The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 213 I must go
Gan Guoyang scored a series of points to tie the game, bringing the Mavericks and Trail Blazers back to square one.

A center with strong offensive firepower both inside and outside the paint was far too advanced for the defense of teams in the 80s.

Dick Motta recalled facing Larry Kenon in the 1979 Eastern Conference Finals, a guy who was even more difficult and annoying than Gervin.

He excels both inside and outside, and has a strong defense. Gervin's performance has been consistently high, but Kennon is the barometer of the Spurs' success. When he plays exceptionally well, the Bullets are in trouble.

He later led the Bullets to a comeback from a 1-3 deficit, famously saying, "The show isn't over until the fat female singer stops singing." The key to this comeback was that he found a way to deal with Kennon.

The key player at the time was Bob Dandridge, a 6-foot-6 forward who excelled both inside and outside, and was good at passing, ball handling, shooting, and defense. He was an underrated All-Star.

He was a key figure in the Bullets' championship win in 1978, but in the 1979 Eastern Conference Finals, Dick Motta, for offensive reasons, did not allow Dandridge to guard Gervin for long periods of time, resulting in Gervin scoring 34, 29, and 42 points in the series.

With the team trailing 1-3, the media criticized Dick Motta for his stubbornness, questioning why he didn't assign Dandridge to guard Gervin, who could melt the Iceman.

However, Dick Motta insisted that the team's problem lay in their offense, and that Dandridge should be guarding Kenon, not Gervin. Kenon was the key, and the team needed Dandridge's playmaking and outside shooting. It wasn't worth it for him to wear down Gervin.

Dick Motta proved to be right to some extent. They weathered the toughest Game 5, and Dandridge contained Kenon in Games 6 and 7. Even though Gervin still managed to score 42 points efficiently, the Bullets still had the last laugh.

Of course, the reason it is correct to some extent is because if Motta had had Dandridge focus all his efforts on defending Gwen from the beginning, they might have won more easily instead of being forced into a desperate 1-3 deficit.

Moreover, the Eastern Conference Finals exhausted the Bullets' energy and luck, and in the Finals they were easily defeated by the SuperSonics with little chance of resistance.

For Motta, Forrest Gump is an even more formidable opponent than Kenon. He is a combination of Gervin and Kenon in the Trail Blazers, which means Motta no longer needs to worry about who to target; he can just target Forrest Gump.

The problem was really too difficult to address. When the third quarter ended in a tie and Motta called a timeout to give the players some defensive instructions, he didn't know how to do it.

What else could they do? They did their best in the first half.

Even Aguirre, the fat guy who usually doesn't play defense properly and argues with Motta all the time, was seriously and actively helping out on defense.

The Mavericks are not a defensive team; their defensive resilience is limited. Motta's goal is to use defense to drive the offense.

When your defensive strategy fails to contain the opponent's key players, the players' defensive motivation will decrease, the team will become more and more scattered, and then they will try to catch up in the score by relying on risky offense.

This is a problem that all coaches encounter when coaching: players have limited time to implement the coach's intentions, especially these black players, some of whom have attention spans comparable to preschool children.

Coaches need to coax, trick, and even scold children to get them to do the right things.

Including Dandridge back then, when Motta asked him to play point guard to organize the offense, he refused, saying that the team only paid him to play small forward.

Needless to say, Aguirre and his team can go a week without arguing, which is harder than a game without anyone traveling.

Just when Motta was at his wit's end, Bowie suddenly said, "Coach, let me handle Forrest Gump."

Mota glanced at Bowie, and everyone else looked at Bowie as well. Mota asked, "Can you handle him?"

"I don't know, but I have to go," said Bowen.

The tactics had failed, so someone had to carry the explosive charge to block the gun emplacement.

The score is tied; it's not time to determine a winner yet. The players' willpower and individual performance will decide the outcome.

Bowie's determined gaze inspired the entire Mavericks team, and even more so Dick Motta.

Bowie certainly didn't live up to expectations this season. He suffered an injury and missed about 30 games in the regular season, causing the Mavericks to drop to sixth place and have to play the Trail Blazers.

His offensive contributions were limited, and Motta knew he could never become the "combination of Unseld and Hayes" that the Dallas media envisioned, even though those two guys might be about the same height as Bowie.

But he was important. At that moment, he decided to defend Agan single-handedly, freeing up Aguirre, Vincent, and the others. The team might be able to win a game by relying on their offense.

"Okay, Bowie, you go and take care of Forrest. We need a good offense, we need to be faster, and we need to be willing to shoot..."

Dick Motta knew that tactics weren't as effective at this point; they had to get through the third quarter and hold on, and they needed to score.

After the timeout, the Mavericks launched a bold attack from the outside. Blackman received the ball, used a screen, and hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc!

This is a do-or-die shot; if it doesn't go in, the momentum will most likely completely shift in the Blazers' favor.

But the ball went in, and the entire Reunion Arena erupted in cheers. The Mavericks still had a chance!
Gan Guoyang noticed that the Mavericks' illegal defense had disappeared, and Bowie began to target him one-on-one.

Bao Wei was extremely focused, and he tried his best to prevent Gan Guoyang from receiving the ball in the low post.

After probing, Gan Guoyang immediately slipped out to provide cover for Drexler at the top of the arc.

Drexler accelerated towards the basket, but his floater was blocked by Bowie!
Gan Guoyang followed up and grabbed the offensive rebound. He took the ball and walked outwards, then released a hook shot!
Bowie tried his best to block the shot and intercepted the ball in mid-air; his arms are incredibly long.

