The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 353 - 88 The Resentful Person

The conflict between Porter and Sampson was simple: Porter had scored on Sampson twice in a row during the second half.

When Porter tried to drive inside for the third time, Sampson hit Porter with a big move.

The referee called a foul on Sampson, but Porter didn’t make a big deal out of it, got up, and continued the game, soon after stealing the ball from Sampson on defense.

This steal drove Sampson crazy, and later, when the Rockets were on offense, Porter was defending Mitchell Wiggins, while Sampson ran forward, continuously blocking Porter. Porter pushed Sampson away with his hands, and an infuriated Sampson responded with a punch.

Afterward, the two struggled and Porter ended up with a swollen cheek from a punch.

And Olajuwon’s arm was twisted painfully, but he wasn’t injured—it was a case of collateral damage.

With Sampson ejected from the game, it meant that the Rockets had completely lost any hope of a turnaround; the game would go to a game seven.

Gan Guoyang apologized to Olajuwon on the court, saying he got a bit carried away, but luckily he didn’t use his full strength.

Olajuwon was sweating bullets, thinking it was fortunate that when he and Sampson joked about a chokehold and a punch, it was just that, a joke.

If it had actually happened, it might have ended with one dead and one injured. This guy really did know ’Kung Fu’; Chinese people are truly fearsome.

In reality, it was just an instinctual reaction from Gan Guoyang after practicing wrestling; he had quite a bit of research on human joints.

Since it was the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets certainly wouldn’t give up easily, and both teams’ main players had to stay on the court and continue the game.

But Sampson’s punch not only failed to boost the team’s morale, it actually deflated the Rockets.

They were too far behind, and taking your frustration out on a small guard was really not a good look.

Olajuwon also felt disappointed, his arm throbbing with pain, and Fitch complained to the referees that Ah Gan should have been thrown out.

But, in the end, the referees only charged Gan Guoyang with a common foul, since Olajuwon pulled on Gan first, and Gan’s reaction was normal, not an intentional attempt to harm.

Jack Ramsay benched Bill Walton, who couldn’t be allowed to play any longer on the court—his knees were almost smoking.

Thompson and Gan’s partnership wasn’t as dynamic, but it was very steady and robust, and there was no problem guarding the remaining lead.

As time slowly ebbed away, the Trail Blazers slowed the pace, eventually keeping the lead over 15 points.

The score ended at 119:102, with the Trail Blazers pulling themselves back from the brink of elimination in game six.

A thorough and satisfying victory. Apart from falling behind early, the Trail Blazers quickly found their offensive rhythm.

The inside duo of Walton and Gan Guoyang was more flexible than the Houston Twin Towers.

Gan Guoyang scored a total of 47 points for the game, along with 14 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 4 assists.

This was his second time scoring over 40 points in the series; he had perfectly combined team and personal offense.

As the final buzzer sounded, Gan Guoyang and Walton shook hands and embraced; they cooperated for a perfect game.

All the Trail Blazers came to the side of the court, circled up, and Gan told everyone, "Just one more game, back in Portland, we will win, we must take it! No one can stop us, not even God!"

Amidst the chants for divine blessing, the Trail Blazers players headed to the locker room.

The mood wasn’t exactly cheerful, as everyone knew there was still a game seven; no one knew what could happen.

But the atmosphere was no longer oppressive and heavy. All the tension and anxiety were temporarily relieved by the victory on the road.

Jack Ramsay sat slumped in front of the locker, his clothes soaked with sweat, clearly indicating how nervous he was and how relieved he felt after securing the victory.

Gan Guoyang draped his arm over Ramsay’s shoulder, saying, "You didn’t even play, how can you sweat so much? I played 48 minutes, and I barely perspired."

Gan Guoyang played the entire game without a minute’s rest, but for him, with his exceptional stamina, it was a piece of cake.

Ramsay’s reasonable use of Gan during the regular season, reducing his court time, and Walton’s presence meant that he didn’t suffer from fatigue during the Western Conference Finals.

Ramsay glanced at Gan and responded, "Then you keep it up next game, 48 minutes."

"No problem, that’s what I’m paid so much for."

The following morning, on May 26, the entire Trail Blazers team flew back to Portland.

At Portland Airport, the number of citizens welcoming the Trail Blazers exceeded three thousand, a spectacular sight.

The airport parking lot was completely filled with cars, and after the Trail Blazers players got off the plane and picked up their luggage, they found they couldn’t get out.

Finally, the Portland Police Department urgently dispatched a group of officers to maintain order and clear a path for the Trail Blazers players to board the bus smoothly.

The enthusiasm of Portland fans was even more intense than last season. During game six in Houston, Memorial Coliseum and the Paramount Theatre were packed.

The staff conducted a live broadcast on the scene with a radio set, while Bill Schonely stared at the TV at the press seats, commenting on the game as he watched.

Behind Schonely, a multitude of fans encircled him, watching the television with him, while other fans who couldn’t see the TV stood on their seats, listening to the broadcast.

