Chapter 2222 - 33: An Offer They Can’t Refuse (Part 2)

Chapter 2222: Chapter 33: An Offer They Can’t Refuse (Part 2)

Don Nelson had anticipated this situation long ago. He wasn’t disheartened, nor did he give up resisting. During the break, he simply told the players: "We just need to be more accurate, that’s all."

It sounds simple, being more accurate, just like saying "just make the shot," it seems like nonsense.

But in fact, what truly determines the future direction of basketball is who can be more accurate. The players of this generation, growing up in the 80s and 90s, are already much better at shooting compared to those from the 60s and 70s, but it’s still not enough to meet Don Nelson’s standards.

The Warriors players couldn’t truly understand the deeper meaning in Don Nelson’s words. They gradually collapsed under the pressure of giants like Gan Guoyang and Yao Ming.

Ah Gan, at 42 years old, was even more difficult to deal with than Dirk Nowitzki in his prime. This guy was too tough, too cunning, and his playstyle was completely different from the regular season.

The overwhelming power and skill made the Warriors’ wheel battle ineffective. Whoever came on was just offering themselves up.

Moreover, Gan Guoyang’s passing ability was much stronger than Nowitzki’s. Nowitzki averaged only 2.3 assists in the first-round series, even lower than the non-passing Josh Howard. With such poor passing ability, the Warriors’ wheel battle was naturally smooth, and they managed to confuse the MVP.

Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, used his masterful passing and coordination to make the Warriors pay for every double team.

Weighing the options, the Warriors adopted a no-double-team strategy, allowing Gan Guoyang to play freely, hoping to wear him out by the fourth quarter.

This strategy wasn’t wrong, and it was indeed an effective method against an aging Gan Guoyang whose stamina wasn’t what it used to be.

As the fourth quarter began, Porter didn’t keep Gan Guoyang on the court. Instead, he let Yao Ming and Allen Iverson carry the offensive and defensive banner, confronting the Warriors and maintaining the lead.

The Warriors’ aim was to hold out until Ah Gan returned, sticking it out until the main players were back and into the final five minutes. As long as the deficit was within 10 points, they had a chance to make a push.

But the offensive power of Yao Ming and Iverson together took the Warriors by surprise, especially Yao Ming. He carried his excellent shooting touch into the fourth quarter, continuously scoring with jump shots and hook shots.

The Warriors started to lose their grip, while Glory fought more bravely, pushing the deficit to over 15 points. The Warriors couldn’t accept it, but were helpless.

Don Nelson didn’t call a timeout. He knew timeouts were useless. Several key forwards were already at four fouls, and sending them on would immediately leave no one to use, so they had to keep dragging.

In favorable conditions, Iverson, Yao Ming, Bell, and Wallace all stepped up. Glory responded with a 13:2 run against the Warriors, extending the lead to 18 points!

The Warriors still wanted to hold out until Ah Gan returned to the game. However, with the gap widening like this, Gan Guoyang didn’t need to come back on.

When Don Nelson called a timeout and substituted the main players, Gan Guoyang knew the Warriors had surrendered. As expected, in the first battle between the two sides, Glory would secure the victory.

Gan Guoyang then took the ice pack from the team’s physiotherapist and applied it to his heated knees and ankles, followed by wrapping a large ice pack, like a boxing championship belt, around his waist to cool his back muscles and make himself more comfortable.

In the final moments, Glory’s team score climbed to 100, eliciting enthusiastic cheers from the on-site fans.

According to the team’s rules, in this playoff series, when Glory’s score exceeds 100 points, all fans present will receive a free pizza coupon, redeemable for an Italian pizza at the hotel restaurant.

Pizza-loving Charles Barkley expressed his full support for Glory breaking 100 points and planned to collect free pizza coupons, as the pizza at The Gump Center Hotel is "the best in the entire western hemisphere."

The score settled at 105:90, and Glory comfortably defeated the Warriors with a 15-point advantage, taking the first win in the Western Conference semifinals, leading 1:0.

