The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 333 Die without Regrets

Bill Walton replaced Jones, and Gan Guoyang made the free throw.

72-81, the Trail Blazers re-established a 9-point lead.

After scoring, Gan Guoyang high-fived Walton and said, "You're okay, Bill."

Walton shook his head and didn't say anything, running silently towards the backcourt. Gan Guoyang's heart sank.

He immediately guessed that Walton had taken painkillers, otherwise he wouldn't have suddenly returned to the court.

Bird noticed the exchange between the two players and immediately told Parish as he inbounded the ball from the backcourt, "Attack Walton, he's injured."

In the NBA, if you are injured, your opponents will not sympathize with you, but will instead exploit your weakness to launch a strong attack.

Parish immediately moved to the basket to establish position, and Bird delivered a precise through ball to Parish, who turned and made a strong attack on Walton!

Although the injection temporarily relieved the pain, the injury still affected his ability to exert force, and Walton couldn't keep up with Parish's pace.

However, Walton made a steal with a shove, knocking the ball out of Parish's hands and giving the Celtics possession again. Parish's attempt to score against Walton failed.

“Don’t even think about targeting me, Robert, don’t even think about it,” Walton muttered to Parish, making Parish feel very uncomfortable.

The Chief was the worst performer in this series, constantly being disrupted by the Trail Blazers' powerful interior defense.

The ball was inbounded from the baseline again, and Bird passed it to Parish, but Parish hesitated and passed it to the outside instead of attacking.

Dennis Johnson was the one who dared to take the shot. He caught the ball and took a mid-range shot, but missed. Walton then boxed out Parish, jumped up, and grabbed the rebound!

He looked pained, but he held it in and passed the ball to Drexler, who was also inspired by Walton.

He used Gan Guoyang's screen to drive hard to the basket from the high post, mustered his strength, and directly attacked Parish, scoring with a layup!
72:83, the score difference is back to 11 points!
Seeing that things were going badly, the Celtics immediately called a timeout.

Walton's return completely disrupted the Celtics' battle plans.

Parish, however, failed to live up to expectations, losing his one-on-one against Walton and instead allowing the Trail Blazers to launch a counterattack.

The entire memorial stadium was steaming hot, and the players were drenched in sweat; a frenzied atmosphere enveloped everyone.

The Celtics didn't give up. After the timeout, Marquez Johnson received a pass from Bird and hit a three-pointer!
Marquez just keeps hitting some incredible shots, while Bird has already racked up 11 assists tonight.

When he couldn't score, he transformed into a playmaking forward, doing his best to supply ammunition to his teammates.

The Trail Blazers were on offense, and Walton moved to the high post to facilitate. Bird came out to closely guard Walton and attacked Walton's sprained ankle.

Walton dodged and threw the ball into the paint. The pass wasn't great, but Gan Guoyang still managed to grab it from among the defenders and turned to attack the basket!
At this point, there's no need for any tricks or feints; it's all about brute force. If you can't score, you just take the ball and try again, and your opponent will most likely have to foul.

Sure enough, Jack Madden called a defensive foul on Parish, who was very frustrated; this was his fifth foul.

But there was nothing he could do; Gan Guoyang's offensive power in the paint was just that strong. Stepping to the free-throw line, Gan Guoyang made both free throws.

Bird launched a quick counter-attack and now he has the ball in control of the court.

This keeps Gan Guoyang near the three-point line, then the ball is moved to the weak side.

Marquez Johnson received the ball, faked a move, drove hard to the basket, squeezed past Walton, and scored a layup.

There was no way to stop him; Marquez's breakthroughs were incredibly sharp and difficult to defend.

77-85, the Celtics kept the score close.

On the defensive end, the Celtics once again triple-teamed Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang passed the ball to the outside, Walton directed from the center, and then passed the ball to Drexler on the baseline.

Drexler drove hard to the basket from the baseline, jumped and attempted a layup over Parish, knocking Parish down.

Parish, who already had five fouls, drew an offensive foul on the verge of being ejected.

Jack Madden showed leniency during the whistle, and the Celtics seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

Bird continued to hold the ball on the perimeter and orchestrate the offense, while McHale no longer tried to establish position under the basket.

Instead, after bypassing Parish's screen, Bird made a precise through pass to the basket.

McHale caught the ball, quickly turned and made a fadeaway jumper, making it 79-85. Bird added another assist.

Ramsey called a timeout, feeling that the team's offense was somewhat sluggish.

It's not a solution to keep Gan Guoyang surrounded by three people; we must make better use of Gan Guoyang's strengths.

"Bill, can you still attack from the low post?"

During the pause, Walton nodded to indicate that there were no problems.

After the timeout, Walton started calling for the ball in the low post, and Gan Guoyang went to the top of the key to break free from the onslaught.

Drexler passed the ball to Walton, who made a strong attack on Parish with a very difficult turn and hook shot.

Because he had difficulty putting weight on his feet, he threw the ball towards the basket in an awkward posture, which prevented it from being blocked.

The ball spun around the rim and fell into the net!
Memorial Stadium went wild, and Walton even managed to score from the low post!
However, the Celtics remained unmoved, and Bird calmly delivered the assist.

Ainge, who came off the bench, received the ball after a screen and hit a three-pointer!

At 82-87, the score difference between the two teams narrowed to 5 points, and then the two teams traded baskets, with the score fluctuating back and forth.

Time ticked by, and the score reached 88-93, making every goal crucial.

At this moment, Bird used a fake move to drive hard to the basket, and while being covered by Gan Guoyang, he made a clever behind-the-back pass to McHale who had cut in.

McHale catches the ball and dunks it with one hand!

90-93, the score difference has narrowed to only 3 points. Ramsey still has two timeouts left, but he dares not use them lightly.

