The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 448 I'm Always the One Who Gets Hurt

This isn't the first time Chuck Daly has been attacked.

The last time they were beaten was during the game against the Bulls last season.

At that time, Jordan was not yet out for the rest of the season; it was in October 1985, just as the season had begun.

Bill Laimbeer committed a vicious foul on Jordan, bringing him down under the basket.

Albec, who was then the Bulls' head coach, immediately lost his temper and started arguing with Chuck Daly.

As the argument escalated, Albek felt unsatisfied and started fighting with Daly.

Fortunately, the referee and players reacted quickly and rushed over to separate the two, preventing it from escalating into a coach-coach showdown.

But Daley wasn't so lucky tonight. First of all, he was caught off guard and didn't expect 60-year-old Ramsey to rush up and punch him.

Secondly, the field was in complete chaos, with players and referees from both sides unable to keep up, and fights breaking out everywhere.

Daly took a punch, and Ramsey, true to his martial ethics, didn't aim for the wound on his nose, but it still hurt quite a bit.

Pain can stimulate a person's adrenaline. Daly was already holding back his anger because of the large deficit, and after feeling the pain, he immediately pounced on Ramsey!
The two started fighting!
Commentator Cunningham couldn't stand it anymore. Ramsey was his former coach with the 76ers and his mentor.

He immediately jumped out of the commentary booth and rushed onto the court, desperately blocking Daly and Ramsey, and telling the two coaches to stop fighting.

Dick Stockton sat there dumbfounded. Why were the commentators on board? I'm a commentator too, should I go on?
Stockton was completely flustered; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation in all his years of commentary.

There are over 4 people at the Silver Dome Center. If they all riot, there could really be fatalities tonight.

However, the fight between Ramsey and Daly quickly drew everyone's attention.

Upon seeing that the coach had started fighting, the players immediately stopped fighting and rushed to stop them, pulling the two old men, who were red-eyed with rage, apart.

Although Ramsey is old, he is in excellent physical condition due to his background in the Marine Corps and his long-term participation in triathlons.

Moreover, Ramsey has a huge advantage: he has very little hair, and his forehead is already bald.

The advantage of being bald in a fight is that you won't get your hair pulled.

Daly was in trouble; his meticulously groomed curly hair was grabbed by Ramsey.

Not only was his hairstyle a complete mess, but a tuft of hair had also fallen out, making Daley so angry that his face turned red.

Gan Guoyang broke his nose, but his hairstyle wasn't even messed up. Now you're pulling a lock of my hair? Dr. Jack, you're going too far!
Although Rodman and Thomas were thrown onto the scorer's table by Gan Guoyang, they were unharmed.

Seeing Daley and Ramsey fighting, he immediately ran over to break them up.

Bill Laimbeer got a hard kick to the buttocks, and he'll definitely get a bruise, but no bones are broken.

But because he fell flat on his face, his nose hit the ground and started bleeding.

Both teams' players' clothes were torn to shreds, and Thompson's vest was twisted into a pretzel.

Drexler's clothes got wet from the Coke thrown down from the stands.

Jerome Kossie was shirtless, his jersey nowhere to be found.

Gan Guoyang was unharmed, firstly because no one dared to challenge him after Thomas was thrown, and secondly because Walton and Jones protected him.

The Detroit fans at the stadium kept hurling insults at him, but Gan Guoyang didn't seem to care and even smiled at the fans, making some of them feel a little embarrassed.

This was the first time in his refereeing career that Stroom had felt so helpless; he had blown his whistle so many times that no one paid any attention to him.

He wished he could find someone to fight, and he hoped that his referee partner tonight would be Baveta.

He'll definitely punch Bavita to cheer him on.

The nearly 15-minute brawl finally subsided as Detroit police entered the scene.

The court was a complete mess, with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

After a tense discussion, the referee team at the technical table decided to eject Trail Blazers players including Gan Guoyang, Thompson, and Kersey from the game.

On the Pistons' side, Dennis Rodman remained on the court; he was the one getting hit, not the one hitting.

But Isaiah Thomas and Melvin Turpin were sent back to the locker room; Turpin has a history of underground boxing matches.

