The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 220 Just Want to Score
On the Trail Blazers' bench, Jack Ramsey remained quiet, handing the floor to Gan Guoyang.

Everyone knew that Forrest Gump was going to explode tonight, much earlier than usual.

Gan Guoyang has always been good at exerting his strength in the third quarter, and he scored the most points in the third quarter.

However, against a team like the Nuggets, the game-changing rhythm of the third quarter is not very effective.

Because the Nuggets scored so many points, once they took the lead in the first half, it was extremely difficult for them to come back in the second half.

The high number of points diluted Gan Guoyang's score. Even though he scored 20 points efficiently in the third quarter, the impact of those 20 points was not significant when both teams scored 40 points.

Therefore, the key to beating the Nuggets is to exert pressure in the first half, especially in the second quarter, and gain a sufficient advantage before the end of the first half.

"Tonight I'll focus on scoring. I usually do a lot on the court: rebounding, help defense, boxing out, screens. I give you guys great offensive space, but we're still down 1-2. What does that mean? It means your offense isn't up to par. So in this game, you guys go for the rebounds, help defense, box out, screens, and I'll score. I'll show you how I score."

Gan Guoyang gave his teammates instructions in an unquestionable tone: tonight he would be a pure scorer.

No one objected, no one had any complaints. Given his performance in the first quarter, not letting him score would be a crime.

Although he was just a rookie, Gan Guoyang earned his reputation with the Trail Blazers game by game.

He didn't rely on the support of management, the promotion of the media and businesses, or the mindless support of fans after piling up data—back then, there weren't these high-end commercial tactics.

In the purely testosterone-driven, male-dominated world of NBA teams, the only way to become the leader is to subdue everyone else.

"If we win this game, we won't lose to the Nuggets again."

Just before going on the court, Gan Guoyang said something very calm, but it stirred the hearts of all the Trail Blazers players.

A true leader should possess this power to infect everyone with their confidence, which significantly boosted the team's morale.

Throughout the timeout, Ramsey didn't say a word. Finally, he clapped and patted Gan Guoyang on the shoulder.

On the other side, Doug Mo was on the verge of a berserk outburst. He rolled up the cuffs of his shirt and, in a brief pause of one or two minutes, he unleashed a torrent of abuse on everyone.

However, this is not his complete transformation. When he goes completely berserk, he will start cursing at irrelevant people, such as substitute Bill Henzrik, who has not played a minute on the bench.

Henzrik is thin and has a small mustache. He was one of the trade assets the Nuggets received in the deal for David Thompson. When Doug Mo first saw him, he bluntly said, "This is a hopeless player."

In Doug Mo's dictionary, "dog" is the worst player, a loser.

Slightly better than dogs are "hopeless people," who are hard-working but lack talent and have little hope of improvement.

A little better than the hopeless are the "rigid ones," whom he feels have some talent, but not much, that can help him win.

Players above them only truly stand out, like Johnson, Bird, and soon Forrest Gump will be added to the list.

Henzrik, as a hopeless character, was Doug Moe's favorite target for ridicule and curses, because Henzrik loved to talk back.

He insulted Hanzrik by saying he had nothing above his neck, to which Hanzrik replied, "Dog Mo has nothing."

Whenever Hanzrik enters the court, Doug Moe shouts "Hanz, Hanz! Hanz!" incessantly.

The purpose was to remind Hanzrik to run faster, defend seriously, attack well, and keep him on the line at all times.

If Hanzrik can't take it anymore, he'll run to the sidelines and yell at Doug Moe, "Shut the hell up!"

Doug Moe would obediently shut up, sit back on the bench and laugh with the players, and then start shouting again five minutes later.

But tonight, when Hanzrik was sent on at the end of the first quarter, Doug Moe didn't say anything, not even a single "Hanzrik".

This made Hanzrik a little uncomfortable, but he knew why. Look at the scoreboard: 44-26. The Trail Blazers were playing like crazy, and the first quarter wasn't even over yet.

Gan Guoyang seems to have a scope installed; he can hit any shot. He's so fast and decisive; he can shoot within 10 seconds of receiving the ball.

He has three-pointers, mid-range shots, hook shots, layups, and free throws; he puts the ball into the basket in all sorts of ways.

No matter how the Nuggets defended—they weren't good at high-intensity pressure defense to begin with—they just couldn't stop Gan Guoyang from scoring.

They even have a hard time stopping Gan Guoyang from getting the ball. As a center, he doesn't need to go to the low post; he's an offensive threat as soon as he receives the ball outside the three-point line.

Both 45-degree angles and the top of the key are his offensive threat zones. His offensive rebounding conversion rate is very high; he either scores on second-chance points or goes to the free-throw line for a free throw.

When Hanzrik came on, Gan Guoyang was replaced by Kenny Carr. He scored 21 points in the quarter, going 8-for-9 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.

