But no matter what, Marques Johnson still fitted in well with the Celtics, especially when Bird was not on the court, he could make significant contributions.
In the second quarter, Marques Johnson took control of the Celtics’ ga, playing more freely and aggressively.
In response, Jack Ramsay substituted Kenny-Carl, with the interior still anchored by Gan Guoyang and Thompson, and the backcourt consisting of Drexler and Parkson.
This was a lineup with tough defense and slightly rigid offense; there were many physical collisions, and the referees began blowing the whistle frequently to control the ga.
"Damn it, the Trail Blazers are constantly dragging out the pace; do they think they can hold up our offense?"
Bird sat on the bench resting, observing the Trail Blazers’ intention not to allow the Celtics to play a fast offense, not letting them run.
The Trail Blazers had consistently used this strategy during the regular season to good effect, winning two years in a row at the Boston Garden, dealing the Celtics their only ho defeat of the season.
The Celtics had not lost a ho ga in the playoffs.
"Push it, Marques, push it!" Bird shouted from the sidelines, reminding Marques to speed up.
Marques sped up, but his layup was blocked by Gan Guoyang from behind.
Parrish, who followed up, tried to score on the rebound but was again blocked by Gan Guoyang.
When Danny Ainge grabbed the ball, he didn’t dare drive to the basket again, instead opting to go back out and reorganize the offense.
The Trail Blazers played loose on the outside but tight inside; ultimately, Marques Johnson’s forceful outside shot missed, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound.
Gan Guoyang was also dissatisfied with his teammates’ defense; tonight, they had given up quite a few offensive rebounds, offering the Celtics too many second-chance opportunities.
But he still held the fort under the basket, not letting the Celtics’ rebounds easily translate into points.
"Secure the defensive rebounds, fools! We don’t have fast breaks, everyone needs to go for the rebounds!"
Drexler and others, used to fast breaks, had forgotten to protect the defensive rebounds.
On offense, Gan Guoyang finally got a chance to attack from the low post.
Drexler passed the ball quickly; Gan Guoyang caught it and imdiately turned around, overpowering Parrish to score with the shot.
"That’s how you pass, it has to be quick, it must be quick!"
Gan Guoyang wound up every teammate, urging everyone to tense up as quickly as possible.
In regular gas, Gan Guoyang always encouraged his teammates, but the finals were truly different.
Both teams’ leaders kept yelling at their teammates, but no one objected; the players knew that these two guys were the coaches on the court.
Bird didn’t sit out for too long; he returned to the floor, replacing Kevin McHale at the power forward position, matched against Mychal Thompson.
Bird, with his back to Thompson at the 45-degree angle, used fake moves and continuous turns to create a shooting opportunity at the baseline, and his fadeaway jump shot connected!
And Gan Guoyang, receiving the ball at the free-throw line, dribbled towards the baseline, using his speed to shake off Parrish before his move-his hook shot hit its mark!
The leaders of both teams began to take over the ga with difficult shots.
At the sa spot, Bird got the ball, this ti opting for a turn-around inside cut floater.
Before Gan Guoyang’s block could arrive, he tossed the ball toward the hoop, scoring off the backboard and drawing a foul in the process.
"I didn’t even touch him! He fell on his own!" Gan Guoyang complained to the referee.
He rarely complained to the referee, but in the finals, every ball was contested fiercely, and a single free throw could decide the outco.
The head referee tonight was Bavetta, who explained to Gan Guoyang, "It’s a cylinder issue, I’ll be fair, don’t worry Sonny, just play your ga."
Bird made the bonus free throw, and the Celtics were pulling away, but Gan Guoyang knew not to get flustered at this mont; he calmly observed the situation on the court.
He stood high, drawing the defense, then suddenly passed the ball under the basket with a direct feed to the cutting Parkson, who caught the ball and went up strong for the layup, drawing a foul from Bird.
Gan Guoyang and Parkson high-fived, an infrequent collaboration between the two, catching the Celtics unprepared. Parkson made both free throws, stabilizing the situation.
"Nice shooting," Gan Guoyang said to Parkson after the successful free throws.
Parkson had the chance to score directly, but he deliberately waited a mont to draw the foul on Bird.
Not only were the free throws more reliable, but they also slowed down the pace of the ga, preventing the Celtics from accelerating.
Bird desperately tried to speed up the ga, quickly inbounding the ball and himself rushing past half court.
Marques Johnson received the ball mid-court and cut beneath the basket, attacking the Trail Blazer’s unstabilized three-second zone.
Gan Guoyang dashed over and delivered another block to the Celtics, his fifth block of the night!
On the periter, both teams tangled in a scramble, Kenny-Carl almost wrestling Bird to the ground, until the referee finally called for a jump ball.
After enduring the adaptation of the first quarter, the competition heated up intensely during the second quarter.
Stamina was a test for the Trail Blazers players, but the good news was that the depth of their bench was solid.
Plus, they had an almost endlessly energetic beast, Gan Guoyang, who could keep performing on the court without rest.
With agility during the jump ball, Ramsay subbed out Drexler for Vandeweghe.
At the sa ti in the paint, Mitchell Thompson sat down for the veteran Jones, all to ensure that Gan Guoyang stayed in the ga.
When Gan Guoyang saw Jones entering, he thought Jones was coming to relieve him, but to his surprise, Jones pointed at Thompson instead.
Ramsay was watching McHale who had sat down, resting Thompson in preparation for McHale later.
And since Walton was saved for the more crucial monts of the second half, it was Jones’ ti to shine.
"You old fart, you really won’t let sit down, huh," Gan Guoyang took a deep breath and continued to imrse himself in the ga.
Kenny-Carl won the jump ball over Bird, and Gan Guoyang charged forward to snatch the ball.
He dribbled past half court himself, dodging Bird’s stealthy steal attempt, then suddenly accelerated down the middle, driving hard to the basket!
With both hands, he perford a dominating slam dunk!
As a result, the forceful dunk brought down the entire backboard of the old hoop at the Boston Garden.
The tir’s cables were torn, and the entire tempered glass backboard crashed onto the parquet floor.
Fortunately, Gan Guoyang dodged in ti, or else he would have been hit by the board.
The courtside audience was stunned, with Auerbach, seated in his exclusive spot, watching the ga with his mouth wide open, swearing at Xie Te.
Television viewers were imnsely shocked, and the comntators didn’t know what to say. This was the second ti Gan Guoyang had broken a backboard during an official ga.
The last ti was at morial Coliseum when he shattered a tempered glass backboard, prompting the League to reinforce all the backboards.
But this ti, instead of the backboard shattering, the whole assembly was yanked down, interrupting the intensely fierce ga that had to be paused to replace the hoop.
Bird shook his head looking at the pitiful hoop, muttering, "Beast, this guy is a real beast."
CBS comntator Brent Musburger slowly ca to his senses, jokingly said, "The NBA should really investigate their equipnt procurent departnt, there might be so corruption there."
anwhile, Gan Guoyang went back to the bench for a brief rest and said to Ramsay, "Coach, if you won’t let take a breather, I have to find a way to take one myself."
Ramsay sighed and said, "Next ti you want a rest, just tell , don’t take it out on the hoop, it’s not good."
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