The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 515 Avengers

Gan Guoyang rarely plays in a state of anger.

His anger was more terrifying than his tranquility.

At this moment, his neural recruitment ability and adrenaline levels reach their peak.

He was like a tank rampaging across the field; anyone who got in his way was doomed.

The Washington Bullets are practically a tank team, with two tanks in the paint, and they've been dominating the league.

Now, the T-34 and Sherman have met the Type 55, which completely overwhelms them in terms of frontal and side armor and firepower.

With his tank fully fueled and in a frenzied state, Gan Guoyang wreaked havoc on the basketball hoops at the Capital Gymnasium.

In the paint, Gan Guoyang would dunk whenever he could after penetrating the three-second zone, never attempting a hook shot or layup.

He maximized his strength and explosive power.

Moses Malone and Barkley, who are known for their strength, were both in pain after being hit by Gan Guoyang.

In one play, Gan Guoyang was mismatched against Barkley, and like a bulldozer, he forced his way into the paint and scored, drawing a foul from Barkley.

This is Barkley. Although he is only 6 feet 6 inches tall, he weighs over 270 pounds, which is heavier than most centers in the league.

In the entire league, only Forrest Gump could push Barkley into the paint like that, score the ball, and draw a foul.

Barkley couldn't take it anymore and said, "Forrest Gump, what's wrong with you? Go play football! Why are you still playing basketball!"

Gan Guoyang ignored Barkley's barking, stepped up to the free-throw line and made the free throw, bringing the score to 79-72, with the Trail Blazers leading by 7 points.

The Bullets have been attacking with all their might to keep the score close, with Bernard King and Moncrief taking a lot of one-on-one shots, and Barkley and Malone fighting tooth and nail for rebounds in the paint.

Dick Motta was yelling and shouting on the sidelines. They were fighting for every ball, and the situation on the field had become extremely intense.

But the bullets just couldn't catch up, because they couldn't defend against Gan Guoyang; even with three people hanging on him, they couldn't stop him.

In the most difficult third championship, with only one step away from the finish line, Gan Guoyang transformed all the resentment, helplessness, fatigue and anxiety of the entire season into anger, and into endless motivation on the field, launching a fierce attack on his opponent.

His exceptional physical abilities and strong willpower were on full display in this match.

Once he got into the zone, he kept attacking, while his opponent kept adjusting and blocking him, but he continued to attack.

He used simple and efficient offensive methods, like a battering ram, to bombard the dense defense that the bullets were so proud of.

Gan Guoyang originally used mid-range shots to dodge the dense defense of the bullets.

Now that he's not hiding, I'm going to break through your defenses head-on, and crush your patchwork of tall, short, fat, and thin figures.

The Bullets deployed their players, with Malone, Barkley, Lagos, Ball, and Rick Mahorn taking turns to form a human wall to block Forrest Gump at any time.

But it was no use. Gan Guoyang didn't play any fancy tricks; he just went for a direct, forceful attack.

He didn't need speed or explosive power in the first step; he just used force to squeeze in.

A center usually only needs to score two or three of these kinds of plays per game.

Gan Guoyang attacked at least ten such balls in the second half, and each time he made a contribution.

You either squeeze under the basket for a hook shot, or the opponent fouls you, sending you to the free-throw line.

Mahon and Barkley tried to grab Gan Guoyang several times, but it was no use.

He can still score, but you'll get a penalty for the foul.

This psychologically damaging tactic not only shattered the Bullets' physical defenses, but also gradually broke down the mental defenses that the Bullets had built up throughout the playoffs.

Gan Guoyang's goal is not only to scatter the Washington bullets, but also to scatter everyone who wants to sabotage things behind the scenes.

In the fourth quarter, when he scored on a fast break while hanging over Rick Mahone, he showed off his hot biceps to the entire arena.

He wanted to tell everyone that if they wanted to defeat him, they should come at him head-on on the court; he, Gan, was not afraid.

Any underhanded tactics are useless and only make you a laughingstock.