Bill Laimbeer, rubbing his backside and looking aggrieved, spoke to Stroom, saying that Forrest had kicked him for no reason and that he would be suspended for the next game.

He had white cotton swabs stuffed in his nose again, making him look quite pitiful. Stroom didn't believe him, saying, "You must have messed with Forrest Gump."

"I didn't! I didn't do anything, and he rushed at me to hit me!"

"It takes two to tango. I won't punish you since I didn't see it. You can keep hitting me."

Lambiel was speechless. He had the worst luck imaginable; the same thing happened at the Silver Dome Center last time.

I was just watching the show when I got punched. This time I learned my lesson and turned to run, but I got kicked instead!
Why am I always the one who's hurt?
Laimbeer experienced punches, kicks, and wrestling—his playing career was complete.

During the break in the game, CBS had a great time.

Last year in the finals, Gan Guoyang shattered the basketball hoop, delaying the game by half an hour, and the TV station broadcast commercials like crazy.

During this chaotic battle, the TV station seized the opportunity to insert commercials, and the ratings soared to a new high.

Gan Guoyang truly lives up to his reputation as a ratings magnet; as long as he's in a match, there's no need to worry about generating buzz.

Moreover, this chaotic battle was a grand spectacle, providing plenty of excitement for the audience and fans, and there were no serious consequences.

Despite the fierce fighting, a tally of casualties reveals that, just like last time, only one person ultimately bleeds: Lambiel.

Everyone else had some bruises and scrapes, but it was always Bill who got blood.

Although the fans at the scene were excited, it was indeed thrilling. Many people rushed onto the field and took a stroll, but no one got hit.

Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers players and staff understood this very well; they knew what they could and couldn't do.

After the chaotic scene subsided, the referee and the technical staff decided to let the match continue.

The remaining players from both sides finished the game.

Both coaches were sent off, so the on-field command was handled by Versace and Adelman.

The Trail Blazers were without their core player, and so were the Pistons. With a 14-point lead, the Trail Blazers didn't give the Pistons a chance.

Drexler stepped up to take control of the game again, scoring 8 points in the final 6 minutes with a combination of drives and shots.

The Trail Blazers ultimately prevailed 117-110, managing to keep the victory from slipping through their fingers after a chaotic battle.

With a 3-0 lead in the Finals series, they were just one step away from winning the 1987 championship.

After the game, in the Trail Blazers' locker room, everyone was both happy and worried. They were happy to have won, but worried that such a hard-fought game might result in a suspension for the next game.

Gan Guoyang said, "We're already up 3-0, what's there to be afraid of with a suspension? Even if we lose the fourth game, we'll still win the fifth game and take the series championship!"

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and then reminisced about the afterglow of the great battle.

Ramsey did not attend the post-match press conference, while Gan Guoyang and Adelman were interviewed by reporters.

Faced with a barrage of questions from reporters, Gan Guoyang calmly responded:
"I just wanted to teach the Pistons a lesson; they always hurt others with malicious actions. There's an old Chinese saying that goes, 'Those who are good with swords will die by swords,' and I'd like to give that to Mr. Daly."

David Stern was not in attendance at the game tonight; he was in Arizona dealing with matters related to the Suns.

When he learned the news at his hotel in Phoenix, he nearly fainted.

However, just two hours later, Johnny Hay, the Suns' head of shoe operations, died in a car accident in downtown Phoenix.

For Stern, the timing of this Finals brawl was perfect, given the car accident.

I was just worried about not having any news to distract myself.

The following morning, David Stern held an emergency press conference to announce penalties for the brawl between the Trail Blazers and the Pistons.

Gan Guoyang, Thomas, Ramsey, and Daly were all suspended for one game and each fined $8000.

The league stated that it will improve relevant suspension rules to prevent such incidents from occurring.

In addition, the league launched a large-scale investigation into both parties and published numerous reports on the NBA arena violence incident.

But when the new season started, people found that there was a lot of talk but little action; everything remained the same, with no fundamental changes.

With the undeniable viewership ratings and media buzz, a fight on the sports field is far more appealing than drugs.

As for Johnny Hay's death, no one cares anymore; he will soon be forgotten along with the Sun's drug scandal.

(End of this chapter)