The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 268 Giving Up
Gan Guoyang was a man of his word; if he said he would get 50 points, he would get 50 points.

To everyone's surprise, the Chicago Bulls refused to surrender despite being behind, and even put up a fight.

Playing at home, they didn't want to lose too badly, and George Gervin led a comeback in the fourth quarter.

Gan Guoyang had no choice but to go all out, launching a series of low-post attacks into the paint in the fourth quarter, drawing fouls from the opponent.

With an unstoppable free throw, Gan Guoyang brought his score to 60 points.

他全场两分球33投20中，三分球3投2中，罚球15罚14中，在比赛还剩下3分钟结束时拿到了60分。

At this point, the Bulls finally gave up the fight and substituted their key players, with Ramsey replacing Gan Guoyang.

When Gan Guoyang left the court, all the Trail Blazers players stood up and gave him a high-five. An excited Walton even gave Gan Guoyang a bear hug.

"Incredible, absolutely incredible! How could you score 60 points!" Walton's tone and expression were as exaggerated as ever; he was always full of emotion.

Gan Guoyang shrugged and said, "It's nothing. I've scored 60 points in the playoffs before. This is just a regular season game."

Yes, Gan Guoyang scored 60 points in the playoffs during his rookie season, so what's so great about the regular season?

But Walton still pretended to be conducting an interview, using a beverage bottle as a microphone, and asked Gan Guoyang how he managed to score 60 points in a game.

Bill Walton's career-high regular season score was only 36 points. He was a team player through and through, and his body couldn't support him taking as many shots in a game as Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang casually remarked, "Scoring 15 points in a quarter, including one mid-range jumper, two turnaround shots, two hook shots, three free throws, and a three-pointer, is enough. I make so many shots in training every day, this is nothing."

Walton clapped lightly, thinking to himself that when it comes to showing off, there are probably few in the entire Portland... no, in the entire history of the NBA who can match him.

Walton knew that Gan Guoyang had an iron body, and his ability to score 60 points in a single game was not only due to his technical ability, but also to his physical strength.

In a single game, he takes over thirty shots, endures ten fouls from his opponents, and constantly goes to the free-throw line, accurately making free throws despite being extremely exhausted.

Walton thought to himself that if he played like that, he could only last for a quarter and a half at most before he couldn't keep up.

The key is that Gan Guoyang also needs to defend; he must have a nuclear power supply installed in his body.

Ramsey, sitting next to Gan Guoyang, said, "If you're not tired, I'll take you upstairs to get a few more points."

Gan Guoyang said, "Do you have a grudge against the Bulls or Albec? Why do you insist that I go up there and break the record?"

Ramsey said, "I have a good relationship with Albek, and he understands me. Playing with Chamberlain was such a terrible thing. I just wanted to give you some practice and prepare you for the next game."

In their next game, the Trail Blazers will travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks, and it seems Ramsey is also still upset about losing to the Bucks on the 31st.

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "So, you can't find a good way to beat the Bucks, so you've decided to give the ball to the best player on the team? That's the best way."

Ramsey rolled his eyes, but he didn't refute it. It was unclear whether Gan Guoyang had hit the nail on the head or if he was adhering to his principles and not discussing basketball tactics with Gan Guoyang.

The final score was 129-113, with the Trail Blazers winning by 16 points. The Bulls put up a strong fight, with George Gervin scoring 31 points.

Now 33 years old, he has suffered greatly from drug addiction. He even attempted suicide twice. Ultimately, he brought it all on himself. Fortunately, he has basketball, which has helped him persevere.

Being traded to the Bulls was not a good choice or a good ending for him, because Jordan did not like Gervin, the reason being the Frozen-out incident at last year's All-Star Game.

There have been persistent rumors that Isaiah Thomas and Gervin teamed up to freeze Jordan's career. Although both Thomas and Gervin have denied this, rumors often become accepted as fact once they spread widely.

However, Jordan's season-ending injury made Krause's trade seem very prescient, as Gervin burned out his last bit of energy at the shooting guard position.

At the end of the game, Gervin shook hands with Gan Guoyang. The veteran, who once scored 33 points in a single quarter, was full of praise for Gan Guoyang's scoring ability. He said from the bottom of his heart: "You are the most scoring center I have ever met. You are very relaxed, but you are very tense when you are on defense. That's great, fantastic."

As a fellow scorer, Gervin could sense Gan Guoyang's scoring talent; that effortless ease was something many ordinary scorers couldn't achieve.

What's even more valuable is that Gan Guoyang can relax during offense but become tense and fierce when he returns to defense. This ability to adjust and switch is truly exceptional.

"Between Michael and me, whose offense is better?" Gan Guoyang quietly asked Gervin.

Gervin grinned. Although Jordan hadn't paid much attention to him since he joined the Bulls, and the two had never had a proper, in-depth conversation, one-on-one duels on the court were inevitable. "He can jump a lot, and I'm good at shooting. He's facing off against the old Iceman, not the real Iceman. Of course, he has unlimited energy, just like you. You both have bright futures."

Gervin didn't explicitly say who was better between Forrest Gump and Jordan, since it would offend people no matter what. Jordan could be quite petty at times, while Forrest Gump and Jordan were good friends. If Gan Guoyang accidentally let slip the answer during their conversation, Gervin's time with the Bulls would be even more difficult.

