The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 505 Comfort Zone
"Today is June 1st, Saturday, game day. Welcome to CBS NBA Live. I'm Dick Stockton, and tonight we'll be bringing you the Western Conference Finals, with the Portland Trail Blazers visiting the Los Angeles Lakers. This is Game 5 of the series, and the score is currently tied 2-2. This crucial Game 5 will determine the course of the series and who will win this year's Western Conference championship."

"According to statistics, when the score is tied 2-2, the team that wins Game 5 has an 83% chance of advancing. This game was undoubtedly decisive. The Trail Blazers, trailing 0-2, returned to Portland and tied the score, bringing both teams back to even. Tom, what are your thoughts on this game…?"

Tonight's NBA highlight is Game 5 between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers.

The outcome of this match could very well determine the final victory in the series.

Whoever wins will carry unparalleled momentum and advance to the finals in the sixth match.

Both teams are well aware of this, so this battle is one they cannot afford to lose.

The atmosphere before the match was extremely tense, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

This is the third time in four years that the two teams have met in the Western Conference Finals, and whoever wins the Western Conference title will be the NBA champion.

It's no exaggeration to say that the outcome of this match could very well determine who wins the championship this year.

Before the match began, both sides experienced some injuries.

Jerome Kossie had tight calf muscles, Drexler had a bruise on his elbow, and Gilmore had a swollen knee.

Magic Johnson has knee soreness, Byron Scott has ligament inflammation, and Michael Cooper has ankle pain.

However, no one from either team was absent; everyone played with injuries, received some treatment from the team doctor, and bravely took to the field despite the pain.

Gan Guoyang is the healthiest player on both teams. In the past four years, he has rarely suffered minor injuries, let alone major ones.

His most serious injuries were from the flu and from bruising his fist when he fought Lambiel.

His iron-like physique surprised the Trail Blazers' doctors; the intensity and duration of professional games are truly beyond what ordinary humans can withstand.

In terms of resisting injuries, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can rival Gan Guoyang, and a healthy body and superior physical fitness are the key to standing out among the stars.

At this moment, the two ironmen are standing in the center circle, ready for the jump ball. The referee for tonight is Earl Strom.

As usual, Strom reminded Forrest Gump: "Play basketball well, don't hit people, don't fight."

“I haven’t fought in a long time, let’s kick off, Earl,” Gan Guoyang said.

Strom tossed the ball into the air, and the game began.

The Trail Blazers scored their first point surprisingly quickly.

Although Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wasn't very good at jumping, he used his height and wingspan advantage to get to the ball first in the contest.

The ball was passed to Byron Scott, who was about to pass it to Magic Johnson when Gan Guoyang suddenly intercepted it and dribbled all the way to the basket.

The Lakers players had all run up the frontcourt to prepare for the attack, but no one returned to defend, and they could only watch helplessly as Gan Guoyang easily dunked and scored.

2: 0.

This shot is reminiscent of Gan Guoyang's first professional game against the Lakers, where he scored his first goal in a similar fashion.

A stunning dunk shocked the Great Western Forum arena.

This shot showcased his focus, aggression, and strong desire to win.

Seeing this, Don Nelson paced back and forth anxiously on the sidelines.

Although it was only the first goal, it was not a good sign.

After losing two straight games in Portland, the momentum of the series has shifted back to the Trail Blazers.

Once back at home, the Lakers must quickly seize control of the high ground and regain the initiative.

Otherwise, the game would be very difficult, and Agan's performance has been getting better and better since the first game.

Multiple teammates are no longer very effective against him; this guy is exceptionally agile on offense and his coordination with his teammates is getting better and better.

In the third and fourth games, Gan Guoyang reduced his low-post attacks and instead focused on transition offense, utilizing mid-range shots.

Don Nelson was really envious of a center who could play so nimbly. He was confident that if he had a center like that, he could break the NBA regular season win record.

"Post! Post!"

On the court, Magic Johnson loudly directed his teammates to move, instructing Worthy to run to the low post.

Worthy established position on the left low post, Johnson passed the ball, and Worthy received it to launch an attack.

As a result, Worthy's turnaround shot was blocked by Gan Guoyang, who came over to help defend!

Worthy was too confident in his speed; he didn't execute the details of his turn and shot properly.

After successfully blocking the shot and regaining possession, Gan Guoyang passed the ball to Porter, letting him organize the half-court offense. "Don't even think about scoring inside, James, unless you can shoot from the outside," Gan Guoyang shouted at Worthy.

