The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 499 60 point

The morning after the second game, Gan Guoyang said goodbye to his wife and took a plane to Dallas for an away game.

Wang Fuxi originally planned to go to Dallas with Gan Guoyang, but considering that she was newly pregnant and her body was still unstable, Gan Guoyang insisted that she stay at home and arranged for someone to take care of her daily life.

Before leaving, Wang Fuxi was very worried about her husband. The loss in the second game had a significant impact on the team's morale.

Gan Guoyang, who scored 53 points in the first game, only managed 27 points and 15 rebounds under the Mavericks' relentless pressure and defense.

That score was far too low for him, and his shooting percentage of only 49% was also far too low.

Worse still, this game revealed the Trail Blazers' weakness to the Mavericks and other teams: they were actually more reliant on Forrest Gump than they were in 1987.

Although Gan Guoyang's relentless isolation plays swept the league in 1987, in addition to isolation plays, Vandeweghe's three-pointers, Drexler's drives, Porter's shooting, and Walton and Thompson's low-post contributions formed a strong frontcourt offensive system around Gan Guoyang.

This year is different; Vandeweghe has been plagued by a back injury, and his form has plummeted.

Since his injury at the beginning of the season and being replaced in the starting lineup by Kossie, Vandeweghe has never regained his former form since returning from the All-Star Game.

He was relegated to the bench, and his stats have plummeted.

As a striker, Vandeweghe is not a microwave-type player.

He needs a relatively relaxed defensive stance in the first quarter to get into a good offensive rhythm.

When he's on the bench, he often has to come on and make an impact, which isn't the rhythm of the game he's used to.

Meanwhile, although the back pain was relieved, it did not disappear and would torment him from time to time.

With Walton gone, Gilmore can only contribute defensively, and he can only unleash his full potential against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Thompson and his beautiful wife are living a happy and fulfilling life. His wife became pregnant last year and is due to give birth this June.

Thompson is currently preoccupied with his pregnant wife, so it's easy to imagine how much he'll be able to focus on the court.

Therefore, the current Trail Blazers have changed from "a group of forwards paired with guards" to "a super center + a group of guards".

At this point, the center forward's role becomes more prominent, but he is also more easily surrounded and attacked.

Once the lion king's wound is discovered, the pack of wolves will rush up and tear it apart.

Gan Guoyang wasn't too worried about it. He hugged Wang Fuxi and comforted her, "Don't worry, just stay home and watch the live broadcast on TV. I've never let anyone down, have I?"

Wang Fuxi nodded and said, "Victory and defeat are common in war. Don't get angry with your teammates just because you lost. Don't forget that your optimism and open-mindedness are your best weapons. Don't let strong emotions control you, understand?"

"Don't worry, for the sake of the child, I won't take my anger out on anyone else. I know what I'm doing."

Because the pregnancy is still in its early stages, Gan Guoyang has not yet told anyone, including his father.

After boarding the plane in the morning, Gan Guoyang sensed that the atmosphere in the cabin was somewhat heavy; they had played terribly in the second game.

When Gan Guoyang came in, everyone dared not speak loudly, and no one wanted to cause trouble.

But Gan Guoyang didn't get angry with the team; instead, he took responsibility for the loss himself.

“I didn’t get my average points, and my shooting percentage was only 49%. I didn’t do my job. In the next game, I will do my job, and then you guys do yours, and we can win.”

Gan Guoyang's calm demeanor eased the atmosphere within the team considerably.

Gan Guoyang is not Riley, nor is he Dick Motta. He doesn't need to force players or push them to their limits.

He is among the minority who, through self-motivation and rationality, can find solutions to problems and deliver his best performance.

And he believed in his teammates and in himself, and that they would definitely bounce back from rock bottom.

Head coach Jack Ramsey was also busy, and he quickly made adjustments to the lineup.

On May 15th at Reunion Arena in Dallas, in the third game between the two teams, Ramsey moved Gilmore to the starting lineup and Gan Guoyang to the power forward position.

This is Ramsey's most frequently used tactic this season: when in doubt, Ramsey goes to the power forward position.

Gan Guoyang is more flexible at the power forward position than at the center position, and plays with more intensity on both offense and defense.

The prerequisite is that there must be someone in the three-second zone who can cover the area during both offense and defense.

Thompson has been quite effective on offense this year, but his defensive prowess has diminished significantly.