Gan Guoyang didn't ask any more questions. The two hugged and said goodbye. This would be Gervin's last season in the NBA. He had decided to retire after this season. The Iceman would eventually melt away.

To the surprise of many, although the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt, the fans in the stadium did not leave early. On the contrary, most of them watched the game until the end.

As Gan Guoyang was about to leave the stadium through the players' tunnel, the fans erupted in enthusiastic applause, marveling at his brilliant performance that evening.

A fan on the sidelines shouted at him, "Sonny! Come to the Bulls and team up with Michael!"

Gan Guoyang smiled and replied, "Why don't we let Michael come to Portland? I'll give him my center position and I'll be his backup!"

Although "Joe vs. Gan" is a highly anticipated matchup, the two teams, one in the East and one in the West, will not meet unless they reach the NBA Finals.

In the short term, the Bulls are unlikely to make it to the Finals, so there is not much rivalry between the two teams. The story of the 1977 playoffs has long faded away, so fans are naturally very friendly to Gan Guoyang.

However, Jordan was very unhappy when he found out about this. He was Chicago's most popular basketball superstar, and then he was injured and the fans started flirting with Forrest Gump, even suggesting that Forrest Gump come to Chicago.
...Hmm, that sounds good, but Jordan knows Forrest Gump would never do that, and Jordan would never go to Portland.

Off the court, they are good brothers and friends, but on the court, they are definitely opponents, true rivals.

In January 1986, Jordan's desire to make a comeback grew even stronger.
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"Sonny Gan scored another 60 points at the Chicago Arena! 20-for-33 shooting, a 12% two-point percentage, and he even made two three-pointers! How many more surprises does this amazing center from China have in store for us to discover? Their next game is in Milwaukee, where they just lost to the Bucks on December 31st, and now they have their chance for revenge. Let's look forward to it. Now let's take a look at the situation in MLB…"

On the night the Trail Blazers and Bulls game ended, the players boarded a bus and headed straight to Milwaukee to prepare for the game the following day—a painful back-to-back away game.

The driver had the radio on, and the local station was broadcasting the news. The news of Gan Guoyang's 60-point game would soon spread throughout the United States via radio waves, once again becoming the headline of sports news.

However, Mr. 60 was sleeping on the bench at that moment, and it started snowing outside again. Every winter, the Trail Blazers would have to travel to the Great Lakes region to play away games.

Because the cities here are relatively close to each other, Milwaukee is only 90 miles from Chicago, so they travel between the cities by bus.

Last season, they were stranded in heavy snow on their way from Detroit to Cleveland and had to sleep in their car, relying on the hotel's wood-fired heaters to get through the night.

Fortunately, the snow wasn't heavy tonight, and Milwaukee is very close to Chicago, so the bus arrived at the destination hotel in just over an hour without any delays on the way.

Everyone, still half asleep, checked in and went to their rooms to get some rest. But before long, the fire alarm went off on the floor where the players were staying—there was a fire!

Gan Guoyang and his teammates rushed out of the room before they were even properly dressed, hoping they wouldn't be trapped by the snow or burned to death by the fire!
As a result, a group of people ran half-naked from the emergency exit to the lobby, only to find that nothing had happened. The hotel manager came over to apologize, saying it was a false alarm.

It was a false alarm, only from the players' perspective. Everyone complained and went back to sleep, yawning. But an hour later, the alarm went off again.

The players weren't as anxious as before, and no one ran out. It was indeed a false alarm, but once they were woken up, it was hard for them to fall back asleep.

Ramsey complained to the hotel, and the manager kept apologizing to Ramsey, saying that the room fee could be reduced or waived.

The room rate was waived, but the players' sleep deprivation couldn't be made up for, especially since this was a back-to-back away game.

Ramsey cursed inwardly, "When did the Milwaukee people learn the Celtics' unlucky tricks?!"
By 1986, we were still on a winning streak. In a game against the Chicago Bulls on January 2nd, Forrest Gump scored 60 points, scoring was like drinking water for him. Dr. Jack was right, I could never play like Forrest Gump. His stamina was incredible; there was no difference between the first and fourth quarters for him.

We went to Milwaukee the night after the game. On the 3rd, we were going to play the Bucks in a back-to-back away game. As a result, we were disturbed by the Celtics' fire alarm at the hotel. No one slept well. Ramsey simply canceled the afternoon practice. After everyone woke up, they went straight to the MECCA Center for the game in a daze.

Everyone was exhausted. We lost to the Bucks on the last day of '85, and we were up by a large margin in the first half but were reversed. That game hurt us a lot. There were even rumors that it was all Stu Inman's revenge against the Trail Blazers after he left Portland.

Later, I had some contact with Inman. He just smiled and said it was impossible, but who knows?

In short, the situation wasn't good for us. Then, in the locker room, Forrest Gump comforted everyone, saying, "Don't worry, we'll win this game. I'll just have to swallow my pride and get another 50 or 60 points."

If he gets another fifty or sixty points, this guy really knows how to wrong himself.

—Excerpt from Bill Wharton's autobiography, *Back from the Dead*, published in 2016.

(End of this chapter)