The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 323 - 59 Getting Darker and Darker

Like the "Memorial Day Massacre" in the first game of the 1985 finals, this "Silverdome Massacre" was also tinted with the hyperbole of North American media.

After all, in the so-called "massacre," there was really only one person who bled—Bill Lambier.

He was punched for standing too close to Gan Guoyang, his nose started bleeding, and for the rest of the game, he stuffed a wad of cotton in his left nostril to stop the bleeding.

Tonight, Lambier felt extremely wronged because he hadn’t laid a hand on Ah Gan in the game, and he hadn’t even spoken many taunts.

But still, he got hit!

Moreover, that guy, lacking in martial ethics, used his fist and even ambushed him, making all his fall-breaking skills useless.

And although Gan Guoyang was ejected from the game, it seemed like the punch was worth it. But upon further thought, even without getting hit, Gan Guoyang would have still been thrown out.

It looked like Ah Gan still came out on top, and Lambier felt very resentful. He resolved that next time he wouldn’t join the fray and would be better off running away as fast as Thomas did.

As for Melvin Turpin, who took a solid fall, after being checked in the locker room, he was a bit dizzy but otherwise fine—Gan Guoyang had carefully protected Turpin’s neck when he threw him down.

Vinnie Johnson and Joe Dumars were totally unscathed, Johnson caught by fans, and Dumars only having fallen down and felt a bit of pain.

However, Thomas was a bit different; his body wasn’t hurt, but his spirit was shocked, and most importantly, he’d lost face.

If you have the guts, go up and fight, and if you can’t win, there’s nothing you can do, the difference in build is too great. But what’s with running away if you can’t win?

If Thomas were cowardly by nature, or shameless like Lambier, that would be one thing, but he was a fiercely prideful person.

He grew up in the most dangerous neighborhoods of Chicago, filled with drugs, guns, and violence—one of his brothers died of drugs.

But Isiah Thomas was well protected by his siblings, steering clear from those depraving influences, and eventually became a great basketball star.

Yet, he always carried the tough mark of the Chicago area, branded by the gunfire of his youth, and Thomas wore it as a badge of honor.

Therefore, when Michael Jordan became a hero in Chicago and everyone at home cheered for Michael, Thomas felt so disquieted—he wanted to oppose Michael.

But faced with the ferocious Ah Gan, Thomas actually ran away. After calming down, he was ashamed of his own flight.

Sitting on the bench, dazing off, there was a moment when he doubted himself, wondering if, without his brothers’ protection, he was actually a coward.

Or perhaps, it was their protection that had well hidden his weakness, concealed behind his smile, concealed behind the likes of Lambier and Turpin.

He hadn’t listened to a word Daley said. Afterwards, in the rest of the game, Thomas played as if sleepwalking, unable to stop thinking: Am I really a coward?

His shots became hesitant, his field goals kept clanking off the rim, and his drives lost all finesse. After a series of misses and turnovers, Daley had no choice but to bench Thomas.

Daley knew Thomas’s mental state and consoled him, "Zeke, avoid when it’s time to avoid, that’s not weakness. It’s like if you’re unarmed and encounter someone with a gun, would you not run away, but rather charge in to get shot? That’s not toughness; it’s stupidity."

Zeke was a nickname for Thomas, given to him by Georgetown’s guard John Duren during the Pan American Games.

When they were discussing defensive strategies, "Isiah, Isiah" seemed too much of a mouthful for Duren, so he gave Thomas the sharp and snappy nickname "Zeke."

Thomas didn’t agree with Daley’s comfort, shaking his head he said, "He didn’t have a gun."

Daley said, "With the type of danger he represents, what’s the difference from having a gun? You should know, a professional combat athlete with bare hands is equivalent to being armed."

"He isn’t a professional combat athlete."

"Close enough, he’s a beast. I’d bet that some pro fighters couldn’t even take him on. Besides, Zeke, our main goal now is to win the game, don’t get involved with things irrelevant to the match. If we win, this is all worth it. If we lose, on the other hand, it’s much worse, isn’t it?"

Daley made sense. If after all the trouble they still lost, then the Pistons really would have lost doubly.

