The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 471 - 88: Counter Speed with Speed

At 7:30 p.m., the game between the two teams officially began.

Ever since Gan Guoyang entered the League, the Lakers had been their number one opponent in the Western Conference.

The two sides continuously studied each other and were so familiar with each other that they could not be more so.

Before the game, neither team needed any motivation; everyone was serious and fully immersed in the match.

Drexler and Magic Johnson had a good relationship off the court; he was one of the few non-Lakers players invited to Magic’s castle parties.

During the regular season, Drexler would always shake hands and hug Johnson, greeting each other.

But tonight, the usually smiling Drexler was serious, not even giving Johnson an extra glance.

Johnson was the same.

Both sides started this playoff series with the intention to defeat the other.

The Los Angeles Times even claimed that whoever won this series would be the NBA champion.

The Eastern teams would not be a match for these two powerhouses from the West.

The Great Western Forum was buzzing with noise as Gan Guoyang and Jabbar stood at center court, ready for the jump ball.

Jabbar’s head was growing balder, nearly reaching full baldness.

At the beginning of the season, he still had some fuzz on his forehead, but after half a year, the middle had gone completely bald.

At any other time, Gan Guoyang would have teased Jabbar a bit, making fun of his bald head.

Not now, though; Gan Guoyang, chewing his gum, remained silent, already sinking into the game.

He cleared his mind of all unrelated thoughts, and no matter how loud the audience shouted, he didn’t care.

Jump ball.

Gan Guoyang leaped vigorously, touched the ball first, and tipped it to Thompson.

The game started, and the Trail Blazers took the initiative to attack.

At the start, Gan Guoyang received the ball on the low right post, turned, and made a jump shot!

Scoring the first points of the series, his turn was quick, and his shot very decisive.

Playing against the Lakers didn’t require any probing, like letting teammates play first and then performing later.

Nor was there a need to play a few tactics, letting the team warm up; it was unnecessary, completely unnecessary, and disrespectful to the Lakers.

Bobby Beelman told Gan Guoyang to attack right from the start without hesitation, the sooner he got hot, the better.

Johnson’s push was fast and strong; after dribbling past half court, facing Drexler’s defense, he shot from the right at a 45-degree angle, but he missed.

The Trail Blazers counterattacked, with Terry Porter pushing the ball forward; the Lakers’ defense was tight but clearly collapsed inward.

Porter chose to shoot himself, but he missed; however, Gan Guoyang grabbed the offensive rebound inside and scored on a putback!

"Shit!"

Jabbar cursed after Gan Guoyang snagged the offensive rebound from him.

He wasn’t swearing at Gan Guoyang, but at himself for not securing the position.

Actually, Jabbar had positioned himself, but tonight, Gan Guoyang was very quick, incredibly so.

His focus was intense, his nerves at a peak in their ability to mobilize.

Johnson knew it was vital for the team to score; he dribbled over half court himself and used the rhythm to drive hard to the basket!

But his layup was disrupted by Mychal Thompson and not made; AC Green’s putback dunk also hit the rim and flew off, Vandeweghe boxing out Worthy to grab the ball.

Vandeweghe’s physique had become much stronger than last season, and his rebounding had reached a career peak.

The opening of the game was fast-paced and seemingly chaotic, but in reality, it was because both sides knew each other too well.

At this time, tactical deployments were not the most important; what mattered was the players’ condition and whether the details were well executed.

AC Green was called for a foul on a blocking defense against Gan Guoyang; he gave his all to push out Gan, but it had little effect.

"You sure got endless energy, AC; you need to put in more effort," said Gan Guoyang to Green.

As a bachelor, AC Green was the most energetic player on the Lakers.

He dedicated all his energy to basketball, which is why West dared to let go of Rambis.

In the beginning, he and Jabbar took turns defending Gan Guoyang; Jabbar squatting in the three-second area, with AC Green pushing around on the outside, and playing front defense.

On the sideline inbound, Gan Guoyang received the ball and turned for a mid-range shot, which he missed, but he jumped high under the basket, tipped the ball around Jabbar, then jumped again and tipped it to himself.

Then he passed it to Thompson in the middle, who took the layup and scored!

The Trail Blazers started with a 6:0 run against the Lakers, causing Riley to sweat profusely from his head.

However, he didn’t call a timeout, believing that the team was playing well, just that the players hadn’t gotten into the right state yet.

The ball was passed to Jabbar; he received it in the low post, turned, and scored with a skyhook!

When it was most needed, it was still the veteran Jabbar to rely on.

Even though he was no longer the offensive core, his skyhook could still save the team in dire moments.

The Great Western Forum finally erupted in cheers, as everyone couldn’t bear it any longer if the Lakers continued to be suppressed by the Trail Blazers.

Following that, Mychal Thompson cut inside to receive Drexler’s pass, his hook shot blocked by Jabbar, and the Lakers launched a counterattack.

Johnson rushed across half-court like the wind, spun past Vandeweghe, but his layup was disturbed by Drexler and missed.

James Worthy grabbed the rebound, drove to the basket, and scored with a left-handed layup, the Lakers quickly put up points.

