The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 164 I've never encountered such a request in my life
After acquiring Gilmore in a trade, the Spurs hoped that this "train" (referring to a player) could create a synergy with the "Iceman" (another player), allowing them to compete against Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the Western Conference.

In 1982 and 1983, they made it to the Western Conference Finals in consecutive years, but they were unable to put up an effective fight against the Lakers, who were full of talent. As Gervin and Gilmore aged, their competitiveness declined day by day.

The Lakers' dominance in the West is growing stronger, and the Spurs haven't found a countermeasure yet. Meanwhile, new forces have risen up and are catching up closely.

After adjustments at halftime, Gan Guoyang focused more on defense, no longer fixated on battling Gilmore in the three-second zone.

On the defensive end, the Trail Blazers' choice to have Mitchell Thompson guard Gilmore was a waste of a top-tier defensive resource like Gan Guoyang against the veteran.

Gan Guoyang moved to the power forward position, expanding his defensive range and constantly disrupting the Spurs' perimeter offense with a sweeping defense that was rare at the time.

Whenever the Spurs' perimeter players set a screen, Gan Guoyang would step up to contest it, forcing Gervin, Moore, and Mitchell to protect the ball, or even turn the ball into a dead ball, before immediately retreating back to the basket to defend.

Centers in the 80s rarely defended like this. Gan Guoyang's defensive pressure made the Spurs' outside ball movement sluggish, forcing the Spurs to rely more on isolation plays or pass the ball to Gilmore in the low post.

Gilmore played very hard tonight, but his offense was more of a bonus than a standout performance; he lacked the individual scoring ability to carry the team.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang continued to put pressure on Gilmore on the offensive end, with frequent physical contact, aggressive offensive rebounding, and forward-leaning, pressuring shots, making Gilmore increasingly agitated.

Led by Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers unleashed a 15-6 run in the third quarter, widening the gap to over 10 points.

During one offensive play, Gan Guoyang grabbed an offensive rebound in the paint, turned around and used his footwork to shake off Gilmore, and dunked with one hand. Gilmore's blocking hand didn't hit the ball, but hit Gan Guoyang's head instead.

The two got into an argument.

"I warned you in the second half that if you lay a hand on me again, I'd take you down, just like Lucas took you down!"

Gan Guoyang should have kept quiet about Lucas; bringing him up only reopened old wounds for Gilmore.

Gilmore roared at Gan Guoyang like an enraged lion, "Come on, come on then, I want to see how you're going to defeat me!"

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "I've never encountered such a request in my life." With a swift, stealthy movement, he grabbed Gilmore's waist and thick legs, and threw him to the ground.

Gilmore was wary of Gan Guoyang's punches. Ever since he was knocked down by Lucas with one punch, he had been practicing boxing to prevent being knocked down by one punch again.

Little did anyone know that Gan Guoyang, instead of boxing, was wrestling. Gilmore was caught off guard, and with his already high center of gravity, he lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

The Trail Blazers and Spurs players all rushed over, pulled Gan Guoyang away, and helped Gilmore up from the ground. The referee's whistle kept blaring, and the scene was in complete chaos.

George Gervin, who had a poor performance in the third quarter, stood by with his hands on his hips watching the show, thinking to himself that they were fighting again, as if he had returned to 10 years ago.

Gan Guoyang didn't actually need to help him up; Gilmore had already been knocked out. After being helped up by his teammates, Gilmore was dizzy and seeing stars, muttering, "Fuck, you said you'd use your fists..."

Playing in the NBA is really not easy. You have to train in boxing and fall defense. It's really tough.

The fans cheered loudly and applauded for Gan Guoyang. They had made a good deal on their tickets tonight, getting to watch two sports in one game.

I missed seeing him slam Lambiel at the Silver Top Centre last time, but this time he slammed Train Gilmore at Memorial Stadium. Although it wasn't as shocking as the Lambiel slam, it was still quite exciting.

The referee tonight is none other than Dick Bavetta, who officiated some of the most chaotic NBA games of the 70s. Gan Guoyang's tackle is nothing compared to that.

He came over to Gan Guoyang and said, "Kid, there's no other way. I have to expel you. As for whether you'll be suspended, that depends on what the president's office does. You've really broken the league's old bones. You'd better watch your step and not cause public outrage."

"Thanks for the reminder, but I think other centers in the league should be more careful next time they run into me."

Bavita smiled, then gave Gan Guoyang a foul, sending him off the field.

Gan Guoyang left through the passageway amidst deafening cheers throughout the memorial stadium, departing the stadium like a hero.

甘国阳离场时，给开拓者留下了10多分的领先优势，他自己三节拿下19分17个篮板球2次封盖3次抢断的数据。

All three steals came in the third quarter, and each steal led to a fast break for the Trail Blazers, successfully turning the tide of the game and giving the home team a decisive advantage.