Gan Guoyang made the free throw, bringing his total to 50 points!
With 50 points remaining in the Finals, the Trail Blazers led the Bullets 95-82, a 13-point advantage.

The Bullet Team finally couldn't keep up; their defense collapsed, and their offense faltered.

Dick Motta wanted to inspire his players to keep going, but the words caught in his throat. What could you say in the face of such a performance? Motta knew it was over; the series was lost.

He had experienced the despair of a 1:3 deficit before; in 1979, he even managed to turn the tide.

But Motta knew that this Trail Blazers team was not the Spurs, and Forrest Gump was not George Gervin.

The plus-size female singer hadn't sung yet, but Mota had already seen her waiting backstage, ready to begin.

With a score of 103-90, the Trail Blazers defeated the Washington Bullets by 13 points on the road, securing a crucial fourth victory.

With a 3-1 lead, they are just one game away from a great three-peat.

Gan Guoyang scored 53 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, and had 6 blocks.

He delivered a dominant performance on both offense and defense, making the 1988 Finals his own personal stage.

Charles Barkley was excellent, but he was far from being as good as Forrest Gump in terms of overall ability.

In the crucial fourth game, he only scored 18 points, which was completely in contrast to Gan Guoyang's explosive performance.

After the game, Jerome Kossie went to see his father, but he returned shortly afterward.

He told Forrest Gump, "I felt like he was a stranger to me, and I was confused. Why is he here now? He almost ruined my championship game."

Gan Guoyang said, "I also want to know why he came now. But only you can ruin the finals, not anyone else. Don't let these things bother you."

Kexi nodded; he undoubtedly needed time to process this.

Gan Guoyang asked Ke Xi, "Did your father tell you how he got in touch with the team, and through whom?"

Kossi thought for a moment and said, "He said it was Mr. Sporstra."

"Spoelstra?"

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "This guy went to Miami, with Inman and... "
-
On June 19th, the Trail Blazers and the Bullets faced off in their fifth game.

Ticket prices for this game have plummeted because, regardless of the outcome tonight, the Bullets won't be able to turn the tide of the series.

If they win this game, the sixth and seventh games will be played in Portland, where they will most likely witness the Trail Blazers win the championship at home and complete their three-peat.

Losing this game is even more pointless; witnessing the Trail Blazers win the championship at home is nothing to watch, so it's much easier to buy tickets for this game.

As expected, the Trail Blazers didn't go all out in this game, but instead displayed the focus and intensity they showed in the regular season.

Gan Guoyang even transformed from a tank into a small tricycle, abandoning his fierce demeanor from Game 4 and starting to joke around with Barkley and Bernard King during the game.

The Trail Blazers' mindset is clear: they'll play this game casually; if they win, great; if not, all the better, and then they'll go back to Portland for Game 6.

It's really hard to believe that they won three championships but none of them at home.

Meanwhile, the Bullet Team's morale was shattered by Gan Guoyang in the fourth game.

Knowing full well that the Trail Blazers were throwing the game in an attempt to win the championship at home, they didn't show the courage to say, "If you dare to do that, I dare to turn the series around."

After all, to win two away games in a row, they would need a killer to kill Forrest Gump.

It was a clearly deliberate loss, with the Trail Blazers ultimately losing 90-100, a 10-point margin against the Bullets.

Even the CBS commentators noticed, "The Trail Blazers want to go back to their home court and let the whole of Portland celebrate their three-peat."

At the end of the game, the Trail Blazers players looked relaxed, full of confidence in winning the championship back at home.

Just as Gan Guoyang was leaving the Capital Indoor Stadium with his teammates, he saw several familiar figures in the parking lot.

It's Stu Inman, Spoelstra, and Pat Riley.

They were talking to Jack Ramsey and Buckwalt.

Riley seemed to notice Gan Guoyang's gaze and glanced in the direction of the bus.

Their eyes met, and Riley smiled at Gan Guoyang, waved, and held up three fingers, seemingly congratulating him on winning his third consecutive championship.

But Gan Guoyang suddenly understood something, and his anger disappeared.

"Damn it. He's just an interesting guy."

(End of this chapter)