especially the Trail Blazers.

Hence, this year was their best chance to challenge the Lakers.

But...

The third quarter began, and Doug Moe sat on the sidelines with his hair a mess, having none of the casual confidence from the first three games.

With a huge 30-point gap, even Denver fans couldn’t believe they could come back.

Though the Nuggets scored a lot, they conceded more; they weren’t a team that could come back from a significant deficit by relying on defense and offensive bursts.

The Nuggets team could win by starting to outscore the opponent from the first quarter, little by little each quarter, leading naturally to victory in the end.

Once they were significantly behind at the half, a comeback became exceedingly difficult.

And Gan Guoyang’s hot streak on offense showed no signs of cooling.

He started the third quarter by sinking another three-pointer, and the ball went in!

points!

Many Nuggets fans held their heads in agony. How could they play like this?

Gan Guoyang’s sudden long shots to test his hot hand, once made, were incredibly demoralizing for the opposition.

Trail Blazers’ bench rose to cheer; Gan Guoyang’s touch tonight was incredibly hot.

Doug Moe was expressionless now, watching Gan Guoyang remain unstoppable throughout the third quarter.

He made no specific defensive arrangements. To do so would not be Doug Moe’s style.

However, Knight and Cooper started to double-team Gan Guoyang aggressively, constantly increasing the intensity and disrupting his shots.

Gan Guoyang’s shooting percentage dropped slightly, but the other Trail Blazers players were completely on fire.

Vandeweghe scored 20 in the first half, and in the third quarter he took over Gan Guoyang’s mantle, firing away against his former team.

The point gap slowly pushed from 30 towards 40, undoubtedly tonight’s game had evolved into a massacre, with the Portland people bloodwashing Highland City.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang received a pass from Valentine in the low post, turned around and hooked it in for his 60th point of the game.

By then, the score was 132:93, a colossal 39-point gap, and some Nuggets fans had already left the stadium in disappointment.

Coach Moe tacitly called a timeout and subbed out his starters, as there was nothing left to discuss in a game destroyed by a superstar.

Gan Guoyang was substituted out as well; 60 points were enough for him, after all, it was Coach Moe’s suggestion, and good advice must be followed.

The substitutes finished the last half of the quarter, and the Trail Blazers won the fourth match by a 40-point margin, 153:113.

Gan Guoyang scored 60 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked 4 shots, with 0 assists. Tonight, he didn’t want to pass, only to score.