However, it was evident that Johnson’s start was not good, missing three consecutive offenses.

Two of those were resolute layups, one was too strong, and the other was disrupted by Drexler.

This guy likely played with women last night, or his legs wouldn’t be so weak.

Even though Magic Johnson placed great importance on this playoff series, playing with women was an essential daily activity for him.

Just like eating a meal, if he didn’t have it for a day, he would be starving; similarly, if he didn’t play with women, he would be listless and spiritless.

But in the highest intensity confrontations, any lack of energy could lead to poor performance and being suppressed by the opponent.

Gan Guoyang was different, like a wild beast, he caught the ball in the middle, accelerated forcefully to the basket, and soared past Jabbar for a one-handed dunk!

The Lakers didn’t pause at all, nor were they intimidated by Gan Guoyang’s dunk, as Johnson once again raced with the ball.

Taking advantage of the Trail Blazers’ unstable defense, he made his third layup attempt and scored off the backboard, drawing a foul from Drexler.

Riley breathed a sigh of relief after that play. Johnson had started scoring, Worthy scored, Jabbar scored.

At the start for the Lakers, the main players’ form was slowly emerging, while it seemed that only Gan Guoyang was in top condition for the Trail Blazers.

But Riley knew all too well that the best Ah Gan can also be lethal.

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Many in the League were closely watching the progress of this playoff series.

At the moment, Larry Bird was lying on his bed at home, enjoying a back massage from his girlfriend while watching Magic Johnson sink a free throw to narrow the gap to 1 point.

8:7, the Trail Blazers maintain a 1-point lead, but in Bird’s eyes, the Trail Blazers seemed to be in better form at the start.

"Sonny plays a different kind of basketball than we do," Bird murmured.

His girlfriend Dina didn’t ask him about the game; she was just focused on massaging Bird’s waist and back.

For Dina, it wasn’t just Bird’s on-court performance that was affected by his back; it included her happiness as well.

The couple got engaged in 1980, but to this day have not officially tied the knot. Since 1986, they had been living together with her taking care of Larry’s daily life.

Of course, Bird’s stubbornness sometimes was exactly why he was suffering back and spine injuries.

Previously, he injured his back building a basketball court. This season, he still didn’t learn his lesson; he used a leaf blower in the yard at home, followed by cleaning the garage, which resulted in sudden severe back pain and profuse sweating.

This caused him to miss parts of the regular season. He already had troubles last season, and this season, he began to worry that he might fall during a playoff series.

Defeating the Washington Bullets was quite tough, partly because Bird couldn’t control the game as easily as before.

Seeing Gan Guoyang start off on full fire made him envious because he now had to warm up and couldn’t get into the game right away.

Even though he was just 30, he felt very old.

While Gan Guoyang was a young beast, he again scored in offense and drew a foul from Johnson.

Making the bonus free throw, 11:7, the Trail Blazers continue to lead.

The Lakers, regardless of anything, kept launching fast breaks.

It was a key sign distinguishing the Lakers from other teams—they could launch a rapid counterattack anywhere, anytime, without distinction.

No matter if you scored or not, they were always ready and had the capability.

Johnson threw a long pass to the basket, and Jabbar dunked with one hand before Gan Guoyang could get back into a defensive position!

On that play, Gan Guoyang was at the free throw line, and Jabbar didn’t even try to fight for the rebound; he just ran up to prepare for the fast break.

At 40 years old, why fight for rebounds? Simply lie in wait, catch the ball, attack the basket, and quickly score points.

This earned Bird’s respect. He spoke to himself, "The Lakers have a stronger fast break capability than us. We struggle against the Trail Blazers because we can’t launch fast breaks, that’s why we can’t beat them..."

Thinking back to the 1986 Finals, Bird’s heart was still heavy; they were caught by the Trail Blazers’ Achilles heel, dragged into the quagmire of position warfare.

Facing the Lakers, the Trail Blazers didn’t seem to have any intention of slowing them down, playing a very fast game as well.

Drexler quickly advanced the ball past mid-court, cutting directly to the basket along the center, and after drawing the defense, made a no-look pass to Thompson.

Thompson received and made his second layup of the evening—this was Thompson’s second assist from Drexler tonight.

The Lakers’ defensive attention was all on Gan Guoyang, providing Thompson with opportunities, and this was clearly a well-designed pre-game arrangement.

Not finding the game fast enough, the Lakers still accelerated, as Byron Scott dribbled with crossovers and drove to the basket, only to have his layup blocked by Gan Guoyang.

On this play, Gan Guoyang essentially gave Scott an open lane to drive, then came from behind to give Scott a block.

Bird nearly jumped up in excitement at this play, because if it had been him, he would have only been able to watch Scott’s layup, with no other option.

After the successful block, the Trail Blazers took the ball and counterattacked, Drexler pushed forward, and Gan Guoyang took a three-point shot from the arc, hitting it!

"Bingo! Sonny Gan’s three-pointer! The Lakers request a timeout."

At that moment, Bird had already leaped up, then suddenly his back spasmed painfully, and he rolled under the bed.

Seeing her boyfriend in pain, Dina shook her head and said, "You really asked for it, Larry."