On the Spurs' side, Gilmore suffered a heavy fall. Although he returned to the court after some adjustment, he had already lost most of his morale.

The nameless fire that had been burning within me for over a decade against the pioneers seemed to vanish in an instant, and the fall brought me back to my senses.

He's 35 years old and still a near-top-tier star in the league, while Lucas has faded into obscurity and Walton is practically crippled.

As for Forrest Gump, his energy and potential are far beyond what I can compare to. Just the fact that he scored 50 points in a single game is something Gilmore never achieved in his entire career, neither in the ABA nor the NBA. What is he getting so angry about? He should save that energy for dealing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The Trail Blazers held onto the advantage left by Gan Guoyang, and Drexler took over the game in the fourth quarter. He made consecutive breakthroughs, dunks, floaters, and assists, leading the Trail Blazers on an offensive surge that secured the victory.

Drexler has been playing better and better lately, his shooting has become more consistent, and Ramsey is also increasing his playing time.

Along with Drexler, Jerome Kersey also took to the court. The moment the two of them entered the game, the Trail Blazers' playing style completely changed, with two black whirlwinds sweeping across the court.

Compared to the fierce and fast Drexler, George Gervin was as slow as an old black wolf in a zoo, only getting up to move around and eat at mealtimes, spending the rest of his time quietly lying there basking in the sun, occasionally opening his eyes to yawn and move around.

When he has a chance to dunk under the basket, he won't dunk anymore. He'll just jump up, raise his hand, and gently flick the ball into the basket with his fingers.

He was even a little out of breath when he ran on the field, and he took very careful steps, as if he was afraid that taking too big a step would be too much for his body to handle.

Even with his weakened state, the Black Wolf still managed to score 31 points, relying on his skillful positioning, accurate jump shots, and deft finger dexterity.

In a post-game interview, George Gervin said, "I felt a lot of pressure when Gan was on the court, especially in the third quarter, I just couldn't score. Then he threw himself off the court, and I breathed a sigh of relief, finally I could score."

Of Gervin's 15 points in the second half, 13 came in the fourth quarter.

The Trail Blazers secured a victory at home with a score of 103-112.

Furthermore, their 103 points allowed per game further reduced their average points allowed per game.

Ramsey and Adelman even started asking Gan Guoyang for advice on defensive strategies and methods after the game.

Some of the ideas and defensive methods he provided were indeed very advanced and effective in the 80s.

However, the media and fans were clearly more concerned about Gan Guoyang's takedown, and his conflict with Gilmore once again made the sports news.

The NBA doesn't want this incident to be over-reported, and the league has been trying to remove the element of violence.

Aiva, however, seized this opportunity to do a good job of marketing, saying that Gan Guoyang's shoes have strong grip, so he is invincible in wrestling.

"Skyscrapers are so tall because their foundations are solid enough."

"The more stable, the higher it towers." Avia launched its new sneaker slogan.

All marketing expenses were spent on Gan Guoyang and the Skyscraper series. Avia has made rapid progress and has already learned to capitalize on trending topics.

NBA teams are also discussing this, with players passing the word around and concluding that they should never mess with Forrest Gump again.

Of course, there were also those who were unconvinced and wanted to challenge Forrest Gump the next time they faced the Trail Blazers, such as Hakeem Olajuwon.

Ultimately, the league did not impose a suspension on the matter. The previous suspension had already drawn fierce criticism from Cavaliers fans, and now, at a time when they were expanding their market, they should just fine them instead of suspending them.

Gan Guoyang was fined $5000 by the league for tackling, which was a considerable sum at the time.

As for the Trail Blazers not taking any action against Gan Guoyang, Ramsey felt that he did a great job, and the Trail Blazers' toughness in the paint has been rebuilt, and the "enforcer" Maurice Lucas has a successor.

The only person who criticized Gan Guoyang was his father, Gan Youwei, who lived in San Francisco. He learned about Gan Guoyang's fight with Gilmore from television and called him that very night.

"Guoyang, did you go there to play basketball or to fight? How come you got into another wrestling match? You're such a worry, always getting into fights in the NBA. You were doing so well in college!"

"Dad, I have no choice. The NBA is a dog-eat-dog world. If you can't fight, people will bully you."

"Nonsense, I think you're the one who's bullying others. I heard from that English teacher that the person you hit had a good temper and a gentle personality."

"Off the court and on the court are two different things. Besides, on the court, he was the one who told me to hit him. I've never encountered such a request in my life."

"He tells you to hit someone, so you hit him? He tells you to eat shit, so you eat it?"

Gan Guoyang's supposedly invincible arguments proved utterly ineffective in front of his father, who berated him until he was speechless.

Finally, Gan Guoyang promised Gan Youwei that he would not fight in any of the remaining matches this year, and if they had to fight, he would save it for next year.

(End of this chapter)