[{"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-885":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},1444252,1896,"Chapter 885 - 52 Facing Ah Gan_3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-885",885,"\u003Cp>Joining them in retaliation was exactly what the Pistons wanted. The game would become even more intense, which suited their preferred style—a mud-wrestling match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when we didn’t retaliate, they didn’t know how to respond. They were finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For me, this game was tremendously significant, not just for winning the Eastern Conference championship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On this very court, just a year before, Game 7: I scored only 2 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether or not I had a migraine, it remains an indelible stain on my basketball career.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t undo the concussion that left me dazed. We could lament, but we couldn’t change anything about the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to live with those two disappointing performances for the rest of my life, until the day I die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least beating the Detroit Pistons in 1991 brought some solace to my heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tallied 23 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the game, leaving The Palace of Auburn Hills, the celebrations on the team bus will forever be etched in my memory—except for Jerry Krause dancing. I wish I could forget that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, beating the Detroit Pistons felt just like winning the championship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know about others, but for me, the entire regular season revolved around targeting Detroit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chicago fans were ecstatic. When we landed at the airport on Monday night, people lined up cheering and shouting for us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were thrilled, but I knew our task wasn’t over yet—we were only stepping onto the grandest stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s when Phil Jackson stepped forward to remind us incessantly that our journey was far from over until we claimed the championship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would show us his 1973 championship ring from when he played for the New York Knicks, saying, ’Fellas, you want one? Then go win the Finals.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We were brimming with confidence, yet deeply anxious. You’ve got to understand—the Bulls in June 1991 weren’t the dynasty that would later dominate countless Finals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We were just a hungry, youthful team chasing dreams, yearning for success, unaware of what the future held, simply focused on the present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And who was the opponent now? Deep down, we all knew, especially Michael.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We had been waiting for a long time—to face the Bulls’ destined rival—the Portland Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day after returning to Chicago, the result of the Western Conference Finals Game 5 came in. The entire team watched the matchup on a TV in the practice facility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reinsdorf and Jerry Krause were with us. The game was fiercely competitive. We were all hoping for a quick resolution, no more dragging it out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Suns were still leading in the first half. At that moment, I thought the series might return to Phoenix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Michael said, ’No, Ah Gan will settle the Suns and Barkley in the third quarter.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, Ah Gan scored 15 points and blocked 6 shots in the third quarter alone, completely shattering the Suns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers took the lead and then crushed the Suns in the fourth quarter, winning the series 4–1.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was their fifth Western Conference championship in 7 years, and they were establishing a dominance akin to the Boston Celtics back in the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the game ended, Michael turned off the TV and said, ’Enough watching. Let’s go train.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come on, it was already past eleven at night—why train now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But somehow, we all agreed. We turned on the lights in the practice gym and trained for over an hour together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was focused on practice. The atmosphere was silent and heavy. We were all a bit tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because we were headed to Portland—to face Ah Gan in the Finals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>———— Excerpt from Scottie Pippen’s 2021 autobiography \"Unguarded.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",612,"2026-06-06T01:41:38.819Z",1,"novelbin.me","85b3c458b9083914fe4d623239e5b627e392406c49d641128061a89d8299c3f6","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-886","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-884",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]