The Golden Age of Basketball

"You went [-]-for-[-] in the third quarter. It was unbelievable. What was going on? What was it like?"

"It's nothing special, but you know, when players play, there are always times when they feel particularly good and score consecutively. Tonight happened to be in the third quarter. My touch came, and my teammates just passed the ball to me again. hand, and I just threw the ball in, and that's what happened."

In the sideline interview after the game, Gan Guoyang answered reporters' questions in this way, which seemed a little "perfunctory".

Until now, the fans in the memorial stadium have not dispersed, and many people are still in the aftertaste of Gan Guoyang's 12-of-12 shooting in the third quarter. Although 27 points is not the highest score in a single quarter in history, Gan Guoyang completed it with only [-] points. After half a quarter, only one scoring method was used. Everything was so clean and neat, as if cutting through the mess with a sharp knife, it cut off the morale of the Rockets all at once.

After all, the Rockets have a way out. Even if they lose this time, they still lead 3:2. It couldn’t be better to return to the home court to win the sixth game and advance to the finals amidst the cheers of the home fans.

Because of this, the situation of the Blazers is actually only a little bit better. If they can’t pass the level at the Summit Arena on May 5, then Gan Guoyang’s 21 points in a single quarter today is just a dying struggle. .

Therefore, Gan Guoyang, who won the game with a super-powerful performance, did not look so happy. Since the third quarter, his expression has not changed much. relax.

After entering the locker room, Kexi, Colter, and Porter wanted to come forward to celebrate with Gan Guoyang, but Gan Guoyang shook his head at them instead of acknowledging it.

"The most dangerous situation has not yet passed, and we cannot relax at all. When we lost three games in a row and pushed ourselves to the edge of the cliff, we gave up all opportunities to relax and celebrate, unless we can win the first Seven wins. But now, Game [-] in Houston, will be our biggest challenge."

After Gan Guoyang said these words, he took off his jersey and went to the bathroom inside to take a shower, leaving the Blazers players sitting in the locker room, wondering what they were thinking.

In fact, since the fourth game lost to the Rockets, most of the Trail Blazers players have already begun to waver. For them, reaching the Western Conference Finals is already a remarkable achievement, although the team's goal this season is to compete for the championship , but in the nba, which playoff team doesn't say it wants to compete for the championship?

Gan Guoyang still remembers what Kenny Carr said. Not everyone is like Gan Guoyang, who only wants to enter the finals and win the championship. Basketball is also a profession for them. The team entered the Western Conference finals, which can be said to be a good result.

But if Gan Guoyang wants to enter the finals and win the championship, it is not enough to rely on one person. The help of his teammates is essential. How to motivate these teammates?With impassioned speeches, or outright diatribes, or oaths of common hatred?

No, because there is nothing more inspiring than pulling them to victory.

From this game, Gan Guoyang finally realized what to do as a leader at such a time.

In the first half, he kept accumulating energy, just to explode in the crucial third quarter. Fortunately, his touch did not disappoint him. After making three consecutive hooks on the right side, Gan Guoyang knew that Ralph Samp Sen and Olajuwon can no longer stop themselves. Within 15 feet, it is his domain.

After this game, the trend of public opinion has changed, and reports praising Gan Guoyang are naturally indispensable. The key is that Drexler will return in the sixth game, and the Blazers have a better chance of winning.

But in general, most people are still optimistic about the Rockets, leading 3:2, and in the summit gymnasium where they have never fallen, the Rockets will never easily let the opportunity to enter the finals slip away from their hands.

………………

Back home in Portland at night, Wang Fuxi was already helping Gan Guoyang pack his clothes, and he was leaving for Houston tomorrow, although it was just for a game, Wang Fuxi still packed the things Gan Guoyang wanted to bring .

"Forrest Gump, I still have two years to graduate, and I still miss a graduate student. Tell me, when will we get married?" Wang Fuxi asked while pressing the box.

Gan Guoyang was not prepared for Wang Fuxi's sudden question, and was taken aback for a moment. He really hadn't thought about the question of when to get married.

"This question is too profound, and I usually don't think about it." Gan Guoyang replied.

"Abstruse you ghost! Have you never thought about it at all!" Wang Fuxi heard Gan Guoyang's answer, picked up the pillow on the bed and threw it at him.

Gan Guoyang easily caught the pillow, and then threw it back to the head of the bed with a hook gesture.

"Beautiful pass! Of course I thought about it, I think... When I win the championship, we will get married!"

"Then what if you don't win the championship? Will you never marry me?"

