The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 355 - 90 Western Conference Champions

According to later statistics, the seventh game between the Trail Blazers and the Rockets achieved an astonishing 83% viewership rate in the Oregon region, second only to the 95% for the sixth game of the 1977 Finals.

The 95% in 1977 was certainly terrifying, but back then, there weren’t as many households with televisions.

A decade had passed since 1977, and the prevalence of televisions had greatly increased, so the value of an 83% viewership rate was not lower than the 95%.

And this was just the Western Conference Finals, not the Finals. The Trail Blazers commanded such dominance in the Oregon region.

Under such high scrutiny, the Trail Blazers started the game somewhat reserved, with the Rockets’ defense being very tight, and the physicality exceptionally strong.

Drexler and Vandeweghe’s two attempts at the basket were both blocked by Olajuwon, prompting the Rockets to counterattack, scoring consecutively and leading 4:0 from the beginning.

When Walton was holding the ball at the high post, the person defending him switched from Ralph Sampson to Robert Reid.

The Rockets learned from the last game; they could no longer easily allow Sampson or Olajuwon to be drawn out by Walton. The two big men must stay in the paint to block Gan Guoyang.

The Rockets’ defense was tight, Guoyang couldn’t receive the ball, and Walton passed it to Vandeweghe. Vandeweghe’s floater from the baseline didn’t hit, and the Rockets got another rebound.

In the counterattack, McGrady’s shot missed, but Olajuwon grabbed the offensive rebound and tapped the ball into the basket, scoring another basket for the Rockets.

The audience on-site and in front of the TV was very tense; the Trail Blazers’ start was not good, with Guoyang’s low-post shot also not going in.

Sampson got the defensive rebound, and the Rockets counterattacked again. This time, Sampson lightly tossed the ball to the other side’s Olajuwon, who dunked it in successfully!

The lineup of Gan Guoyang-Walton was designed to succeed in set plays. Once they missed consecutively and faced a counterattack, Walton’s lack of mobility could be exploited.

Ramsay called a timeout; he didn’t adjust the lineup but instead reminded the players to relax and play their own game. He said, "I believe you can do well, you also need to believe in yourselves, don’t feel pressured guys, this night is definitely ours."

Ramsay wasn’t the type of coach who liked to give motivational speeches or say big things. He was wise, sometimes stern, and at times humorous.

He was not like Pat Riley, who would quote classics, nor like Doug Moe, who would make passionate speeches or do outrageous things to encourage his players; he was very practical.

In defeat, he was silent and couldn’t speak to anyone; he felt worse than anybody. His shiny bald head glistened as he thought, and his caterpillar-thick eyebrows fluttered up and down.

When he started motivating players, the effect was better than coaches who spoon-fed them motivation every day; everyone’s hearts calmed, and Ramsay then redefined some tactical details.

Gan Guoyang moved to the top of the arc, Walton went to the low post, forcing Olajuwon to come out, then Guoyang slipped the ball to Walton underneath the basket, who turned and hooked the ball in over Sampson!

The entire Memorial Coliseum erupted; Walton’s shot unclogged the stoppage, and the whole arena released their emotions.

Next, Olajuwon tried to outmaneuver Guoyang in the low post using his footwork, but after a series of dribbles and a turn, his hook shot with the right hand was blocked by the helping Walton! 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Guoyang played good defense, blocking Olajuwon’s other options and only leaving the inside route open, resulting in Walton’s help defense and block.

The veteran, with one offensive and one defensive play, broke the deadlock for his team.

Terry Porter, who got the ball, didn’t rush; he dribbled slowly up the court, Guoyang got the ball at the high post, and again passed it to Walton in the low post.

The moment Walton received the ball, he flicked it to Vandeweghe who was cutting to the basket. Vandeweghe caught the ball and dunked with his left hand!

With Olajuwon drawn out, the Rockets’ defense lost its best barrier, and the Trail Blazers scored two more points.

The Memorial Coliseum gradually ignited, but the Rockets still maintained the lead, with Sampson hitting a shot from the perimeter.

Both teams started to engage in a back-and-forth set offense, with Guoyang insisting on taking the ball at the high post. When Reid became his defender, Guoyang changed pace in the middle and burst through, following with a move hook shot that went in.

This forced Olajuwon to follow; otherwise, Guoyang would initiate the attack from outside, equally having a high success rate. The Rockets faced a dilemma.

In the first quarter, the Rockets’ offense was good, keeping up their shooting percentage under immense pressure; the score was 28:25, with the Trail Blazers trailing by 3 points at the end of the quarter.

But the Rockets had a hidden crisis. Their shooting percentage in the first quarter was very high, with Sampson, McGrady, and Reid scoring consistently from mid-range, and Lloyd even hitting a three-pointer.

However, they couldn’t score inside; Olajuwon got blocked, Sampson got stripped, and the drives from the perimeter were completely covered. The Trail Blazers’ defense was as solid as iron, making it impossible for the Rockets to penetrate.

Once their perimeter shooting percentage dropped in the second and third quarters, the Rockets’ offense could collapse in a short time, and in such an intense game, a decline in shooting accuracy was inevitable.

When Walton went off to rest, the Trail Blazers entered a phase controlled by Gan Guoyang. At the start of the second quarter, he teamed up with Thompson for a good stonbewall, mismatching him with Petersen.

