The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 454 - 72: It’s Going to Cost You Your Life 3000
In the first two minutes of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang scored with three different methods, reaching 36 points.
Willis simply couldn’t guard him; he had no idea what offensive move Gan Guoyang would use next.
Moreover, the two outside shots were not something a typical center could pull off. Willis swore that apart from Gus Williams, no one on the Eagles Team could attack like Ah Gan.
It seemed that for the Trail Blazers to see Gan Guoyang display his offensive skills sooner, their defensive intensity dropped to just standard one-on-one defense.
If you score, you score, if not, we’ll get the rebound, pass it to Ah Gan early, and see what new tricks he can come up with.
Gan Guoyang didn’t go to the high post for a pick-and-roll with Porter anymore, instead, he moved to the low post on the baseline to pin down Willis, with Porter passing to Vandeweghe, then Vandeweghe to Gan Guoyang.
The Eagles Team doubled down on him, but Gan Guoyang didn’t pass the ball; instead, he used his strength to shove Rivers aside, dribbling out of the gap in the double-team, cutting into the paint, and dunking the ball with one arm!
With that basket, even the home Eagles fans began to applaud and cheer for Gan Guoyang—a dunk full of power and resilience, proving that sometimes double-teams don’t work, and I can still force my way through.
points, Gan Guoyang was scoring quickly, putting Fratello on edge.
But looking at the game, the Eagles were still leading by 1 point, now it was a battle of offensive efficiency.
Wilkins decisively stepped up, having not outplayed Jordan in the last game, he couldn’t lose to Ah Gan again this time.
After a strong drive followed by a sudden stop and jump shot, the bank shot was successful. Wilkins and Gan Guoyang started their scoring duel early.
But Gan Guoyang’s skills were obviously more varied, slipping to the sidelines again from the baseline, receiving the ball and instantly making a quick spin to get past Willis.
Cutting inside for a reverse layup, he avoided Rollins’ block, and with 40 points, Willis felt like a fool, wondering how he couldn’t even guard the baseline.
The audience began to cheer loudly and clap as Doug Rivers drove in and dished the ball to Willis, who caught the ball and made a strong push.
His layup, however, missed, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound, bringing the ball up himself, dodging Rivers’ steal attempt with a behind-the-back dribble.
With big strides heading straight to the basket, he took off outside the paint, leaped high, and made a finger-roll layup with his right hand, the ball spinning intensely as it dropped through the net.
Elegant, truly elegant, for such a big man to run a fast break himself, avoid the guard’s steal, and then hit a finger-roll.
The Trail Blazers’ bench couldn’t sit still anymore, while the home Eagles fans were shaking their heads and clapping, wishing they could see such a basket again.
The Trail Blazers regained the lead.
Fratello called a timeout, sensing that his team’s defense was becoming progressively laxer, and what’s worse, his players’ mentalities were shifting.
Before the match, everyone was thinking they couldn’t let Ah Gan score high again. After being scored highly by both Jordan and Ah Gan, where would their face go?
But as the game went on, the Eagles realized they didn’t have enough motivation to stop Gan Guoyang. The Trail Blazers weren’t in the Eastern Conference, and after this game, there was little chance of them meeting again during the season, unless it was the finals.
The two teams didn’t hold any major grudges, and, moreover, by the middle of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang’s diverse offensive skills had stunned the Eagles players.
A voice emerged in their heads: just how many more weapons does Ah Gan’s arsenal contain?
After a timeout, Rollins took the low post to go one-on-one, passed the ball out to the perimeter, and after rotating the ball, Willis cut to the basket, catching an alley-oop and dunking the ball.
The Eagles were performing very well with their backdoor cuts and off-the-ball runs tonight, but Ramsay pondered on the sidelines that such plays wouldn’t work in the playoffs.
But it didn’t matter. The Eagles were in the Eastern Conference, and the Trail Blazers needn’t study the Eagles’ plays too much.
The focus returned to offense, Gan Guoyang’s hook shot missed, the first shot he had thrown away in the second half.
A fair number of fans in the venue actually sighed.
The Eagles Team quickly countered, with Rivers driving straight to the basket for a successful layup.
The Eagles took the lead once more.
Gan Guoyang went back to the low post again, swiftly turning after catching the ball to avoid the double-team on the baseline.
Willis followed closely, but Gan Guoyang then pretended to shoot, shifting Willis’ center of gravity, before spinning back to the baseline to elude Willis.
After three spins, Willis was dizzy, while Gan Guoyang took a step and jumped from both feet, scoring an easy layup.
"Stop playing with me, Sonny!" Willis was getting frustrated.
"You can let the Tree guard me."
Tree Rollins took the baseline inbound, telling Willis, "Don’t even think about it."
Willis had no choice but to continue enduring Gan Guoyang’s torment.
In the middle stretch of the third quarter, Gan Guoyang began to showcase various low-post moves.
Even though he could overpower his way through, he preferred to use skill.
Up-and-under moves, slide step hook shots, consecutive spins, baseline back turnarounds, up line back turnarounds, after a shoulder fake, a turnaround jump shot.
Gan Guoyang was like a tireless, weaponry arsenal, utilizing an array of moves without repetition.
His score steadily rose from 40 to 50 points, missing only two shots during that run.
Willis was played to numbness, dizzy and out of steam, panicking at the sight of Gan Guoyang getting the ball.