The Nuggets wanted to improve their offensive efficiency and go toe-to-toe with the Trail Blazers, but facing Gan Guoyang's high shooting percentage, the Nuggets had no chance to launch fast breaks.

Without fast breaks, the Nuggets' fast offense simply couldn't be executed against the Trail Blazers' well-prepared half-court defense.

Henzrik played very hard after coming on, but as a transitional substitute, there wasn't much he could contribute at this point. Moreover, not hearing Doug Mo's "Hanzhanz" made Henzrik feel extremely uncomfortable; he felt his legs had slowed down.

At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led 45-28, with the Nuggets scoring just 7 points more than Gan Guoyang in the first quarter.

Doug Mo's face was extremely grim, but he was still holding back, after all, there was still a second quarter. If they could narrow the gap to within 10 points before the end of the first half, the game would still be going.

The second quarter ended quickly, with the score at 81-51, the Trail Blazers leading by 30 points... Gan Guoyang scored 18 points in the second quarter, shooting 5 of 6 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line, racking up an astonishing 39 points in the first half!
He scored 39 points in the first half of a playoff game, setting a new NBA playoff first-half scoring record.

His offensive rebounds and drawing fouls in this quarter tormented the Nuggets' interior defense.

During halftime in the locker room, Doug Mo finally exploded. He kicked the whiteboard to pieces, spitting and yelling, "Are you guys going to let him score 100 points?"

Everyone fell silent, then Henzrik suddenly said, "He should have wanted 60 points; it was your suggestion."

Everyone looked at Hanzrick, and Doug Moe's face went from white to red, and then from red to white.

He suddenly calmed down, laughed twice, and said, "That's right! 60 points! I suggested that Forrest Gump get 60 points tonight!"

"Then you fucking let him get 60 points!" Doug Mo's expression changed again. He kicked the whiteboard, left the locker room, and ran back to the court.

Although Doug Mo was emotionally distraught, he knew very well that if the Trail Blazers won tonight, and they had to play Game 5 in Portland, their chances of winning would be slim.

With a 3-1 lead after defeating the Trail Blazers tonight, they will enter Game 5 with a significant psychological advantage, and Doug Moe promises he will never repeat the mistakes of 1979.

The defeat in 1979 was excruciating; it was the closest he had ever come to the Finals. This year's Nuggets team is the best Nuggets he has ever coached.

Next year, Dan Isell will retire, and the landscape of the league may change again, with the Trail Blazers and Rockets rising rapidly, especially the Trail Blazers.

Therefore, this year is their best chance to challenge the Lakers.

but……

At the start of the third quarter, Doug Mo was sitting on the sidelines with disheveled hair, completely lacking the composure and ease he displayed in the first three games.

With a massive 30-point deficit, even Denver fans themselves didn't believe they could come back.

Although the Nuggets score a lot of points, they also concede a lot of points. They are not the kind of team that can come back from a long deficit by relying on defense and offensive bursts.

The Nuggets often win by scoring more points than you from the first quarter onwards, and by doing so a little more each quarter, they naturally win in the end.

Once a team falls behind by a large margin in the first half, turning the tide becomes extremely difficult.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang's offensive touch showed no signs of cooling down.

He even threw up another three-pointer at the start of the third quarter, and it went in!

42 points!
Many Nuggets fans were devastated, clutching their heads in dismay. How could they possibly play like this?!
Gan Guoyang's sudden long-range shots, used to test his skills, can severely damage the opponent's morale if they go in.

The Trail Blazers' bench rose to their feet and cheered; Gan Guoyang's shooting touch tonight was astonishing.

Doug Mo was expressionless, watching helplessly as Gan Guoyang continued his unstoppable dominance in the third quarter.

He didn't make any specific defensive arrangements; if he did, he wouldn't be Doug Mo.

However, Knight and Cooper began to actively double-team Gan Guoyang, constantly increasing the intensity and interfering with his shooting.

Gan Guoyang's shooting percentage dropped slightly, but the rest of the Trail Blazers were on fire.

Vandeweghe scored 20 points in the first half, and in the third quarter he took over the mantle from Gan Guoyang, firing on his former team.

The point difference slowly climbed from 30 to 40, and tonight's game has undoubtedly turned into a massacre. The Portlanders will annihilate the highland city.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang received a pass from Valentine in the low post, turned and hooked the ball in, scoring his 60th point of the game.

At this point, the score had become 132-93, a huge difference of 39 points, and some Nuggets fans had already left the stadium in disappointment.

Doug Moe called a timeout with perfect timing, substituting the key players. There was nothing to say about this game; it was a night ruined by a superstar.

Gan Guoyang was also substituted off the court. 60 points was enough for him, after all, it was Coach Doug Mo's advice, and good advice must be followed.

With the substitutes playing the last half of the quarter, the Trail Blazers won Game 4 with a 153-113 lead, a 40-point margin.

Gan Guoyang scored 60 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked 4 shots, and had 0 assists. Tonight, he didn't want to pass the ball; he only wanted to score.

(End of this chapter)