[{"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-557":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},1444024,1896,"Chapter 557 - 57: The Most Intense Match Part 3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-557",557,"\u003Cp>However, as soon as the second half of the game began, the situation on the court changed dramatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang attempted a mid-range shot at the start of the third quarter but missed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Magic Johnson led his team in a fierce counterattack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Magic has the ball, drives down the middle, faces Ah Gan’s defense, a right-handed floater! It’s good!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The referee blows the whistle, calling a foul on Ah Gan, that’s his third foul.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Magic makes the free throw.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cooper steals, Magic on the fast break! No-look pass! AC Green with the dunk!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the second half, Nielsen made an adjustment, starting Michael Cooper in place of Byron Scott.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The move paid off, Cooper stole the ball from Porter and the Lakers scored on the counter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Drexler’s shot doesn’t go, Jabbar grabs the defensive rebound, long pass to Magic, who sends it directly to Worthy, Worthy dunks, and the Lakers take the lead!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just two minutes of explosive play in the second half, Magic and the Lakers suddenly turned the game around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A 7:0 run changed the score to 59:60, and the Lakers suddenly took the lead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jack Ramsay immediately called a timeout, the rapid shift in momentum was truly dizzying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Johnson led a tempestuous attack, and it seemed the Trail Blazers hadn’t yet adjusted from the first-half pace, while the Lakers had already accelerated and left the Trail Blazers behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers players were caught off guard, but they quickly regrouped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the timeout, Gan Guoyang caught the ball at the 45-degree angle and, after drawing the defense, slipped a pass inside to Thompson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thompson received the ball and scored, also drawing a foul from AC Green!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man who had just become a father was different; even his layup was full of power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The free throw was good, 62:60, Trail Blazers regained the lead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the game became a tug-of-war, with Magic’s passes, Jabbar’s skyhook, Worthy’s low post turn-around jumper, Cooper’s three-pointer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang’s mid-range, spin jump shot, Drexler’s drive and layup, Porter’s pull-up jumper, Jerome Kossie’s offensive rebound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Players from both teams were contributing their proudest skills with 120 percent effort, getting caught up in fierce combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intensity of the game’s defense reached its peak in the third quarter, and courtside spectators could hear the fierce sounds of physical confrontation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the high-speed collisions, one careless move could send a player flying out of bounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The floor squeaked under the pressure of footsteps, and the dangerous scent of male hormones permeated the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The players’ actions grew bolder and referee Earl Strom’s whistle blew more and more frequently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was lots of pushing and shoving under the basket, not to mention the sneaky moves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers were a fairly honorable team, rarely resorting to dirty tricks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Ah Gan had always been the guardian of the team, ensuring that everyone played fair and didn’t stoop to foul play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in moments like these, no one cared anymore, and the Lakers players couldn’t afford to worry about that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it meant getting beat up, so be it, as long as they could take down Ah Gan, it would be worth it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>James Edwards and Gan Guoyang nearly came to blows under the basket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Edwards inserted his hand under Gan Guoyang’s arm, trying to prevent Gan from raising his arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang simply trapped Edwards’s arm and with a back body drop, flung Edwards out of bounds!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The referee hurriedly blew the whistle, and the fans on site got excited, shouting, \"Throw him out, throw him out!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Earl Strom didn’t do that; he just gave Gan Guoyang a technical foul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t do that, Ah Gan, you’ll get thrown out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know what I’m doing, if he tries to clamp my arm again, I’ll twist his arm off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Edwards got up with the help of his teammates, but soon realized his arm was twisted and had to retreat to the locker room for rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boos filled the air, and Don Nelson shouted at Earl Strom, insisting that Ah Gan should be ejected for that play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strom gestured dismissively, saying it was a normal physical confrontation, not a malicious hit, and moreover, it was James Edwards who committed the foul first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nelson was visibly upset, but he dared not say more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last season in the playoffs, during a critical game, Nelson had shouted at Strom which resulted in him getting ejected from the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, the Bucks lost the series.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, Nelson nearly came to blows with Strom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nelson tried his best to keep his emotions in check, as this game was too important to lose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The game had gradually shifted from a contest of wits and tactics to a test of physical endurance and willpower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Basketball is always like this; initially, everyone focuses on tactical skill, but as the game goes on, even the coaches don’t know what they’re playing anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the players start relying on their on-the-spot condition, personal skills, wits, and a bit of luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the third quarter to the fourth, the crushing comeback the Lakers fans had been waiting for just didn’t happen; they couldn’t truly turn the tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time the Lakers had a decent offensive run and it looked like they were going to widen the lead, they were immediately suppressed by a sharp counterattack from the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lakers wanted to capitalize on fast breaks but the Trail Blazers rarely made mistakes, and with a three-pointer here and there, they managed to keep leading the score.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of a long and intense third quarter, the Trail Blazers were leading 88:84, a solid 4-point lead over the Lakers, firmly suppressing the opponents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone from the Lakers, from the players to the fans, felt anxious as they couldn’t get ahead, like they were struggling to breathe underwater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the fourth quarter, the game was no longer just intense, it had turned bloody.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>AC Green, during an offensive, elbowed Jerome Kossie right in the eyebrow, causing blood to stream down his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Green didn’t do it on purpose, but in the midst of intense play, actions were indeed getting rougher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two minutes later, a hard charge from Gilmore sent AC Green flying out of bounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two teams were close to an altercation, and now experienced, the referees managed the situation; one ref controlled the crowd, and another ref handled Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strom grabbed onto Ah Gan and said, \"Don’t lose your cool, play the game properly, or I’ll have to eject you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah Gan replied, \"I don’t want to fight, stay cool Earl, stay cool!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When even Gan Guoyang was telling the referee to calm down, it spoke volumes about how heated the game had gotten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the Trail Blazers made two defensive mistakes, with Porter double-teaming Johnson in the middle twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, Johnson passed the ball to Cooper on the wing, and Cooper didn’t hesitate to shoot from the three-point line, making both shots!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t a major mistake; Cooper’s three-pointers were worth the risk, but Cooper made them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lakers scored 6 consecutive points, once again taking the lead!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Western Forum erupted in cheer, with Lakers fans seeing the first light of a potential turnaround.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>90:92, the Lakers were leading by two points, and the Trail Blazers immediately called a timeout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sitting on the bench, the players were gasping for air, the intense physical play, the rapid pace of the game, and the immense psychological pressure had taken a significant toll on their stamina.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang was continuously drinking water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fatigue made it hard to concentrate; out of ten things the coach said, players might miss eight of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ramsay knew this, so he didn’t make any complicated arrangements; he just asked them to stick to man-to-man marking, and to stop double-teaming at random.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On offense, he had just one directive, \"Try to get the ball to Ah Gan!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At times like these, Gan Guoyang was still the most reliable one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Jack Ramsay’s four years of mentoring, he had transcended himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was no longer hesitant, no longer indecisive, no longer restrained by basketball thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the most intense moments of the game, he knew to give the ball to the best man!\u003C\u002Fp>",1382,"2026-06-06T01:41:33.911Z",1,"novelbin.me","d1d5586967d989f4655e3e97c50c66db51fa220b0f641fc388fcead629901212","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-558","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-556",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]