The worst part was that his teammates didn’t come to double-team, they just left Gan Guoyang to play one-on-one, and there was even one play where Rivers stood two steps away from Gan Guoyang, watching as he made a shoulder fake and then a turnaround fadeaway jump shot that went in!
With that basket, Gan Guoyang had already scored 55 points, Willis was anxious and shouted at Rivers, "Why don’t you come help?"
Rivers replied, "What’s the point?"
Willis was at a loss for words, indeed, what was the use?
At first, Wilkins could still respond, but gradually he couldn’t keep up anymore.
As the game continued, their physical fitness and shooting percentages couldn’t keep up, and the Trail Blazers began to take the lead.
Leading by 5 points, leading by 10 points, leading by 11 points.
And the fans at the venue went from sporadic cheers and applause at the beginning to loud cheers in the latter half of the third quarter.
Every time Guoyang got the ball, the fans on site grew excited because every attack he made was a work of art.
During a counterattack, Guoyang received a pass from Porter and took a big step into the basket, then used a slow three-step move to avoid the defense, scoring the layup and even drawing a foul.
He hit the free throw, adding to his score and reaching 58 points! This guy’s research into fast-break layups was evident.
The third quarter hadn’t even ended, and he was already near 60 points; that’s when people started to realize that this might be the night a new record was born.
On the Hawks’ side, there was still some urgency. Wilkins attacked the basket with all his might to score, then committed a foul on Guoyang in defense, trying to break his rhythm.
But this actually just added points for Guoyang. Standing on the free-throw line, he made both shots, 60 points!
Guoyang had chopped down 60 points.
And it wasn’t over yet. In the Trail Blazers’ final attack of the third quarter, Guoyang received the ball at a 45-degree angle.
He dribbled the ball forcefully to push Willis aside, stood on one foot at the side, and slightly leaned back to shoot.
As the ball left his hands, Guoyang didn’t even aim; he completely relied on his feel.
The result? The ball traced a high arc and swished through the net, hitting the shot perfectly!
points! The third quarter ended with Guoyang securing 62 points.
The Trail Blazers outscored the Eagles Team 42:30 in the quarter, turning a deficit into a 9-point lead over the Hawks.
It’s just that the Trail Blazers didn’t defend well; otherwise, with Guoyang’s offensive rhythm in the third quarter, they would have definitely broken the Hawks.
Guoyang scored 32 points in the quarter, just 1 point shy of George Gervin’s record for points in a single quarter.
But unlike Gervin, Guoyang showcased nearly all of his offensive skills.
Long-range, post-up, common moves, uncommon ones, including a couple of street-style tricks.
As the game went on, the Hawks players were stunned. Now, sitting on the bench, they were wondering how Ah Gan would play in the fourth quarter.
As for what the coach said? They couldn’t take in a word. You just watch, don’t meddle!
The fourth quarter began, and Guoyang didn’t rest. Ramsay wouldn’t even let him.
"Only leading by 9 points, it’s not safe. Keep playing," Ramsay was very considerate.
Guoyang didn’t touch anything with his hands during the break, and this time Dell Curry fed him water.
At the start of the fourth quarter with a layup, Guoyang, while still hot, threw a shot from one step beyond the three-point line!
The ball, as if it had eyes, swished through the net, a sound so melodious. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
This time Guoyang could say to Hugh Evans, "Evans, feel that, does it feel hot now?"
Hugh, biting his whistle, laughed and said, "Not enough, still not hot enough!"
The Eagles Team went from a 9-point deficit to a 12-point deficit, leaving their mental state somewhat explosive.
Gus Williams broke through to the basket, with Guoyang allowing this veteran to enter the three-second area.
If this were the playoffs, he would have just blocked it from behind.
But to control the temperature a bit, out of respect for the veteran, and to prevent injury to himself, he didn’t jump to block it.
Coming to the offensive end, Guoyang executed a high pick-and-roll with Drexler, who passed the ball back to Guoyang at the top of the arc.
Guoyang caught the ball, and after a probing step, he pulled up for a mid-range shot over Willis, hitting it! 67 points.
Willis had become numb. He even threatened Guoyang, "If you keep playing like this, I won’t make suits for you anymore."
Guoyang just smiled and said, "Alright, how about I just shoot for the rest of the game? No need to technically humiliate you anymore."
It seemed in an effort to appease Willis, Guoyang missed his next two shots.
After playing for three minutes in the fourth quarter, Ramsay subbed Guoyang out for a short rest, leaving fans worried that his score might stay at 67 points.
At this moment, CBS commentator Tom Heinsohn received news from Boston—the Bulls and Celtics game had ended.
Michael Jordan scored 40 points, with the Bulls losing to the Celtics.
"Michael Jordan scored 40 points, which means that Ah Gan needs 70 points in this game to earn the scoring title. He’s only 3 points shy now. Will Ramsay put him back in the game?"
"Honestly, I don’t appreciate basketball that’s all about one person scoring, like Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points, which wasn’t much appreciated at the time. But if you’ve watched this game, if you’ve seen Ah Gan’s performance in the third quarter, you’d definitely feel differently."
"I hope he’ll re-enter the court; I hope he continues his show."
This die-hard Celtics fan, Tom Heinsohn, was conquered by Guoyang’s performance in this game.