However, the ball was clearly goaltending, and the referee blew the whistle, making the two points valid.

Even if such defense is only worth two points, it serves as a deterrent to the Trail Blazers.

Gan Guoyang sensed that Bowie was different from the player he played in the 1984 NCAA Final Four, and also different from the player he played in the regular season. Gan Guoyang also began to concentrate 120% of his attention on the game.

Aguirre hits a pull-up jumper.

Gan Guoyang received the ball at the top of the arc and made a long-range two-pointer.

Blackman drove to the basket and scored a layup, drawing a foul from Thompson and making the free throw.

Gan Guoyang and Vandeweghe teamed up, with Vandeweghe breaking through to the basket with his left hand and dunking with one hand!
Gan Guoyang blocked Vincent's shot, then blocked Bowie's layup, and on the fast break, he received a pass from Drexler and dunked!
Aguirre missed a shot, Bowie grabbed the offensive rebound, and drew a foul from Gan Guoyang on a layup, making both free throws.

Bowie blocked Paxson's floater, Gan Guoyang got the ball and made a mid-range jump shot.

The score went back and forth, and Gan Guoyang's touch was completely on point; his shots and hook shots were unstoppable.

But the Mavericks didn't give up. Playing at home, they attacked with all their might, with Bowie constantly making blocks under the basket, trying his best to stop the Trail Blazers' offense.

In the third quarter, Gan Guoyang scored 18 points, bringing the score to 84-83, with the Mavericks trailing the Trail Blazers by only one point.

The situation remained unchanged in the fourth quarter. The coach's tactics were no longer important. The players were playing with a frenzy, fighting for every ball and vying for every possession. The physical confrontation between the two sides became increasingly intense, and almost every time someone drove to the basket, they inevitably fell flat on their face.

Gan Guoyang, like a wild beast, rushed into the basket after a pick-and-roll, dunking the ball over Bowie. Bowie was knocked out of bounds and fell heavily to the ground.

However, the referee called an offensive foul on Gan Guoyang, and Bao Wei completed a successful defensive play.

Although the impact really hit him hard, Gan Guoyang's impact was as terrifying as a truck.

But Bowie immediately stood up, ran to the frontcourt to join the offense, provided screens for his teammates, and squeezed under the basket to grab offensive rebounds after his teammates took the shot.

Gan Guoyang had to do his best to box out Bao Wei. After Gan Guoyang got the rebound, Bao Wei would try to disrupt Gan Guoyang's first pass to prevent them from launching a fast counterattack, and then run back to the backcourt to defend.

These seemingly insignificant tasks are wearing down Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers. Even stopping a fast break could have the most direct impact on the outcome of the game.

The game went down to the wire, and Aguirre hit a jump shot despite being double-teamed, tying the score at 113-113!

The Mavericks hit three three-pointers in the third and fourth quarters, their last-ditch effort when they were in dire straits. They made them, keeping the game in suspense until the very last moment.

With 15 seconds left, the Trail Blazers had possession of the ball. This time, Ramsey didn't assign anyone else to attack. Gan Guoyang's key tactic of rushing the ball was used too often and easily anticipated by the opponent.

The ball came directly to Gan Guoyang's hands. At the top of the arc, everyone else spread out, and Gan Guoyang faced Bowie one-on-one. Bowie stared at Gan Guoyang like a giant spider, and no one else dared to come up to help defend. All the Trail Blazers players had the ability to deliver a fatal blow.

Gan Guoyang didn't rush to dribble. He checked the time, sweat dripping down his hair. At that moment, all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat.

With only five seconds left on the clock, Gan Guoyang started dribbling and made a simple right-side drive, with Bao Wei right behind him.

Gan Guoyang suddenly stopped abruptly, and with a Kiki-step step-back, he launched a jump shot from the right side of the free-throw line!

No one expected that Gan Guoyang would suddenly use a sudden stop and retreat, or rather, his teammate Vandeweghe's signature move, the kiki-step.

Bowie didn't have time to intervene; he could only watch the ball fly towards the basket and then make it accurately, 113-115, leaving the Mavericks with only 2 seconds left.

The entire Tuanju Gymnasium was silent. Gan Guoyang showed no excitement, simply giving his teammates a light high-five as if he had just completed a simple free throw.

With this basket, he has now scored 36 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and blocked 6 shots.

Dick Motta called a timeout, and on the bench, a sweaty Powell said to Motta, "Sorry, coach."

Motta patted Bowie on the shoulder and said, "You've done very well. The game isn't over yet."

After the timeout, the Mavericks took another risk and attempted a three-pointer instead of a two-pointer; they were very accurate from three-point range tonight.

But Blackman's three-point attempt failed; the ball bounced off the front of the rim and missed, and Thompson swatted the rebound away. Time was up, and the game ended.

The Trail Blazers defeated the Mavericks 113-115 on the road, winning the series 3-0 and advancing to the next round.

In the final moments, Bowie was benched by Motta because they needed to shoot three-pointers, so they fielded five players who could shoot.

Seeing his teammate miss the shot, he covered his face with a towel. After a while, his eyes reddened, and it was hard to tell whether his face was wet with tears or sweat.

He knew his 1984-1985 season was over, in a painful but not shameful way.

He tried his best, but he couldn't stop Gan Guoyang. However, he managed to stop the fear and hesitation in his own heart.

Finally, Gan Guoyang came over and shook hands with Bao Wei, and the two hugged on the sidelines.

“One day I’ll definitely get you, Forrest Gump,” Bowie boldly told Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang just smiled and said, "The day the world ends."

(End of this chapter)