The Golden Age of Basketball

The point difference began to widen, and finally, George Karl couldn't withstand it.

The difference reached 35 points, 40 points, 45 points, and was heading toward 50 points!

Karl called a timeout and took the main players off the court, surrendering, surrendering!

Karl had another reason for taking the main players off at this moment, not only was the difference reaching 50 points, but Ah Gan's score was also heading toward 50 points.

At this point, Gan Guoyang had already scored 48 points, grabbed 24 rebounds, incredible stats, but he was still 2 points short of 50.

According to common practice, if Karl takes off the main players, the Trail Blazers should also take off their starters.

Karl didn't want Ah Gan to score 50 points; otherwise, if he fulfilled his promise, the SuperSonics would be even more embarrassed.

Beelman and Gan Guoyang both saw through Karl's intention.

During the timeout, Beelman gave Gan Guoyang a look.

Gan Guoyang immediately understood, "I'll score 50 points and then come off."

Beelman nodded, absolutely not giving Karl any face.

So, when the timeout ended, the Trail Blazers players returned to the court.

Karl, upon realizing Ah Gan was still on the court, stretched out his hands toward the court.

The expression on his face was one of shock, meaning, "I've already surrendered, and you still have your core on just to rack up points?"

Gan Guoyang saw Karl's expression and approached the sideline, saying, "George! A man must keep his word. If I said I would score 50 points, then I have to get 50 points, not a point less!"

Soon, Gan Guoyang received a pass at the arc and hit a two-pointer, scoring 50 points.

This basket not only allowed Gan Guoyang to score 50 points but also brought the point difference to 50 points.

76:126, the massive point difference left the SuperSonics players in despair.

The greater the hope before the game, the greater the despair now.

Payton and Kemp, these two young players, sat on the bench with expressions that seemed shattered.

The game wasn't even over, and just in rebounding, the SuperSonics were over twenty behind.

This fatal flaw in rebounding is a severe vulnerability that the SuperSonics found hard to compensate for.

What Payton and Kemp didn't know was that in the future, ahead of them, lay a road filled with even greater obstacles.

The issues with their inside game would cause them to suffer greatly.

Once the game lost its suspense, time passed very quickly.

The game ended early as the Trail Blazers, with a home-court advantage, demolished the Seattle SuperSonics with a 52-point lead, 133:81.

The 52-point difference set a new record for the largest victory margin in the Trail Blazers' playoff history, only six points shy of 58.

The Trail Blazers brutally slaughtered the SuperSonics without mercy, essentially killing the suspense of the series.

After such a devastating defeat, not one member of the SuperSonics, including Karl, could say anything harsh post-game.

Talk of overthrowing the Trail Blazers' dominance, the world belonging to the young, all would remain unspoken.

As for what had already been said, let it be flogged; life in the world of basketball involves taking hits.

This crushing defeat scattered the morale and spirit of the young SuperSonics, while the Trail Blazers boosted their morale significantly.

From this battle, the Trail Blazers truly entered championship contention mode.

Later that evening, Gan Guoyang and Gan Youwei rode home together, with Gan Youwei looking very happy.

Not just because his son won the game, but also for scoring 50 points.

"Dad, why are you so happy? I've never seen you this happy, even when I won the championship."

"Why wouldn't I be happy? I'm happy every time you win. Since you started playing in high school, I'd be happy for days whenever you won."

"Really? I haven't noticed."

"Being happy doesn't always have to be noticed."

"I noticed today, look at you, you can't stop smiling."

"Really? That's not the case. Maybe it's because I've gained weight."

After settling in Portland and leaving the restaurant business, Gan Youwei had gained quite a bit of weight.

Seeing his father gain weight, Gan Guoyang felt much more at ease regarding his health.

The saying "a carefree heart leads to a plump body" applied well, as the unease that had troubled him throughout the regular season slowly faded away.

Next, Gan Guoyang and his teammates headed to Seattle to close out the series.

The SuperSonics, after suffering a 52-point blow, clearly hadn't recovered from the devastating loss.

The entire team was immersed in a lack of confidence and a season-ending, vacation-ready atmosphere.

Such is the case with young teams: they are excited after big wins and despondent after big losses, lacking resilience.

Of course, they had made great progress compared to last year and gave the Trail Blazers quite a bit of trouble.

So much so that Gan Guoyang and Beelman had to resort to some off-court tricks, even engaging in verbal battles with Karl.

In Game 6, with the boost from playing at home, the SuperSonics held their ground for half the game but couldn't sustain into the third quarter.

Their rebounding was truly poor, an insurmountable flaw as the series reached its latter stages.

The Trail Blazers focused on exploiting the rebounding issue, cycling through their three big men, rendering the so-called SOS defense system useless.

Even if they defended well, losing rebounds made all the switching and pressuring upfront meaningless.

The Trail Blazers played more smoothly, ultimately winning Game 6 106-94 on the road against the SuperSonics.

With a 4-2 series victory, they safely defeated their opponent, advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the ninth consecutive season.

This set an NBA record for the most consecutive appearances in the Western Conference Finals, marking the Trail Blazers' tenth time in history to reach the West Finals, second only to the Los Angeles Lakers in the West.

The Trail Blazers' Western Conference Finals opponent was also decided the next day; Charles Barkley hit a near-buzzer-beater in Game 6 of the semifinals to take down the Spurs.

The Phoenix Suns also won the series 4-2 against the Spurs, reaching the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive year to face the Portland Trail Blazers.

This time, Charles Barkley had matured much, saying of the West Finals, "Ah Gan is very strong, and the Trail Blazers are incredibly strong. It's going to be very, very difficult to beat them. Nine years now, only one team has ever done it twice, both times when the Trail Blazers were very weak. They are not weak now, which will be a huge challenge for us."

"I'm willing to face this challenge again because I am Charles Barkley."

[Before the 1993 West Finals, I said, 'I'm willing to face this challenge again because I am Charles Barkley.' Shit, I was so cool back then!

I was like the Terminator—at the time, I should have donned some sunglasses and a cigar! I am Charles Barkley! Haha! I was cool as hell.

Later Ah Gan said I seemed like a fool; he was just jealous of me—jealous that I wasn't only cool but also talented.]

—Charles Barkley, in retrospect, recalling the events of 1993 after becoming a television commentator.