[{"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-559":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},1444026,1896,"Chapter 559 - 59: The Meaning of Victory","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-559",559,"\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang’s sky-high putback dunk made the Los Angeles fans feel as if the King of Los Angeles had returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This season, Gan Guoyang’s win rate at the Great Western Forum has not been high. So far, he has only won one game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the game that Hornacek had clinched with a buzzer-beater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Los Angeles fans also thought, \"Ah Gan finally can’t continue to hurt us in Los Angeles.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as the game went on, Gan Guoyang played more smoothly and became unstoppable on the offensive end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the successful putback dunk, the pressure was all on the Lakers’ side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers’ success rate in attack was obviously ridiculously high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the timeout, their success rate was 100 percent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant the Lakers had to keep up and also achieve a 100 percent success rate in order to compete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, a success rate of 50 percent would already be considered high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>percent would be incredibly high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a high-intensity matchup, no one can withstand such a streak of scoring during crucial moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jabbar’s difficult shot just now was already somewhat lucky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The experienced Johnson tried to break into the basket to draw a foul, which was a good choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gan Guoyang defended very well; he slipped past Johnson’s close defense, allowing Johnson to drive to the basket in the end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Johnson’s last layup fell short; the ball circled the rim but ultimately fell out, not in!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gilmore grabbed the defensive rebound—an absolutely crucial board, and the Old Train secured the ball firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gilmore didn’t pass the ball to the guards but to Gan Guoyang instead. As soon as Gan Guoyang saw Johnson and Cooper rush toward him, he immediately called a timeout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>99:96, the Trail Blazers led by three points, with just over two minutes left in the game, less than three minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers were in control, but victory was not yet secured; a 3-point lead was not stable at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A single mistake in offense or defense could lead to wasting all their efforts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the Trail Blazers faced another problem: Gilmore was tired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could only sustain effort for so long; any longer would be detrimental to the team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, Jack Ramsay had no choice but to substitute Gilmore for Thompson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Thompson was in great form tonight, and upon learning of his son’s birth, he was filled with even more energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s win this game and celebrate the birth of little Thompson!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the timeout, Gan Guoyang encouraged his teammates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mitchell, what name will you give your son?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thompson said, \"Michael, just one letter difference from my name. Mine is ’A’ (Mychal), his is ’E’ (Mychel).\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For Michael!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For Michael!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The players encouraged each other, ready to get back into the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers’ sideline play was exactly identical to the previous one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang ran to the top of the arc to receive the ball, putting the Lakers’ defense in a dilemma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, as soon as Gan Guoyang got the ball, he drew all the Lakers’ defensive attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly made a no-look pass underneath the basket, where a cutting Thompson caught the ball and finished with a one-handed dunk over the defense!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did the shot go in, but it also resulted in a defensive foul on James Worthy!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don Nelson paid the price for his compromise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His original lineup of three guards included pairing two 7-footers in the interior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This ensured flexibility on the perimeter while maintaining sufficient height and rim protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, to accommodate James Worthy’s ego, he asked Worthy to play power forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Against other teams, even against the Pistons or Celtics, this lineup would still be very strong and effective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it didn’t work against the Trail Blazers, with Ah Gan in the mix, as your interior lacked a dynamic anchor, surely that was a huge disadvantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The loss of an offensive rebound and a defensive foul cost the Lakers the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mychal Thompson made the additional free throw, 102:96, and the Trail Blazers extended their lead to six points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a fairly safe advantage, and of course, the Trail Blazers didn’t relax and maintained their defensive formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang gave up on his one-on-one defense against Johnson and moved back into the three-second zone to secure the basket area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a safer strategy; with the lead, they couldn’t afford to give the Lakers an easy scoring opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Johnson broke through the middle, passed the ball to the baseline, but Byron Scott’s three-pointer didn’t connect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Jabbar fought hard for the offensive rebound—his only offensive rebound of the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After securing the board, Jabbar immediately called a timeout, and returning to the bench he said to Nelson, \"We should have called a timeout just now, you were daydreaming, coach!