Gan Guoyang played 30 minutes, efficiently scoring 27 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. For him, it was nothing extraordinary, but victory was the greatest reward. Statistics were something Gan Guoyang didn’t care about anymore.

After winning this game, Gan Guoyang removed the ice packs from his knees and waist, took a can of spray paint from a staff member, approached the sideline, and crossed out the "5" among the 16 numbers under the tech desk, representing Glory taking another step toward the championship.

Once he crosses out all 16 numbers, it will signify the 12th championship trophy and the official end of his basketball career.

Therefore, every time he crossed out a number, Gan Guoyang felt both exhilaration and a touch of sentiment, truly feeling that with every game played, he had one less left.

Two days later, Gan Guoyang crossed out the number "6," as Glory once again relied on an offensive push at home, defeating the Warriors 110:104.

In this game, the Warriors made adjustments, reducing fouls and not strongly targeting Gan Guoyang on defense, but it didn’t help much.

Their strategy was purely to exhaust, attacking frantically, just maintaining a defensive posture, trying to tire out the big guys, Ah Gan and Yao Ming, with relentless offense.

But Porter wasn’t foolish. Glory’s small lineup wasn’t bad either. Iverson, Bell, Wallace, Holi were all masters of fast play and chaos.

So Porter didn’t stubbornly stick to his advantageous routine but went along with the Warriors’ plan. You run, I run too.

Glory reduced the playing time of Yao Ming and Ah Gan, exactly as they had some stamina issues, allowing them more rest to prepare for the subsequent series.

In truth, whether it was Porter or Don Nelson, both knew clearly in their hearts that barring unusual circumstances, the Warriors couldn’t get past Glory. After the first game, both sides knew their weight.

The Warriors players knew that reaching this point was already worth it, and going any further was incredibly tough. Even if eliminated, they were still heroes.

Of course, the most upset were the Mavericks players, especially Dirk Nowitzki. Recently, the League announced the regular-season MVP award recipient, and unsurprisingly, Nowitzki won this honor, becoming the first MVP player in the history of the Mavericks.

Embarrassingly, Nowitzki also became another MVP player in NBA history eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and the first MVP swept by an eighth seed.

But Nowitzki still attended the award ceremony with a full and optimistic attitude, smiling as he received the MVP trophy from David Stern, even though the outside view on this MVP trophy was more of ridicule and sarcasm, especially with Gan Guoyang dominating the Warriors, many people would bring up Ah Gan to slight Nowitzki.

For this reason, Gan Guoyang specially sent Nowitzki a text message, congratulating him for winning MVP and believing that he could overcome the predicament and play a truly personal season.

Nowitzki was very grateful for Gan Guoyang’s encouragement. After being eliminated, Nowitzki was indeed quite devastated. Even if he smiled, he could only find excuses for himself in life, but couldn’t find relief on the court.

Gan Guoyang’s message couldn’t solve the problem. He still had to rely on himself, but the concern from a senior, like a flicker of light in the darkness, gave him a bit of warmth to strive out of the predicament.

On May 10th, Gan Guoyang arrived in San Francisco to prepare for the third game against the Warriors on the 11th.

That night, Gan Guoyang didn’t stay at the hotel. Quentin drove him to the site of the old Gan’s Restaurant in the Tenderloin District.

It had become a hotel here, and actually, before Gan’s Restaurant, it was already a hotel, connected to the second floor, and now it had returned to its original state.

The first floor had been renovated and looked entirely different, with almost no trace of the former restaurant.

However, once inside the hotel lobby, in the most visible spot on the wall inside the door, there were many photos of the former Gan’s Restaurant hanging.

There were photos of Gan Guoyang, other NBA stars, and pop music superstar Michael Jackson, commemorating that this place used to be the famous Ah Gan’s restaurant.

Gan Guoyang looked at these photos, and each one was a precious memory from the past, but eventually, all became history.

"Quentin, find the owner of this hotel and have a talk. I want to buy this place back, money is not an issue."

"Okay, but what if he refuses to sell?"

"Offer him a deal he can’t refuse."

"Got it."