[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1536":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1445053,1896,"Chapter 1536 - 19: Blackfoot_3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1536",1536,"\u003Cp>Malone let out a long sigh, thinking back over the past decade or so, he indeed had some pent-up anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pressed down as soon as he entered the league, even his good partner criticized him because of Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Salt Lake City, the All-Star game stole the MVP, and in the playoffs, body-slammed in front of the All-America audience, losing face completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malone always comforted himself, Gan’s father once apologized for Gan, so he should forgive Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what about Gan himself? Thinking of this guy’s smugness over the years, riding on his head and doing his business, Malone felt a surge of nameless anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inbound pass, Malone passed to Stockton, Stockton commanded outside the three-point line, Malone set a pick for Russell and moved inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang let go of Russell and focused on Malone, Malone opened his elbows at the basket to create space for himself by pressing against Gan’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stockton accurately passed the ball, Malone suddenly exerted force, pushing Gan aside, caught the ball and charged to the basket for a lay-up!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan’s chest was heavily braced, he glanced at the referee, tonight’s chief referee was the young Scott Foster, who turned a blind eye to Malone’s sneaky elbow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Foster showed no sign, seemingly permitting this small action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Larry Bird approached Foster and argued, \"You shouldn’t allow such moves, they’re dangerous!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Foster replied, \"Normal confrontation, keep playing, continue!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird shook his head, muttering \"This guy doesn’t even know what I mean by dangerous.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On offense, Gan warned Malone, \"Don’t play dirty tricks with me, play fair Karl. You’ve been performing well all these years, don’t do this cowardly stuff again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malone shrugged, saying, \"Don’t say that, Sonny, I know I’m a coward, so I’m not doing it on purpose, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Malone saying that, Gan really had no answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Gan received the ball in the low post, backing Malone for a solo play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A turnaround jump shot scored two points, then both sides missed the next two possessions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malone still played small actions, but once done, he immediately showed weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry Sonny, it was an accident, I’m sorry, forgive me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Malone like this, someone as prideful as Gan really couldn’t strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third quarter ended, still an 11-point difference, with both sides entering the fourth quarter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the break, Bird came over and said, \"Karl wants to play some tricks, ignore him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan replied, \"I know, but this sneaky bastard, hits me once and apologizes immediately, what can I do with him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan chewed his gum forcefully, realizing Malone was playing dirty as he couldn’t play head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After being bullied by Gan for so many years, Malone had figured out Gan’s temper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You just need to sweet talk this guy, and most likely he won’t argue with you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Gan’s status is there, his age too, a typical case of eating soft but not hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this was 10 years ago, the young Gan in his early twenties wouldn’t care, even if you knelt, he’d still deliver a sweeping leg.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Gan wasn’t young anymore, much more restrained in his actions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considerations about reputation, bans, fines, sponsorship image aside, being a good role model for his kids was a heavy burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his son and daughter growing up, they would learn from the media about their father’s image on the court, hitting others ultimately wasn’t good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malone indeed was sly, never playing big or obvious, specializing in the subtle and sneaky, hidden elbows, pushing lower body, pulling clothes, etc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Gan discovered it, Malone immediately showed weakness, giving his face for you to hit, but Gan, feeling embarrassed, wouldn’t hit, right? Not hitting meant letting it go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, I already apologized, if you hit again, wouldn’t that be losing your status?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Gan resorting to small tricks or dirty moves?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No way, Sun King is upright and acts forthrightly, would never use underhanded methods as retaliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You have to admit, Malone, after being tormented by Gan for so many years, genuinely understood Gan’s temper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fourth quarter had both sides’ second lineup play for a few minutes, Hornersek led the bench to close the score to 8 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Karl Malone returned to the game, Gan Guoyang also came on, Malone attempted a mid-range shot from the top of the arc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Missed, Gan turned to grab the defensive rebound, but landed nearly falling because Malone pushed him from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another small move, slow-motion replay showed Malone seemingly lightly poking, but once a person’s balance is disrupted mid-air, it’s easy to fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, Gan’s core strength was strong, just staggered, this time the referee called a foul on Malone, who immediately raised his hand, it was only his third foul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan was almost fed up, dropped the ball and walked over to Malone, while Malone spread his hands to the league saying, \"I didn’t mean it Sonny! Sorry, don’t, don’t!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Karl, you know what’s going on, don’t play dumb.\" Gan’s eyes already showed anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malone moved close to the referee, thinking if Gan charged him, he’d use the referee as a shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Gan ended up knocking the referee over, it would cause a big scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stockton watched everything from the side, as both a friend and an opponent, Stockton had no choice but to remain silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Urging Gan would definitely not work, earlier in the half he had advised Gan not to go too hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, this is it, Karl’s not behaving, playing small tricks, and Gan, for the sake of face, had not yet exploded.\u003C\u002Fp>",923,"2026-06-06T01:42:01.245Z",1,"novelbin.me","8a07d23b34b7a75d460bdac2de2a5f1df66a6ac7c1b56865d5d00fec812b6604","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1537","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1535",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]