Furthermore, while he excels in one-on-one defense, his help defense is average, and his light weight prevents him from consistently shouldering the responsibility of protecting the rim. Ramsey promoted Gilmore to the starting lineup to free up Gan Guoyang from the paint.

This tactic proved very effective. The Trail Blazers learned from their mistakes in Game 2 and went all out on defense from the start of Game 3.

Gan Guoyang spread out a wide net on the defensive end, tirelessly covering, helping, and reaching out to grab the ball to disrupt the Mavericks' offensive operations.

Meanwhile, on offense, he constantly received the ball in more outward positions, drawing double teams before passing it to the inside, to Gilmore, to Drexler cutting inside, to Porter cutting inside, allowing them to attack the basket efficiently.

This is a common offensive pattern in the "center-guard" system, and the Trail Blazers steadily suppressed the Mavericks in half-court offense.

The game fell into the Trail Blazers' rhythm: slow pace, fewer passes, and more three-pointers.

Porter dribbles the ball across half-court, which could take up to 5 seconds.

Gan Guoyang came out to receive the ball, but he no longer launched an attack immediately upon receiving it, unlike in the past.

Instead, we mainly observe, with everyone moving around to buy some time.

After 10 seconds, pass the ball, coordinate, and usually after three to four passes, you should shoot.

They won't endlessly pass the ball around on the field, and there will be no ineffective passes; they will take a shot whenever there is a slight opportunity.

The Mavericks were therefore unable to capitalize on any mistakes and had no way to counterattack, so they could only fight the Trail Blazers in a half-court battle.

Aguirre's biggest fear is Gan Guoyang's defense. When Gan Guoyang plays the power forward position, Aguirre frequently encounters Gan in mismatches.

Like Barkley, he could only pass the ball, forcing the Mavericks to reorganize their offense, which back and forth, causing them to lose their offensive rhythm.

Gan Guoyang dished out 12 assists in three quarters, setting a new personal record for assists in three quarters during the playoffs.

He maximized his defensive appeal, and when the game was about to end in the fourth quarter, he stepped up again, scoring repeatedly under the basket to help the Trail Blazers secure a 105-95 victory and take a 2-1 lead in the series.

甘国阳用一场30分15个篮板13次助攻2盖帽4抢断的全能表现拿下胜利，系列赛的主动权重新回到了开拓者手中。

Although in Game 4, the Dallas Mavericks made adjustments, relying on a surge in three-point shooting and Sam Bowie's sudden accuracy from beyond the arc—Bowie scored 21 points on 6 of 8 mid-range shots—to tie the series 2-2.

At this point, both sides knew each other inside and out, and the other Trail Blazers players had found their rhythm in the game.

Porter and Hornacek's shooting accuracy is getting better and better, and their inside cuts are becoming increasingly sharp.

Surrounding Gan Guoyang with multiple players becomes pointless and may even harm the team's defense.

Game 5, the pivotal Game 5, back in Portland, was a game that would decide the course of the series.

The Trail Blazers narrowly won at home with a score of 105-107.

Gan Guoyang made consecutive blocks on the Mavericks' seemingly inevitable layups in the final moments, securing a crucial victory.

Having secured a match point, the Trail Blazers will not let go of the opportunity to win the series.

In Game 6 in Dallas, the Mavericks put up an extremely tenacious fight.

The two sides battled through three overtime periods, fighting until they were completely exhausted, with five players from each side being sent off.

Mark Aguirre did not play in the crucial third overtime due to finger pain.

Gan Guoyang displayed his prowess, scoring 8 points in a row when everyone else was exhausted.

The Trail Blazers ultimately defeated the Mavericks 135-131 in a hard-fought three-and-a-half-hour battle at Reunion Arena, winning the series 4-2.

Gan Guoyang played through three overtimes, racking up a phenomenal 60 points and 21 rebounds, his jersey completely soaked with sweat.

In overtime, he scored 18 of the Trail Blazers' 20 points.

After the game, Gan Guoyang addressed reporters, saying to Bao Wei, "Your defense wasn't very good tonight, and I scored 60 points."

Gan Guoyang became the first and only player in NBA history to score 60 points twice in the playoffs.

His exceptional physical abilities played a crucial role in this brutal competition; sometimes, the final battle comes down to sheer stamina.

Following the Denver Nuggets, the Dallas Mavericks became the second victim.

From then on, in playoff games against the Trail Blazers, no one dared to mention the "60 points" statistic again.

(End of this chapter)