The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 549 - 51 Unexpected

After John MacLeod took over, the Dallas people encountered the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1988 playoffs semifinals, where they caused immense trouble for the Trail Blazers.

People only remember Ah Gan’s 60 points in Game 6 at Reunion Arena, forgetting Blackman’s 40 points, as well as how they nearly overturned the Portland people in regular time to force a Game 7.

If not for Dale Curry’s 4 out of 5 three-pointers throughout the game and his key assists, the Trail Blazers would have encountered even greater problems, as their home court advantage was never too solid.

In Game 5, they were just a simple layup away from reaching match point, but no one seized the moment.

Then there was the heartbreaking triple-overtime, where Davis and Aguirre both said, "Once Dick left, we were different."

"I’m not singling out John MacLeod," Mavericks owner Carter said. "MacLeod is a very nice guy. But in the third overtime of Game 6, when Aguirre’s finger swelled up after hitting the ball, and he said he couldn’t go back in right away, John accepted it and put him on the bench."

"Now, I guarantee you, if Dick Motta was there that day, he would have pulled out a knife from his pocket, drawn a line on the wooden floor, and he would have said, ’Give me your hand, Mark, put your finger here, and let me take care of it.’"

"With Dick, believe me... we would have beaten the Trail Blazers, then the Lakers, and made it to the finals."

Carter sighed, suddenly remembering something, and did not continue.

———— Extracted from the October 1995 issue of Sports Illustrated, Volume 3, written by John Howard, titled "Dick Motta is the Oldest Coach in the NBA, famous for his bad temper and demanding nature. Why does he get along so well with the young Mavericks?"

The sixth game between the Trail Blazers and the Mavericks was earth-shattering.

After taking this game, the Trail Blazers entered the Western Conference finals for the fourth consecutive year.

This was their most difficult entry into the Western Conference finals, even more challenging than the 1985 season rookie year of Gan Guoyang’s games against the Nuggets.

Coincidentally, that year, Gan Guoyang also delivered a 60-point performance in a game, proving his full dedication.

Avia timely released the "Skyscraper - 60 Point Green Cowboy Commemorative Edition" in the summer, and the market response was decent—better than the 60 Point Rainbow Edition.

The three overtimes in Game 6 completely drained Ah Gan.

He was very excited during the game and went back to his hotel room, exceedingly tired, and fell fast asleep.

So that he could get a good rest, the Trail Blazers canceled the flight back to Portland the next morning and rescheduled it for the evening.

Ah Gan slept until noon, slightly confused, and turned on the TV to watch the news about last night’s game.

Aside from the game between the Trail Blazers and the Mavericks, Game 6 of the series between the Lakers and the Jazz was also taking place in Salt Lake City.

Previously, the Lakers were leading 3:2. If they took Game 6, they would meet the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals.

By the end of the Mavericks and Trail Blazers game, the match between the two teams had finished, but Ah Gan was too tired and nearly fell asleep in the car, unaware of the outcome.

He switched to ESPN to catch the noon news. News of his 60-point accomplishment was undoubtedly the headline of the day, which Ah Gan had grown accustomed to.

When the TV reported, "The Utah Jazz achieved a 28-point victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Salt Lake City, forcing the series into a Game 7," Ah Gan was surprised.

He looked at the clock on the bedside table and thought, "Did I sleep too long, or wake up too suddenly?" The Jazz had actually made it to a Game 7 with the Lakers.

Ah Gan picked up the bedside phone and pulled out the phonebook to call Stockton’s home in Salt Lake City.

Answering the call was not Stockton but Nada.

"Oh, is John not at home?"

"He took an early flight to Los Angeles this morning, he’s going to play Game 7."

"That’s a shame, I wanted to give him a call."

"John said you might call the next day, he said to congratulate you on making it to the Western finals and getting 60 points, we’ll see you in the Western Conference finals." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"That’s the idea, thank you for the message, Nada. How have you been lately..."

Ah Gan talked with Nada on the phone for a while.

Stockton got married in the summer of 1986 and, in March 1987, Nada became pregnant.

This January, Nada gave birth to her and Stockton’s first child, named Houston Stockton.

Houston is Stockton’s middle name.

During the call, Ah Gan asked Nada about some parenting advice.

Nada, with her sharp senses, asked, "Is Fosse pregnant?"