Thomas struggled to collect his emotions, something he wasn’t as good at as Bill Lambier.

Lambier only felt aggrieved for 30 seconds, being the only one to take a hit and get injured, now having cotton stuffed in his nose like a clown, yet he still continued his performance on the court.

He drew a defensive foul from Drexler in the paint, then pushed Thompson around on offense, which allowed Tripucka to snatch an offensive rebound and score with a put-back.

On the defensive side, he harassed Bill Walton with his subtle moves, and after being called for a foul, he complained to the referee pitifully, pointing to his nose and saying, "I’m already beaten up like this, how can you still call a foul on me?"

The man was all rough-and-tumble, utterly shameless, not dwelling on toughness or self-pride. What he cared about was winning the game.

This is why Thomas was the Pistons’ core player, the number one star, but the real soul of the team was Bill Lambier.

Although the Trail Blazers had lost their spiritual leader, the courage left behind by Gan Guoyang was enough to spur the Trail Blazers’ players to fight bravely.

Bill Walton held up the Trail Blazers’ interior offense and defense, making both free throws, and then blocked Joe Dumars on defense.

In the counterattack, after receiving a pass from Drexler, he made a 45-degree bank jump shot. He continuously contributed on both ends, helping the team maintain their lead.

By the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers were fighting more and more fiercely. Drexler and the elder Walton demonstrated their court control, using smart passing and cutting to penetrate the Pistons’ already shaky defense.

Referee Stern enforced stricter rules, not wanting the tensions to escalate further. Gan Guoyang’s outburst was shocking enough, and if things got worse Stern would have referee problems on his hands.

With Drexler scoring 12 points and dishing out 4 assists in the fourth quarter, and Walton contributing 8 points, 4 rebounds, two blocks, and 3 assists, the duo joined forces to secure the victory.

The Trail Blazers left the Silverdome unscathed, winning 109:103 with a six-point lead over the Detroit Pistons, snatching a hard-earned victory after sacrificing their team leader.

After the game, Gan Guoyang’s rampage at the Silverdome once again caused a stir in the All-America sports world, dominating the headlines of newspapers and news the next day with "Silverdome Massacre."

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang did not hurt anyone, fortunately, it was the Pistons he fought, and fortunately, it was the players who were involved in the conflict, so most people treated the incident with a sense of entertainment.

Gan Guoyang earned himself a few more nicknames, such as "Silverdome Killer," "Michigan Butcher," "Detroit Funeral Industry Giant," "Insomnia Therapist."

Media from Chicago, Cleveland, and others with grievances against the Detroit Pistons went all out in their ridicule, with headlines and comments of every variety, like "Melvin Turpin’s funeral held at the Silverdome, Bill Lambier buried in attendance."

"The only time Bill Lambier was innocent, catching a punch for enjoying the spectacle."

"We think it’s fair, given Lambier’s record, that Ah Gan punched him for being in that spot, as it was self-defense."

"Next time there’s a conflict, Lambier should consider jumping onto the scorer’s table to prove his innocence and avoid getting hit."

"Isiah Thomas to represent America in the 200-meter dash at the Olympics, his cornering technique is astonishing."

"Strus had his most kindergarten-teacher-like moment, playing duck duck goose with Thomas and Ah Gan."

The Pistons once again showed their notorious reputation in basketball circles. It was only 1986, and they hadn’t reached their most flagrant point yet.

This "massacre" certainly did not stop the Pistons from continuing down that path; instead, it led them further and darker.

[ ... Thomas took some time to emerge from the shadows. He was a person with a strong sense of self-awareness, and when he refocused on the basketball court, I knew he was fine, still the same Zeke.

The only effect on Bill was a sore nose for a couple of days, but he recovered quickly and believed he’d become stronger, even starting to pick up some boxing techniques.

But the one most affected was truly Melvin Turpin. I believe that fall made him discover something that had been hidden within him.

He changed. He became more like Lambier, doing anything necessary for victory, no longer hesitating, no longer lazy. I think he should be grateful to Ah Gan, thankful for that fierce fall. ] 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

— Excerpt from "Tales from the Detroit Pistons," published in 2004 by Rick Mahorn and Joe Dumars.