How could Guoyang pass up the opportunity of a mismatch? He made a swift turn and stormed to the basket, dunking with both hands!

He also drew a foul from Petersen, went to the free-throw line, and added the penalty shot, tying the game.

Petersen was dumbfounded by Guoyang’s power and speed; this was his first time matching up with Guoyang in the series.

Because Gan Guoyang hardly ever left the court, Olajuwon was also kept in the game to contend with him.

Petersen saw Olajuwon being heavily suppressed by Gan Guoyang but did not have a tangible understanding of it.

It was not until that last play he realized that if it were him playing defense the entire game, he would definitely be beaten down.

When the score was tied, the Rockets’ mentality began to shift, they couldn’t find a way to counter the Trail Blazers’ offense and started getting anxious.

The Rockets are fundamentally a defensive team; they rely on rock-solid defense and physicality to wear down their opponents, take the upper hand, and secure victory.

Once their defense was breached time and again, and the game shifted to a positional battle without the advantage of defensive turnovers, their offensive efficiency degraded even further.

The Rockets’ shooting percentage began to decline, while the Trail Blazers started to play more smoothly with Drexler scoring on consecutive drives and layups.

When the situation turned favorable, this kid’s instincts were always the sharpest, running the fastest and charging the hardest.

The Rockets gradually began to crumble, with their morale shattered by the sixth game, spending the past few days in a daze.

Although Bill Fitch tried hard to find a solution, there really wasn’t much he could do. The Twin Towers thought restraining Ah Gan would suffice, but little did they know that the entire Trail Blazers team had evolved.

By the end of the second quarter, the Trail Blazers had secured an 11-point lead, with the Rockets’ offense and defense barely holding on.

In the third quarter, Drexler became the protagonist on the court, and in the words of Schonely, he was out to retrieve all the shots he missed in the previous games.

Vandeweghe also performed splendidly; when he was hitting threes, it indicated that the Rockets’ tough defense had collapsed.

Disadvantaged by time and location, in the deafening Memorial Coliseum, the Rockets were like a small boat in raging waves, utterly isolated.

It was a taste of being against the world, unfortunately, they had lost the courage to stand against it.

The gap widened further, heading towards a 15-point, then a 20-point differential, with the Rockets unable to recapture the feel of the third, fourth, and fifth games.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers were running wild in a brand-new field of play, their synergy and cohesion reaching new heights.

"107 to 89, an 18-point lead with 3 minutes left in the game, the Portland Trail Blazers, they are so close to their second Western Conference championship since 1977. Nearly ten years have passed since 1977 to 1986. How many decades does one have in life? Being able to witness the Trail Blazers enter the Finals twice in Portland is a perfect experience for me. The Rockets have benched Olajuwon and Sampson; they’ve given up the fight!"

With a little over two minutes left in the game, Bill Fitch decided to pull the Rockets’ starters, signifying they had conceded the match.

Then, a slight incident occurred on the court; Granville Waiters, subbing in for Olajuwon, walked to the sideline signaling for a swap, but Olajuwon was unmoved, refusing to leave the game.

Now Waiters was in a pickle, uncertain what to do on the sideline; the referee, noticing the situation, blew the whistle, questioning Fitch if the substitution was happening or not.

With Fitch’s urging, a disheartened Olajuwon trudged off the court with his head down. He had scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds this game, performing well but unable to turn the tides.

Before the series, Olajuwon had been determined to defeat Gan Guoyang. He was once very close to this goal, just one victory away.

But fate’s test for him seemed far from over, as Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers elegantly spun past the Twin Towers, driving to the basket to finish the game.

Once off the court, Olajuwon covered his head with a towel, refusing to watch the game, yet the cheers of the fans still reached his ears.

Gan Guoyang was also benched, having scored only 19 points and 9 rebounds tonight, just a point and a rebound short of 20+10, but he didn’t care.

Tonight, the performance of his Trail Blazers teammates was outstanding, with Drexler being the "following wind god," unstoppable in fast breaks and penetrations, scoring the game-high of 33 points and adding 8 assists.

Indeed, the Glider needed a tailwind to fly; without an engine against the wind, he’d topple over.

With a buzz.

As time in the fourth quarter ran out, the buzzer sounded, and the game was over.

Red streamers fell from the sky as all Trail Blazers players embraced each other, with the arena erupting in celebration.

After nine years, the Trail Blazers stood atop the Western Conference again, earning the right to compete against the Boston Celtics for the ultimate honor.

Not just in Memorial Coliseum, but in the Paramount Theatre, the University of Portland Gymnasium, along Willamette Riverfront Avenue, the whole of Portland, the entire state of Oregon was cheering.

In this playoff series, the Trail Blazers were pushed to the edge of a cliff but came back to life, finally achieving the privilege of stepping onto the grandest stage.

For every Trail Blazers player, this experience was a valuable asset in their careers. Having gone through such a series, they could say they had undergone a transformation—a transformation of spirit, of fighting spirit, and of willpower.

From this moment on, no matter how they previously saw basketball, now they all possessed a champion’s heart.

"This is a wonderful ending but also the beginning of another journey. Let’s meet at the Finals in June! Rip City!"

Schonely, unable to contain his excitement, anticipating the start of the Finals.