"Don't worry, I will definitely win the championship...before I turn 30..."

"30 years old? I'm old!"……………

………………

On May 5, for Gan Guoyang, the important thing was not when he won the championship, nor when he entered the finals, but whether he could survive this game and drag the series to a life-and-death battle.

In this game, the Rockets' defense against Gan Guoyang reached the highest level, and Sampson continued to be at the forefront as the vanguard.

But in the first half, Gan Guoyang was still the same as the fifth game. He seldom played singles, and his shots were very cautious. It wasn’t that he didn’t take easy-ball shots.

Drexler's comeback has helped the Blazers a lot. His breakthrough made the Rockets have to shrink inward frequently, giving the Blazers' shooters a better shooting environment. Driven by him, the Blazers' The outside shooting rate has improved.

At the same time, his strong fast-break ability allowed the Blazers to score points in the first two opportunities that they could not score.

In fact, from the first game, Drexler has been an extremely important part of the Blazers. If there was Drexler in the fourth game, the Blazers might not have suffered a disastrous defeat, and naturally they would not have entered such a desperate situation.

The game between the two sides was extremely intense. The Rockets had the advantage of being at home. The atmosphere in the summit arena really reached its peak. one cent.

The Blazers have always been in a backward position, but the players have been gritting their teeth and holding on to the score, maintaining it at around 5 points. They seem to be waiting, waiting for the arrival of the third quarter. The team's No. 11 will take them out of the quagmire.

During the intermission, the Blazers' locker room was silent, and Ramsey didn't say much. Everyone was waiting for Gan Guoyang to speak, and Gan Guoyang sat there without saying a word.

Since before the last game, Gan Guoyang has been very silent, completely lacking in his usual liveliness and humor, like a hard rock.

For 10 minutes, Gan Guoyang still didn't say a word, just wiped his sweat silently. At the same time, Ramsey also simply arranged tactics for the players, but in this kind of game, tactics are not too important.

At the end of the intermission, the players were about to return to the field. At this time, Gan Guoyang was the first to stand up, walked to the door, and beckoned everyone to come over.

Everyone consciously gathered around and hugged into a circle. Gan Guoyang said in the middle: "'s-go! (Kill them, you can go home, follow me, come on!)"

"Let's-go!" Everyone shouted in unison.

The short and small ceremony can unite people's hearts to the greatest extent, because at this time, everyone pins their hopes on Gan Guoyang.

Of course, the pressure on Gan Guoyang at this time is also conceivable. He only scored 6 points in the first half. If he does not explode in the third quarter, it will be difficult for the Blazers to win. This is also a weakening of his leadership.

But there is no free lunch in this world. If you don’t pay the price, make efforts, and break out in desperation, you will not get victory and honor.

The Trail Blazers returned to the stadium at the Summit Stadium, and the stadium was still noisy. The Rockets were ready for battle. They did not want Gan Guoyang to repeat his miracle in the last game.

The direct adjustment made by the Rockets is to allow Olajuwon to stick to Gan Guoyang again. His strength is better than Ralph Sampson, and he can stick tighter to prevent Gan Guoyang from making quick shots.

"You can't guard against me, Akim." Gan Guoyang pushed Olajuwon away from the three-second zone, squeezed out of the low position, and said in his mouth.

"Come on, I won't let you score easily again." Olajuwon was not to be outdone.

Colter saw Gan Guoyang's position from the outside line, and saw the opportunity to pass the ball. Gan Guoyang was pushed by Olajuwon when he was catching the ball. He almost made a mistake, and the referee didn't blow the whistle.

The other players of the Rockets were ready to move in an instant, wanting to double-team from the outside, and Ralph Sampson was ready to come over to defend and block the shot.

Just when everyone was focusing on Gan Guoyang, Colter, who passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, had cut to the inside with the help of Mitchell Sampson's cover. Gan Guoyang passed the ball behind his head, and Colter caught the ball directly Layup, easy hit!

The Blazers played a very simple pass-and-cut combination. If the Rockets players were focused enough, the chance of Colter's successful cut was less than 50.00%, and Gan Guoyang's pass success rate would only be 5.00%. It is a simple offensive routine with only a [-]% success rate, but because the Rockets players' attention is all on Gan Guoyang, it was exploited by Colter.

At this time, Coach Bill Fitch, who was originally sitting on the Rockets' bench, stood up suddenly. Seeing the ball, he felt a little uneasy. It seems that the situation in the third quarter may be different from what he imagined. .