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nelson was indeed distracted; not just Nelson, but Johnson as well—he forgot to call for a timeout, wasting a precious dozen seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Nielsen had been thinking he shouldn’t have used a lineup with three guards alongside Worthy and Jabbar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although theoretically, this lineup had no issue, if it were Riley, Riley would use this lineup too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because even Riley would lose to Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nielsen’s dilemma was that he knew how to deal with the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew the three-guard lineup was highly likely to be effective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He should have played Edwards in the power forward position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While ensuring the basket and rebounds were protected, they should have moved actively and repeatedly to let the guards dominate the offense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They definitely could have torn through the Trail Blazers’ defense, just like Cooper’s two three-pointers that flipped the score.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he compromised, he felt frustrated, yet he didn’t know how to release this emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he supposed to yell at Worthy? Worthy wasn’t at fault either, apart from playing against the Trail Blazers, he was actually in very good form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nielsen could not stay calm anymore, he lost his temper, calling for a timeout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Earl-Strom came over to urge him on, he yelled at Strom fiercely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strom said, \"Nielsen, don’t take your emotions out on me unless you want to be thrown out!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nielsen roared, \"Throw me out then! You have the guts to throw me out! F*ck you, f*ck!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strom’s officiating tonight had no issues and was not very controversial, he made good calls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Nielsen so agitated, Strom hesitated for a moment with his whistle in his mouth but didn’t blow it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, \"I know you’re upset about losing the game. Do you want to leave the court early? Not a chance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Strom urged the teams to continue the game, then ignored Nielsen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his assistant coach’s reassurance, Nielsen returned to the bench; he truly was angry, angry at himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in the game, the Lakers still passed the ball to Jabbar, and Scott cut through the middle, receiving Jabbar’s pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The result was that Gan Guoyang charged up and swatted the layup with a smack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blocked ball was caught by Thompson, and the Trail Blazers, whether on offense or defense, were already in full rhythm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In contrast, the Lakers were in disarray, their morale was low, and though Scott attempted to avoid the block with his layup, he still couldn’t escape the fate of having it swatted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that block, the Trail Blazers already had the victory firmly in their grasp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drexler brought the ball past half-court and still gave it to Guoyang at the top of the arc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Michael Cooper closed in to defend, and Guoyang passed the ball to Hornacek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hornacek then passed it to Porter on the wing, who then fed the ball to Mychal Thompson down low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thompson seized the opportunity, going one-on-one against Worthy in the post, and his turnaround hook shot scored!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A man who’s become a father is different after all, Thompson scored 5 points in a row!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last man to be this strong after becoming a father was Dell Curry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His son, Stephen Curry, was born in March, and since then, Dell Curry’s performance shot up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His 5 for 4 three-pointers in the semi-final against the Mavericks were his highlight of the year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thompson, having become a father, turned the tide in what might have been the most critical game of the season, reversing his regular season’s slump and playing a key role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>104:96, the lead extended to 8 points, and the Trail Blazers had virtually pocketed the fruits of victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Scott scored a three-pointer, giving the fans a glimmer of hope,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as Drexler’s steady free throws went in, and Cooper’s three-pointer missed, the score was set at 106:99.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the buzzer signalled the end of the game, the Trail Blazers players cheered as they ran back to the locker room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in the locker room, everyone shouted \"Mitchell\", \"Mitchell\", \"Mitchell\"!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Guoyang, slightly embarrassed, announced to his teammates that he was going to be a father too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The locker room erupted into madness, everyone came over to hug and kiss Guoyang, congratulating him on becoming a father ahead of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the team’s atmosphere was incredibly harmonious, and with victory in hand, the team could temporarily forget all the previous miseries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This perhaps was the meaning of victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By June 3, the Trail Blazers returned to their home court, and with a 4-point advantage, they beat the Lakers again, 119:123.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They won the series with a 4:2 lead over the season’s strongest opponent and advanced to the finals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people of Portland had taken a firm step towards defending their title.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kossie said, \"1988 was a magical year, Dell Curry became a father, Mychal Thompson had his first son during the Western Conference Finals, then Ah Gan announced in the locker room that he was going to be a father, followed by Hornacek getting married and also about to be a dad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After game five of the Western Conference Finals, we all went crazy, celebrating in the locker room, celebrating both the victory and the arrival of new life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, at that time, I still couldn’t understand why one would want to have the next generation or why to get married.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My childhood experiences made me fear marriage, fear having a next generation, so it wasn’t until much later that I decided to have a child of my own.\"]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————Published in 2021, excerpt from Jerome Kossie’s biography \"Jerome Kersey—Overcoming The Odds,\" written by Kerry Eggers.\u003C\u002Fp>",1740,"2026-06-06T01:41:33.911Z",1,"novelbin.me","38706beb2e8fa1f63cae91b8d7edf737a676f3c3edd2296ea234230acd3078aa","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-560","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-558",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]