"Oh, uh... that, I can’t say just yet."

Nada chuckled on the other end of the line, saying, "Okay, I understand. I’ll have John call you back."

"No problem, I’ll head back to Portland this afternoon, wish you luck."

After hanging up the phone, Ah Gan felt a lot clearer in his mind.

He decided to call Jordan as well, knowing the Bulls had been eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the semifinals the previous day.

They lost the series 2:4, marking the second time in Jordan’s career that he had been defeated by Bird and the Celtics.

Gan Guoyang, as usual, had to console his good brother.

The home phone line was busy.

No one answered George’s phone.

He tried the pager, but nobody responded!

"Damn it, this worthless guy disconnects the phone line when he loses a game!"

-----------------

The opponents for the Eastern and Western Conference Finals were all decided on May 22nd.

The Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics were the first to enter the Conference Finals.

The Celtics, though aging, had a lineup that was very effective against the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls’ frontcourt was too weak, with only a young Oakley holding the fort.

Young forwards like Pippen and Grant had not yet come into their own.

Facing the trio of frontcourt giants, Jordan’s incredible scoring did nothing to help.

Compared to 1986, although the strength of the two sides had ebbed and flowed, a fundamental shift had not yet occurred.

The same situation unfolded in the confrontation between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz, to everyone’s surprise, dragged the Lakers into a Game 7 battle in the semifinals.

In Game 6, the Jazz thrashed the Lakers by 28 points at home, as the entire Lakers team got lost on the Salt Lake City plateau.

The Game 7 in Los Angeles was played heart-poundingly, with the Jazz at one point taking the lead in the first three quarters.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Jabbar and Magic Johnson powered up and scored consecutively.

On the Jazz’s side, Karl Malone, who had scored 27 points in the first three quarters, suddenly went cold, missing consecutive offensive plays.

Several key plays decided the direction of the entire series.

105:109, the Jazz lost the Game 7 battle in Los Angeles.

Stockton regrettably missed the chance to meet Guoyang in the Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers barely secured the victory, with the Western semifinals revealing their vulnerabilities.

They had an easy time during the regular season, practically sweeping through.

Especially during the first half of the season when Nielsen’s new system revitalized the Lakers.

But come playoffs, the Lakers players started to miss Pat Riley’s discipline and squeezing.

Just like the Mavericks players missed Dick Motta.

People always reevaluate those who had strict demands on them when they encounter difficulties and setbacks.

Luckily, the Lakers ultimately won and, as expected, faced the Portland Trail Blazers again in the Western Conference Finals.

But unexpectedly, on the Eastern semifinal’s last day on May 22nd, the outcome of the Bullets versus the Detroit Pistons game took everyone by surprise.

In a grinder of a battle, Charles Barkley played for 48 minutes and managed to claim victory at the Silverdome with a 29-point, 22-rebound performance, beating the Pistons 4:3 in the series count and entering the Eastern Conference Finals!

The score was 80:79, a pathetically low scoring from both sides, with Barkley contributing critical free throws at the right moment.

After the game, Charles Barkley and head coach Wes Unseld embraced, and then, together with Unseld, they lifted the old coach Dick Motta.

In Game 7, Dick Motta insisted that Barkley could not rest, must keep playing, and stay on the court at every turn to apply pressure to the Pistons.

As a result, the Pistons collapsed, with the combination of Bill Lambier and Melvin Turpin being shut down by Barkley, Malone, and Ma Hong.

Isiah Thomas failed to perform up to standard under Moncrief’s tight defense throughout the game—Thomas’ scoring against Moncrief was always low throughout his career, and during Moncrief’s peak season in 1985, he kept Thomas to an average of 16 points over five games.

Moreover, he always used his body ruthlessly to attack Thomas on the offensive end, putting him under pressure.

The Pistons’ last attempt to push back failed, and their entire season’s effort and confidence went down the drain.

After securing the victory, Dick Motta was as caustic as ever, first praising Barkley, "You played great!"

Then he followed up with, "Why don’t you play like this every night? Play 48 minutes, get 30 points, 20 rebounds?"

Barkley spread his hands and grumbled, "I’m not Ah Gan."

Then he added, "He gets paid more than I do!"

The Washington Bullets advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, aiming for higher glory.