Chapter 712: Chapter 76 Smooth Criminal_3
"Then who are you planning to... take out?"
"I still have six fouls to give, just enough for six of them."
"This... this isn’t a good idea... Referee! Timeout, I need a substitution!"
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While Gan Guoyang and Beelman were talking, the Trail Blazers finally scored.
Petrović, with the ball, broke through and charged under the basket, using his slender body to force his way into the Pistons’ inside line.
He was sent flying out of bounds by Salley, and the referee called Salley’s foul—Salley’s first foul of the game.
The Pistons’ players were using their first fouls to go hard against the Trail Blazers’ players.
Petrović didn’t back down; he got up from the ground, stood on the free-throw line, and sank both shots.
Then Divac defended against Melvin Turpin’s low post move, and on the counter-attack, Sanders scored with a layup.
Immediately, Melvin Turpin responded with a drive to the basket for a layup; his offensive skillset was quite comprehensive, said to have learned a lot from Mark Aguirre.
30:25, the Trail Blazers were behind by 5 points, Beelman called a timeout, and Gan Guoyang removed his tracksuit to re-enter the game, replacing Mychal Thompson.
Hornacek replaced Terry Porter, with Sanders continuing to play to give Kossie more rest time.
During the timeout, Gan Guoyang told everyone, "Let’s show the Detroiters a little color. What you need to do is pass the ball to me when you should, and don’t hesitate to attack on your own, because I might be heading to the locker room to rest at any moment."
The Trail Blazers’ teammates looked at each other; they knew there was a good show coming.
The Pistons also made a substitution; Bill Lambier re-entered the game, and Melvin Turpin went to rest.
Thomas returned to the court as well, Dumars took a short break, and Mark Aguirre stayed to continue as the main offensive threat.
Big-ass Rick Mahorn replaced Salley; once Daley saw Ah Gan’s return, he knew it was time for Mahorn.
The game proceeded to the second quarter, both teams gradually getting into form, and sweat steamed up on the court.
The noisy arena, wave after wave of cheers and jeers, stimulated every nerve of the players.
Everyone was becoming combative and brave; Detroiters have always taken pride in this, as they have the strongest fighting spirit in the League.
They were all masters at dirty plays, able to cleverly use certain moves to quietly attack the opponent, without getting ejected from the game.
Mahorn, Lan Bi’er, Rodman, Melvin Turpin, and Thomas were all studying or even had doctorates in small tricks.
Mahorn’s unique skill was in his butt, a big rear that could compete with Barkley’s, often used cleverly in physical matchups.
For example, a "gentle" bump would send an opponent reeling, or when you jump for a layup, an "accidental" thrust of the hips could make you flip in the air and give you an embarrassing blow.
Even if the referee caught it and called a foul, Mahorn would look innocent, claiming it wasn’t intentional, that he was born with a big butt, and it was the opponent who bumped into him.
When dealing with taller players, Mahorn particularly enjoyed playing the "pull the chair" trick, and Ewing had been frequently troubled by it.
Ewing, straightforward in nature, would naively push with his butt inward, and Mahorn would suddenly pull the chair, catching Ewing off guard.
A stumble called for traveling was the best-case scenario, but if Ewing accidentally fell hard and injured his knee, that would be trouble.
After the timeout, Mahorn was marking Ah Gan one-on-one; he didn’t dare punch or slap Ah Gan, but the small tricks continued incessantly.
Grabbing Ah Gan’s jersey with one hand and continually pushing forward with his knee, in an attempt to push Gan Guoyang out of the Three Second Zone.
Gan Guoyang knew that although Mahorn appeared to be thrusting forward, he was likely contemplating a "pull the chair" to make him fall flat.
Gan Guoyang called for the ball on the left low post, Hornacek passed to Gan Guoyang, but instead of his signature quick turn, he observed, then dribbled slowly inward.
Mahorn backed up two steps, waited for the right moment in Ah Gan’s exertion, and then, taking advantage of the situation, pulled the chair!
Gan Guoyang’s balance wavered, he turned and was about to fall, but at the same time, he elbowed Mahorn in the ribs.
Just as he was falling, Gan Guoyang tossed the ball towards the basket; the ball bounced a couple of times on the rim and miraculously went in.
Two points were good.
And Mahorn bent over holding his ribs, Ah Gan’s stealthy elbow hit Mahorn so hard it felt like a drill to the bone; a hard elbow to the ribs wouldn’t that hurt?
The play was not called a foul by Strom, and there was no replay on the spot, so when Mahorn gave Strom an innocent look, Strom just shook his head.
The innocent looks of the Pistons’ players, in the eyes of the referees, were all acting.
Mahorn could only swallow the loss and grit his teeth as he ran toward the frontcourt to continue the game.
Lan Bi’er saw a hint of something and complained to the referee.
Strom looked at him incredulously and said, "You’re saying Ah Gan used a stealth elbow? Are you sure?"
"I’m sure, I also saw... I... I saw it with my own eyes!"
Strom shook his head and signaled for the game to continue.
As the person who had been hit by Ah Gan the most, Lan Bi’er’s sense of smell was extremely sharp.
He knew that Ah Gan played very openly and honestly, never using sneaky tricks.
If he was going to hit, it was straightforward, the kind of sacrificial play that would give both parties a foul trouble.
The stealth elbow, such a dirty trick, Ah Gan would use? And he used it so well.
Using the moment of imbalance while turning, arms raised pretending to keep balance, he managed to land one on Mahorn.
The move was smooth, without any hint of pretense, perhaps it wasn’t intentional?
Lan Bi’er would soon find out if Ah Gan did it on purpose.
The master of crime was already eyeing him.
Meanwhile, on the Trail Blazers’ bench, Beelman nodded toward Anthony Mason, who sat at the end of the bench.
"Anthony, get ready to play, the team will need you."
Mason was surprised; he hadn’t gotten much playtime during the entire playoffs, and now he was needed during such an intense moment of the finals?
However, when he saw Lan Bi’er secretly pinch Sabonis, causing conflict between the two, Mason started to understand.
"I got it, I will complete the task."
Beelman nodded; since Ah Gan had decided to play tough, as a coach, he would definitely support Ah Gan’s decision.