At this moment, Walton was brought down by Parish during the attack, and the ball fell from his hands and was caught by Bird.

The referee didn't call a foul, and it's unclear whether Parish did it intentionally; the crowd booed.

Bird calmly launched a counterattack, making a long pass to the frontcourt, where Ainge faked out and drove to the basket.

Then, when Gan Guoyang came up to defend, the ball was passed to Marquez Johnson, who made a layup with his left hand!
92-93, the score difference is only 1 point! Ramsey is considering calling a timeout.

Walton, limping as he got up, yelled at Ramsey, "Don't pause!"

After saying that, Walton immediately got to the offense, setting a screen for Drexler at the high post, then cutting to the basket to draw the defense.

At this moment, Drexler suddenly made a pass to Paxson, who then passed the ball to Gan Guoyang at the right 45-degree angle.

Gan Guoyang takes a three-pointer from the outside! The ball swishes through the net! A crucial and deadly three-pointer, originating from Walton's high-quality screen that drew the defense.

With the score at 92-96, the Trail Blazers breathed a sigh of relief. Gan Guoyang had already scored 46 points, and his energy was greatly depleted by the fourth quarter.

First, he didn't rest for a minute, and second, he kept a close watch on Bird on the defensive end the whole game, not daring to relax at all.

Bird constantly wore down and stalled Gan Guoyang with drives, passes, and fast breaks, even though Gan was also exhausted.

Both sides are fighting for their lives, wearing each other down, to see who can hold out the longest.

The Celtics started playing a desperate three-point strategy, with Marquese Johnson receiving the ball on the perimeter and launching another three-pointer.

The shot missed, but Gan Guoyang wasn't under the basket, so Walton didn't get the rebound. McHale got it and passed it to Bird.

Bird faked a shot, then pulled up for a three-pointer, but it was blocked by Gan Guoyang and missed.

McHale grabbed another rebound and made a jump shot, bringing his total to 28 points tonight, the highest for the Celtics.

With the score at 94-96, the Trail Blazers cannot afford to relax for a moment; there is only a little over a minute left in the game.

Ramsey used a timeout to plan a crucial offensive move.

If this shot goes in, the Trail Blazers will basically have the win; if it doesn't, they could be overtaken.

Ramsey still planned to pass the ball to Walton, with Gan Guoyang waiting for an opportunity near the top of the arc and the 45-degree angle.

The final finishing touch was Walton passing the ball to Gan Guoyang; the cooperation between the two was crucial.

The game entered a close-quarters battle, with the Celtics employing a half-court press.

McHale kept a close eye on Gan Guoyang, and the Trail Blazers almost couldn't get the ball in.

Thompson threw the ball to Gan Guoyang, who blocked the opponent's path and jumped to catch the ball.

After stabilizing the situation, the Celtics passed the ball to Walton according to the tactics, and of course, they did not double-team him.

Gan Guoyang and Drexler tried to execute a play, but they were entangled by Celtic players and the play failed to go through.

Walton had no choice but to force the shot. He used his uninjured ankle as support, turned around, and launched a jump shot!
The ball bounced on the rim, and Walton knew something was wrong; he hadn't made a good shot and needed to grab the rebound.

At that moment, Gan Guoyang descended from the sky and dunked the ball into the basket with both hands over Parish and McHale's heads!

The usually composed Gan Guoyang landed after scoring a goal and swung his arm with all his might, roaring towards the sky, plunging the entire memorial stadium into extreme frenzy.

With the score at 94-98 and less than a minute remaining, a four-point deficit is proving difficult for the Celtics.

KC Jones called a timeout, and Gan Guoyang and Walton hugged tightly before leaving the court together and returning to the bench.

Joy overcame the pain, but Walton still told his teammates, "The game isn't over yet. We can't let our guard down. We need to play good defense. This is the final step of tonight's game!"

Everyone controlled their emotions because their opponent was the Celtics, and they couldn't afford to be careless in this final battle.

The Celtics ran a fast break play, Bird received the ball, faked a shot, and made a crossover pass to Dennis Johnson who was cutting in the middle.

Johnson received the ball and drove to the basket for a layup, but Walton suddenly appeared and blocked the ball from Johnson's hands with a big block!

A scramble ensued under the basket, but Thompson managed to hold onto the ball tightly, leaving the Celtics with no choice but to foul.

Thompson and Walton high-fived, knowing they had a high probability of winning the game.

With Thompson making both free throws, the score reached 94-100, with less than 20 seconds left in the game.

After quickly inbounding the ball, Bird launched a three-pointer from mid-air and finally made it!
97-100, the Celtics still have a chance.

He finally scored in the second half, finishing with 11 points and reaching double figures.

But it was too late at this point. When Gan Guoyang got the ball, Bird came over and fouled him.

Gan Guoyang went to the free-throw line and made both shots, scoring his 50th point of the game!
The crowd chanted "MVP!" and the cheers and screams grew louder and louder. As Marquez Johnson missed his final shot, the score was 97-102!

The entire Memorial Arena erupted in cheers. Although they didn't win the championship, people still rushed onto the court like madmen, surrounding the Trail Blazers players.

As the Trail Blazers players celebrated their victory, Walton shouted to Gan Guoyang, "Did we win the championship, Gan?!"

Gan Guoyang said, "Not yet, we still have one more match to play!"

Walton smiled and said, "Sonny, I may not be able to play in the last game, but I will die without regrets."

Upon seeing Walton, Gan Guoyang said firmly, "We will definitely bring the championship back, definitely."

Portland didn't sleep that night, but Walton slept soundly, dreaming of the jubilant scene of winning the championship at Memorial Stadium in 1977.

I also dreamed of a male lion.

(End of this chapter)