The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 479 - 96: More is Less

The first quarter saw both teams score the lowest points of the series, ending in a 21:21 tie.

Gan Guoyang scored 7 points and delivered 2 assists in the first quarter, which was a rather ordinary performance for him.

Due to the intense competition and both sides’ poor shooting from the outside, the game was somewhat unsightly.

This is a common occurrence as a series progresses; it often comes down to who can make some changes.

The Lakers’ significant change last game was to increase Wes Matthews’s playing time, which proved effective in offense.

It wasn’t until the third overtime that Matthews finally exploded, helping the Lakers seal the victory.

As the second quarter began, the Lakers brought Matthews back in, letting this powerful guard take the reins on offense.

Jack Ramsey patted Gan Guoyang on the back after the break and said, "Ah Gan, stop drinking water, get on the court."

Gan Guoyang said, "Aren’t I supposed to rest at the start of the second quarter?"

"Not today, you’re not resting, you’ll play more, leading Hornacek and Kossie."

Hornacek was a year older than Dell Curry and had a more traditional style; by the end of the season, he had increasingly gained Ramsay’s trust.

He took some of Jim Paxson’s minutes as their styles of play were quite similar, but Hornacek was a bit more modern, while Paxson’s technique was too classical.

Tonight, Ramsay decided to let Hornacek get some time on the court, but with a rookie in play, to stabilize the situation, Gan Guoyang needed to be there.

Gan Guoyang sighed; to play less, he had to play more—where the hell does that make sense?

Riley, seeing Gan Guoyang not resting during the break, tensed up and instructed Duckworth and Frank Brickowski to tighten their defense on Gan Guoyang.

He didn’t plan to bring Jabbar in early; Jabbar needed enough rest and with it being only the second quarter, the Lakers had room for error.

Brickowski was the Lakers management’s substitute for Rambis; both were around 6-foot-9 white interior players with similar functions.

Compared to Rambis, he had two advantages: one, he was stronger, and two, he wasn’t as fearful of Ah Gan.

As the second quarter resumed, the Trail Blazers’ offense struggled, and they had some issues with their positioning; Hornacek’s pass inside was not decisive enough.

As a result, the Lakers stole the ball and counterattacked, with Wes Matthews quickly advancing and hitting a mid-range jumper from the top of the arc.

The Lakers took the lead.

Gan Guoyang patted Hornacek, saying, "Don’t be nervous, just be decisive, it’s alright."

After that, Gan Guoyang called for the ball in the low post, spread out, received the ball, and drew a foul from Duckworth with a turnaround jumper.

Duckworth, wary of Gan Guoyang’s shooting, hugged too tightly and got tricked into a foul by Gan Guoyang’s skills.

Gan Guoyang stepped up to the free-throw line and easily hit both shots, 23:23, evening the score.

After the free throws, Gan Guoyang said to Hornacek, "I told you it’s okay, we caught up quickly."

Gan Guoyang’s confidence and encouragement calmed Hornacek, who was playing in the Western Conference finals for the first time, and he became less nervous.

Duckworth received the ball on offense, charged forward, and scored with a small hook shot; Gan Guoyang let this one go, learning his lesson to avoid fouling.

He needed to stay on the court for a longer time.

Quickly taking the ball out of the backcourt, Gan Guoyang passed to Hornacek.

Also on the court were Jerome Kossie, Bill Walton, and Vandeweghe.

Porter, Drexler, and Thompson were resting off-court, with an offensive set-up on the floor.

Gan Guoyang’s task was to lead them to better offensive coordination.

He moved to the wing to set a screen for Hornacek, then swiftly cut inside.

Hornacek took advantage of the screen and, with space created, hit a mid-range jumper.

A precise and beautiful shot, the Lakers players were all focused on Gan Guoyang, not expecting the rookie to take such a decisive shot.

25:25, once again the score was tied.

Duckworth wanted to attack Gan Guoyang again, but the ball was directly stolen by Gan Guoyang this time.

Little Duck was getting a bit ahead of himself, thinking he could take on Gan Guoyang twice in a row.

Hornacek and Gan Guoyang set another screen on the wing, but this time the Lakers were watching closely.

Hornacek didn’t get a chance to shoot, and the ball went back to Gan Guoyang, who caught it at the top of the arc.