Worthy's shooting is exceptionally poor for a small forward; his shooting percentage drops sharply beyond 15 feet.

Worthy was hit where it hurt by Gan Guoyang. His outside shooting has improved a lot in the past two years, but his improvement is limited due to his early training.

With Don Nelson taking over this season, Worthy's tactical importance has declined. This year was supposed to be his best year, but his role in the playoffs has gradually diminished.

Especially in the Western Conference Finals, Don Nelson really liked to use a three-guard lineup plus two towers, which meant that Worthy could only sit on the bench with AC Green.

This has a direct impact on his performance on the field, resulting in fewer opportunities to play, a decline in his statistics, and most importantly, difficulty in finding his rhythm in the game.

Terry Porter then hit a pull-up jumper on offense, giving the Trail Blazers a 4-0 lead.

However, under the basket, AC Green and Mitchell Thompson got into a physical altercation and started exchanging profanities.

Strom quickly came over to stop the two and let the match continue.

Thompson wasn't supposed to play tonight; his wife was about to give birth.

The Trail Blazers allowed him to take leave to be with his wife and children, as family is the most important thing.

But Thompson insisted on coming to Los Angeles with the team, saying he had already been distracted by his family too much during the regular season.

He doesn't want to have any regrets in this playoffs, so he must participate and win this game.

With this strong belief, Thompson played with extreme aggression.

The Lakers gave the ball back to Worthy, but this time Worthy's turnaround jump shot was interfered with by Thompson and missed.

Thompson turned and squeezed past AC Green to grab the defensive rebound, then made a long pass to the frontcourt, where Drexler drove straight to the basket.

On the flank, Gan Guoyang followed up, and Drexler made a beautiful bounce pass. Gan Guoyang caught the ball, took off, and slammed it home with one hand!
Gan Guoyang scored two more points, giving the Trail Blazers a 6-0 lead over the Lakers at the start of the game.

Johnson and Kareem then executed a simple screen play.

Johnson, who was double-teamed, made a bounce pass to the inside, where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar received the ball, took a long stride, drove to the basket, and dunked with one hand.

The once-silent Great Western Forum finally came alive as the Lakers scored their first goal in Game 5.

But Porter immediately followed up with a mid-range pull-up jumper. Porter played very aggressively tonight, with extremely decisive shots.

Byron Scott missed a three-pointer, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound, putting the Lakers in a very bad position.

Gan Guoyang dribbled the ball across half-court, passed it to Porter, and then to Drexler.

Thompson set a screen for Gan Guoyang, who cut to the basket and then went around to the baseline to receive the ball.

To break down Don Nelson's relentless early double-teams and multiple-player encirclements, Ramsey devised a tactic for Gan Guoyang to receive the ball.

Gan Guoyang received the ball on the baseline and faced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar one-on-one. He pulled up for a mid-range shot and made it!

With a 10-2 lead at the start, the Trail Blazers called a timeout.

Don Nelson is still betting on Johnson, and he doesn't want Magic to keep passing the ball around.

"Magic, we need you to attack. Drexler is no match for you. Go all out on offense and put pressure on their guards. We won't worry about the paint for now. We need speed, we need to score, we need to find our rhythm. This game should belong to us. Don't give them any chances. I hope that our current deficit is the last we fall behind in this game!"

Like Jack Ramsey, Don Nelson trusts his team's biggest ace and needs him to step up and decide the course of the game.

However, Don Nelson didn't notice that James Worthy took off his goggles, sat on the bench, and looked very unwell.

Cobra was unhappy with his role on the team, and Johnson noticed this as well. He told Nelson, "Nelli, I think we should trust Worthy and give him enough opportunities to attack the basket and cause problems for Agnes. Constantly making me attack isn't the rhythm of the game I'm used to."

Nellie is Nelson's nickname, and Johnson's words put him in a dilemma.

Just as they were still arguing, the timeout was over, and both sides returned to the stage.

Nelson looked somewhat helpless and gestured for the players to hurry up. He patted Johnson on the shoulder, indicating that he agreed with his decision and let Johnson play according to his own ideas.

But Nelson believed that if Johnson could fully utilize his offensive advantages, the Trail Blazers' backcourt wouldn't be able to hold up.

While the three-guard lineup has encountered problems, Johnson should try to beat Forrest Gump in one-on-one battles instead of avoiding them and returning to his comfortable playing style.

There's nothing we can do; the Lakers are Johnson's team, and no one can challenge his position.

The game continued, but not according to Nelson's plan.

(End of this chapter)