The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 365 - 99 Portland Night

The Trail Blazers lost the second game 109:115. The defeat was expected, as the Celtics wouldn’t allow both home games to slip away.

In the battle for pace control, the Celtics emerged victorious, constantly accelerating the game speed and doubling down on Guoyang Gan, even at the risk of committing fouls.

They forced the Trail Blazers’ offense towards Drexler, who initially managed to maintain the rhythm but gradually lost his grip as the game progressed.

After all, speed was his forte, and Drexler would seize any opportunity for a fast break when possible.

Gan Guoyang still contributed splendidly on defense, but the Celtics rose to the challenge—Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish relentlessly attacked the basket, testing Gan Guoyang’s rim protection.

Throughout the game, Gan Guoyang amassed eight blocks, but the Celtics also gained from their tactics, drawing fouls on him repeatedly.

He had to sit out during the latter half of the second quarter and the start of the fourth, with Walton replacing him. Unfortunately, Walton couldn’t match Guoyang’s defensive prowess.

Larry Bird had an extremely efficient night, and Coach Ramsay didn’t assign Gan Guoyang to guard Bird in the third quarter—he knew it would be pointless as Bird’s hot streak was already in full swing.

Bird was 4 for 5 from three-point range, 9 for 17 from two-point range, and perfect from the free-throw line, scoring 35 points. His spectacular performance drove the Boston Garden fans wild, rendering Guoyang’s 40 points for the night meaningless.

Of course, Bird showed no smile after the win. Returning to the locker room, he still frowned; this was not the victory he had envisioned.

He hoped the whole team could thrive, with seven or eight players scoring in double figures, using a collective offense to tear through the Trail Blazers’ defense—not for him to shoulder the main burden alone.

Tonight at home, his shooting touch was indeed hot, as he arrived at Boston Garden two hours early for warm-ups to get his hands heated.

But on the road, he couldn’t guarantee that he could score 35 points every game. His average points per game had dropped to 24 during the regular season, and their 68 wins were a team victory, not his alone.

Ah Gan was as solid and terrifying as ever, unshakeable in the paint. His hook shot was even more formidable than Jabbar’s, because he also had a fadeaway jumper and a three-pointer in his arsenal.

When defending against Jabbar, the Celtics could force him to use his left hand, causing his hook shots and turn-around jumpers to be less effective.

Against Ah Gan, none of those defensive strategies worked. Robert Parish was nearly broken by him in two games, while Kevin McHale got tangled up with Thompson.

Only Dennis Johnson and Marques Johnson could offer help. The Boston Celtics transformed from a team with a proud frontcourt into a backcourt team—all because of the presence of Ah Gan.

The two teams didn’t stay too long in Boston, flying out to Portland the next morning and afternoon respectively.

When the Trail Blazers returned to their stronghold with a victory, the fans bestowed upon them an incredible outpouring of passion and support.

At Portland Airport, at least twice the facility’s capacity worth of people came to meet the team. The fans were everywhere; they were so numerous that the airport was no longer able to operate normally.

They were holding banners, shouting, screaming, singing, dancing, and every single person was bubbling with enthusiasm. A scene like this last occurred back in 1977.

Back then, they were in a worse situation, trailing 0:2 in the series. Yet, the fans were still fervent, and their craziness helped the Trail Blazers turn the series around.

This time, the situation is much better; they have reclaimed home court advantage, and unlike in 1977, the next three consecutive finals games will all be held in Portland.

In the end, police escorts cleared the way for the players to leave the airport, and Gan Guoyang was treated as a hero in Portland.

On June 5, the day of the game, when Gan Guoyang got up early to run his routine warm-up, he found that the area near his home had become a congregation spot for fans.

Many people had arrived, including his Gonzaga University classmates, who were camping out in the community, streets, and parks, as if attending a large music festival.

They came because all the hotels in the city were fully booked.

Quentin Stephenson told Gan Guoyang that Trail Blazers fans were everywhere, from Lake Mountain Park to the Willamette River, downtown, at the Paramount Theatre, and all the way to the Memorial Coliseum.

Some were locals from Portland, while many had traveled from various parts of Oregon. Since the Memorial Coliseum could only seat just over ten thousand, the majority couldn’t watch the game in person. They came to Portland just to add to the championship atmosphere.

When Gan Guoyang stepped out of his house, he was like a rock star, with everyone cheering and shouting at him.