At first, everyone was very anxious, but when time and again they heard "Sonny Gan scores with a layup, Sonny Gan scores with a jump shot, Sonny Gan scores with a hook shot", their hearts were lifted and released, ultimately descending from their throats down into their bellies.

When the game ended, the cheers were deafening. Soon after, Schonely announced the Trail Blazers’ itinerary, and a large number of fans went to meet the players at the airport the next day.

"I can hardly believe it, the Portland fans are just too crazy. If we hadn’t won Game 6, imagine how bad it would have been."

After boarding the bus, Drexler spoke, experiencing for the first time what Trail Blazers’ frenzy truly felt like.

Last season, although the Trail Blazers made it to the Western Conference Finals and the fans were equally enthusiastic, it wasn’t the madness they witnessed this time.

"Don’t worry, even if we had lost the game, the fans would still support us next season. True fans are always by the team’s side; victory and defeat are only temporary. There is no such thing as a general who always wins, nor is there a team that never wins,"

Adelman comforted Drexler, knowing he was still shaken, as his performance had not been good in this playoff series.

The three losses in the middle of the series had a lot to do with Drexler’s poor performance, and if the Trail Blazers had lost the series, he would definitely have been subjected to fierce criticism.

Things like wasting Ah Gan’s outstanding performance, wasting Bill Walton’s return and so on; but now they had dragged it to a seventh game, finally getting a chance to redeem themselves.

The date was set for May 28th for Game 7, and by this time, the Eastern Conference had already decided a winner, with the Boston Celtics sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks 4-0 with ease.

The scores were easy, but the process was anything but relaxed for the Celtics and Bird, as Bird had been suffering from a back injury since the start of the season and it had become somewhat severe in the Bucks series.

After each game, Bird had to receive an hour or even longer of physiotherapy in the locker room before he could leave the arena normally.

Due to his back pain, Bird occasionally needed some reviving substances to stay focused during the game, like inhaling a type of smelling salt with the number 148.

Consequently, a lawyer who was a fan sitting behind the Celtics bench filed a complaint with the League, accusing Bird and the Celtics players of using illegal drugs, possibly stimulants.

The League began an investigation, which infuriated Bird, especially since the Celtics were already 3-0 up in the series, and the Bucks had little chance, yet this had to happen.

He didn’t sleep well all night, thinking about how to punish the Bucks and that lawyer fan in the fourth game; that’s how vengeful he was.

So, in the fourth game of the series, in the fourth quarter with the Celtics slightly ahead, Bird hit three three-pointers in a row, completely crushing the Bucks.

But Bird wasn’t satisfied with that. With a big lead and the final possession, both teams had given up on offense and defense, Bird held the ball waiting for the clock to run out.

As the time was about to expire, Bird shot a long-range three-pointer, turned around to leave the court immediately after the release, and right as he stepped out of bounds, the three-point shot went in, the buzzer sounded, and the game ended.

Bird shot 6 out of 5 three-pointers that game, and the League’s investigation found that the Celtics did not use any illegal drugs, eliminating the Bucks to advance to the finals, which was a sweet vindication for Bird.

Afterward, all they had to do was wait. Initially, they thought the Rockets would be their opponent; the Celtics had beaten the Rockets to win the championship in 1981, and Bird was looking forward to winning another in Houston.

But after the sixth game ended, the Trail Blazers’ chances of entering the finals greatly increased, making everyone on the Celtics a bit nervous, because the Trail Blazers had a good record against the Celtics.

Then on May 28th, Game 7, the League announced one of the most prestigious individual awards of the 1985-1986 season, the Most Valuable Player of the regular season.

Out of 78 voters, 58 gave their first-place vote to Portland Trail Blazers’ Gan Guoyang, 19 voted for Larry Bird, and 1 voted for Jabbar.

Gan Guoyang won the 1985-1986 season’s regular-season MVP.

Upon hearing the news, Bird was receiving therapy at physiotherapist Dan Drexler’s clinic.

The treatment was nearing its end, but when the radio broadcasted this announcement, Drexler distinctly felt Bird’s back muscles tense up again.

"Larry, relax, take it easy."

"Sorry, I feel like punching someone, so my back tightened up."

Drexler knew the reason; he knew Bird was a grudge-holder.

Though he professed not to care about this year’s MVP, with a record of 68 wins and 14 losses, he believed he deserved to be the MVP for the third consecutive year.

"It’s okay, it’s okay, you’ll get the chance to kick his ass in the finals."

"I really hope the Portland people make it to the finals, really, really do."

As Bird lay on the treatment table, his back muscles began to relax, his thoughts turned to the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan.

That guy and his teammates were truly tough to deal with, a real nuisance.

The always confident Bird was starting to get nervous.

[In 1986, when the Portland people were about to enter the finals, we actually didn’t want to face them, we just wouldn’t admit it at the time.]

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