Because Gan Guoyang has the ability to shoot from mid-range, the defense was sticking close to him.

Duckworth was pulled out, and Guoyang lobbed a high pass to underneath the basket.

Jerome Kossie caught the ball, turned his back, and shot an easy basket.

Gan Guoyang and Hornacek’s pick-and-roll drew most of the Lakers’ defensive resources, resulting in a weak side defense.

With Kossie cutting deeply under the basket, it was very difficult for the Lakers to stop him.

25:27, the Trail Blazers took the lead again, and the Lakers immediately launched a fast break, with Wes Johnson making a long pass to the frontcourt.

Brickowski received the ball for a layup, but Kossie, coming from behind, interfered and blocked the shot, sending the ball out of bounds.

Riley saw the situation turning bad, so he subbed out Kevin Duckworth and sent Jabbar into the fray.

No sooner had Jabbar come on than he received a pass, turned, and hooked the ball in. It was his first successful hook shot of the evening.

The score was tied again, and the Trail Blazers counterattacked. Vandeweghe took the ball and drove under the basket for a layup but missed, with Kossie desperately fighting for the offensive rebound.

He passed the ball out to Guoyang at the top of the arc, who feigned a shot to draw the defense then passed it to Hornacek in the corner.

Hornacek took a mid-range shot and scored again!

This was Hornacek’s second basket of the night, a very steady shot.

Watching him shoot was far more reassuring than watching Drexler take a shot.

The Lakers’ defense was gradually becoming perplexed.

On offense, AC Green tried to power through Kossie, but his turnaround layup under the basket did not go in.

Kossie grabbed another rebound, and on the counterattack, Guoyang received the ball in the low post, turned quickly, and drove under the basket.

Facing a double team, he passed cleverly between the defenders to Walton, who dunked the ball with one hand!

27:31, the Trail Blazers led by 4 points. Their offense was becoming more and more fluid.

After scoring the dunk, the Lakers did not pause, with James Worthy making an ultra-long baseline pass to the frontcourt!

Jabbar, who had already run up front, was waiting; when he ran fast, he really didn’t look 40, his legs still seemed young.

However, what appeared to be a guaranteed basket became trouble as Jabbar went for the layup and was surprisingly disrupted from behind by Hornacek.

Hornacek, the quickest to the ball starting near the mid-court line, theoretically had no chance guarding Jabbar.

But he didn’t give up and still charged trying to block Jabbar, who instead of dunking went for a layup and used too much force, missing the shot.

Following up, Kossie snagged the rebound, and the Trail Blazers went on the offensive. Hornacek got the ball and made a long pass inside the three-point line; Guoyang leaped, caught the ball, landed, spun, and charged under the basket, completely ignoring Brickowski as he dunked the ball right over him!

Brickowski was knocked out of bounds, falling to the ground and staying down for a long time.

To top it off, the referee called a blocking foul on Brickowski, and Guoyang got an additional free throw.

Riley, seeing this, furiously protested to Earl Strom, but the roar from the crowd drowned out his objections.

Guoyang converted the free throw, 27:34, extending the lead to 7 points.

Riley still didn’t call a timeout; he believed a deficit within 10 points didn’t warrant one yet.

But Jabbar’s offense continued to miss, and the Trail Blazers, grabbing the rebound, counterattacked.

This time, the ball didn’t go through Guoyang’s hands; he simply set a screen at the top of the arc, then moved down to attract the defense.

The ball was passed to the wing where Vandeweghe caught it and made a three-point shot from the perimeter—and scored!

The success of that shot meant that everyone listening to the game on the radio in Oregon could hear Bill Schonely’s exhilarating "Rip City!"

Pat Riley finally couldn’t take it anymore and called a timeout, bringing Magic Johnson back in.

The reason Riley hadn’t called a timeout earlier was that he wanted Guoyang to play for a while longer, to wear him down.

Gan had not rested for a minute in the first quarter, and continuing to play like this in the second quarter was a significant drain on his stamina.

What Riley didn’t consider, however, was that if the game continued this way, Gan might be able to rest for the entire fourth quarter.

Back on the bench, Gan exchanged high fives with his teammates, understanding another principle: playing more might actually mean playing less, getting things done earlier is the way to go.