Gan Guoyang glanced around and saw many women, some dressed in very little. He had no doubt some of them would be willing to streak for him—streaking was common in Oregon.

Gan Guoyang had to cancel his routine morning run and returned home to have breakfast with Wang Fuxi, spending a noisy morning at home.

Gonzaga University classmates, coaches, and teachers visited, and Gan Guoyang distributed the tickets among them, all being great seats close to the front.

This year, Gonzaga University once again made it to the NCAA Tournament and was, as per tradition, eliminated in the first round. However, Beelman’s coaching ability had been recognized.

I wonder when he will betray us.

Stockton was among the crowd. While he came to watch the game, he also issued a formal wedding invitation to Gan Guoyang, at the place previously mentioned in Oregon’s Rogue Valley.

The wedding was initially scheduled for early June, but had to be postponed to mid-June so Gan Guoyang could finish the finals. Guoyang accused Stockton, "You actually didn’t anticipate that I could make it to the finals and set the wedding so early, that’s on you."

The Gonzaga Bulldog players and coaches all received invitations.

As the hostess, Wang Fuxi welcomed everyone at home.

Coach Fitz loudly asked Gan Guoyang, "Sonny, when are you planning to get married? Why not just win the championship and have the wedding with John right after?"

Wang Fuxi blushed at the comment, excusing herself with a kitchen errand to avoid the topic, while Gan Guoyang gave a noncommittal response, "Let’s win the championship first."

"Sonny, you are so decisive in other matters; why not as much as John in this one? You are not someone who wavers." Beelman inquired in a senior’s tone.

"It’s a challenge, Mr. Beelman. Why don’t you remarry?" retorted Gan Guoyang.

"I’ve already married basketball, and I am loyally devoted, till death do us part," Beelman said.

At 7 p.m. Pacific Time, Game 3 of the finals took place in Portland Memorial Coliseum.

It was very difficult for Gan Guoyang and his players to even get to the coliseum because the nearby streets were packed with people.

All the young people who had camped out in Downtown Portland and the parks had gathered near the coliseum, determined to listen to the game on the radio if they couldn’t get inside to watch.

Someone somehow procured a television, hooked up the power, turned on the antenna, placed the TV on a high stand, and set it up amidst the crowd to broadcast the finals live.

The scene outside was exceedingly boisterous, and inside it was deafening. The noise level was so intense before the game had even started that it made your ears buzz, far worse than during the Western Conference Finals.

When the on-site DJ announced the players, no one could hear clearly who was being introduced; the Celtics players were especially bewildered, finding Portland even noisier than the Boston Garden.

As the Trail Blazers players took to the court, the noise escalated even further, to the point where you thought your ears had ceased to exist.

The players relied solely on instinct to enter the game; as soon as they heard the cue, they rushed onto the court. After all, Gan Guoyang was the last one to enter.

Gan Guoyang’s appearance sent the atmosphere in the arena to a climax. This unimaginable enthusiasm provoked a tumultuous spirit in every Trail Blazer player.

Honestly, even the seasoned Celtics players were taken aback by how insanely passionate Portlanders were about basketball.

In Boston, the Celtics were historically not that highly regarded, given the city’s plethora of professional sports teams.

In the Boston Garden, their status wasn’t even as high as that of the hockey team; they only warmed up in the arena during the playoffs.

The Trail Blazers were different; they were the pride and joy of the entire state of Oregon.

Once the game began, the Trail Blazers executed peak offensive and defensive plays.

Gan Guoyang had always been a player whose fighting spirit and attack strength surged together.

He had never encountered a situation where he was overly eager at home and ended up with nerves, figuratively speaking.

After suffering a setback in the previous game, the Trail Blazers launched a fierce offensive, making the Celtics look mediocre like a college basketball team.

They were undoubtedly intimidated by the vast and mighty presence of Portland, affecting their game performance.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Celtics seemed to wake from their slumber, frantically trying to catch up. But it was too late.

It was a night for the people of Portland. With a score of 105:115, the Trail Blazers crushed the Boston Celtics on their home turf.

Leading the series 2:1, they took another step toward the championship.

[Portland fans are the craziest I’ve ever seen. Compared to them, Boston basketball fans truly seem minor league, though it’s said that Portland was almost named Boston in its history.]

———— Excerpt from Larry Bird’s autobiography "Drive: the story of my life", published in 1989.