The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 511 Returning to Home Ground

The Eastern Conference title has been on Barkley's head for days, and it's time for Charles to consider how to face Forrest Gump in his first appearance on the NBA Finals stage.

In 1988, having Forrest Gump face Charles Barkley in the Finals was like Michael Jackson facing Prince Nelson.

The battle between two good friends drew people's attention to the NBA court. They defeated the Lakers and Celtics, the dominant forces in the East and West in the early 80s, respectively, in the conference finals, symbolizing the changing of the guard in the league.

Even more anticipated is the showdown between Forrest Gump and Jordan, and Barkley, a friend of both, beat him to the punch, leading a patched-up Bullets team that stumbled its way into the Finals.

In an ESPN interview in early 2000, Charles Barkley said, "I can't express how deep my friendship with Forrest Gump is. We met during the Olympic trials. He was special, the kind of person you could spot in a crowd and want to get to know (Forrest Gump: Of course, I'm Asian). Sometimes we were like brothers. He would cook for me, you know, only my mom and my grandma used to cook for me. He taught me a lot, and without him, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today."

In the 90s, the two were often photographed having meals together, bowling together, and occasionally playing golf with Michael Jordan. Forrest Gump wasn't very interested in golf, but he was the best golfer of the three, and he was good at making miracles with great force.

Some people have speculated that Forrest Gump's close relationship with Barkley and Jordan was a way to soften them and put them at a disadvantage in confrontations.

Charles Barkley, however, said, "Guys, Forrest Gump made me tougher, not the other way around."

The 1988 Trail Blazers faced countless troubles that season.

Even during the finals, everyone knew that they were going to be sold and changed owners.

Despite this unexpected upheaval, they made it to the end and are now aiming for their third consecutive championship trophy.

If this goal is achieved, it will be Forrest Gump, Clyde Drexler, Jack Ramsey, and the Trail Blazers entering the ranks of the greats.

Forrest Gump will officially surpass Bird, Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the true king of the 80s.

At the same time, this turmoil also provided the Washington Bullets with their best chance to defeat the Trail Blazers in the 80s Finals, allowing the Bullets to accomplish a feat that neither the Lakers nor the Celtics had been able to achieve.

Moreover, the Bullets garnered a lot of sympathy and support before the finals; they were truly a losers' alliance.

With the aging Moses Malone and Moncrief, the injured Bernard King, and the defeated Dick Motta, you can hardly find another team that resembles a Hollywood basketball movie, full of failure, decadence, and ruin, needing to prove itself to the world.

But they suffered a crushing defeat in the first game, a complete and utter defeat.

This wasn't their first time playing at Memorial Arena, but it was their first time playing the Grand Finals there.

The same venue, the same packed stands, but the atmosphere was completely different from the regular season.

Bernard King later said, "The Bullets were completely unprepared for the Finals. Before Game 1, we were still thinking about the tension and anxiety of Game 7 against the Celtics. In regular games, we're used to having a dozen or so cameras on you, but in the Finals, the number of cameras increased to over a hundred. I suggest that all teams that think they can win the championship should watch the Finals tapes carefully before the Finals begin."

"In comparison, the Trail Blazers have made it to the Finals for the third consecutive year."

After a poor performance, Charles Barkley turned to Moses Malone for help.

Malone simply patted Barkley on the shoulder and told him to go get some hamburgers.

Moses is the only Bullets player to have won a championship, and his composure inspired the team.

Yes, it's just the finals, nothing special, we can just play normally.

Bernard King even visited Forrest Gump's house and brought him some gifts in an attempt to corrupt him.

Before the fight, Dick Motta said that they came here not to create miracles, but simply because they would not give up.

The Bullets played as expected in Game 2, their form improved, and they caused the Trail Blazers a lot of trouble on defense.

The two teams battled fiercely through three overtime periods, with Dick Motta's gritty, physical prowess on full display in this game.

During the game, he acted more like a head coach than Wes Unseld at times, and he even had a verbal altercation with Jack Ramsey.

Jack Ramsey, who has a history of boxing Chuck Daly in last year's final, was stopped by the referee in time, and the two did not face off directly. In the first overtime, Ramsey's attack involved an elbow to Barkley's cheek—although unintentional, Barkley's face swelled up considerably, making him look even fatter.

After applying ice to his skin on the sidelines, Barkley refused to leave the court to rest, determined to stay and fight Forrest Gump to the bitter end.

Forrest Gump's exceptional stamina came into play in the third overtime, along with their home-court advantage—the Trail Blazers have been playing well at home this year.

Forrest scored 7 consecutive points in the third overtime, while Barkley missed his final shot.

113:115，开拓者主场2分的优势险胜子弹，大比分2:0领先。

阿甘拿下了42分19个篮板球4次封盖，巴克利拿下41分17个篮板球。

Their performance was equally impressive, and they became only the second pair of players, after Jerry West and John Havlicek, to score 40 points in the Finals in 1969.

“I gave it my all in the second game,” Barkley recalled. “But Forrest was better than me, he was just too good.”

Barkley spoke a bit too soon; he'll soon discover that Forrest Gump is even stronger than he thinks.

—Excerpt from "Barkley," a biography of Charles Barkley by Motiejunas, published in 2022.

The Trail Blazers took a 2-0 lead after the first two games, and the championship seemed to be in their grasp.

Portland media outlets are now discussing one thing: if the Trail Blazers win two out of three consecutive road games to take the championship, it means that none of their three championships were won at home.

"We are about to win our third consecutive championship, but we have never even won a championship at home."

Indeed, the Trail Blazers won the championship on the road in both 86 and 87, which always felt a little disappointing.

Some argue that if the Trail Blazers have the upper hand, they should drag the series to a sixth game to secure the championship at home.

Before leaving Portland, Jack Ramsey refuted this claim, saying, "Any lapse in concentration will lead to failure. The Trail Blazers are not at the point where they can control the outcome of the series. We will fight hard to win."

The Trail Blazers will certainly fight hard to win, and so will the Bullets, especially back in Washington.

The last time Washingtonians won the championship was exactly 10 years ago, and the people of the capital city are just as enthusiastic about the title.

In the third game of the finals, a large number of dignitaries were present at the Capital Indoor Stadium to watch the game, and the Bullets' morale reached its peak.

The Bullets rely heavily on morale to play, and with the home advantage, they brought their meat grinder defense to its fullest potential.

With the home-court advantage, the Bullets held the Trail Blazers to 15 points in the first quarter.

Gan Guoyang remained unstoppable, but the Bullets' extremely slow pace and tight, even brutal, defense caused the Trail Blazers' outside shooting to lose its accuracy.

The Trail Blazers' shooting touch has been inconsistent this year, with more nights of shooting sprees than in the previous two seasons.

The Bullets defeated the Trail Blazers 79-86 at home, pulling one game back and bringing the series score to 1-2.

The fourth game became extremely crucial. If the Bullets won the fourth game, the score would be tied 2-2, meaning the decisive Game 5 would be played in Washington.

The example of the Boston Celtics in 1986 is right before our eyes; the Trail Blazers won Game 5 in Portland and took control of the series.

At the end of Game 3, Charles Barkley yelled at Forrest Gump, "Sorry Sonny, you guys don't have a chance to sweep us!"

Gan Guoyang retorted, "We just want to win the championship back on our home turf!"

(End of this chapter)