Chapter 719: Chapter 79: Those Who Follow the Path Receive Much Help
Ah Gan let Detroiters say goodnight to the world, but in reality, due to the incident in the first game of the finals, the entire American sports media industry stayed up all night, urgently covering this major news.
Court violence is not a rare thing, but this time it’s the finals, and it’s between the Trail Blazers and Pistons, two teams with deep-seated grievances.
The Pistons have been notoriously infamous across America these past two years. Those who love them support them crazily and are extremely arrogant, while those who hate them wish they could be knocked out of the court, never to participate in NBA games again.
Now, someone has stood up to fulfill everyone’s wishes, as Isiah Thomas has indeed been sent to the hospital.
A reporter at the hospital sent out the diagnosis: Thomas’ facial bones collapsed, and the fractured area needed 58 sutures.
Although this is not as severe as when Kermit Washington hit Tomjanovich back in the day, it’s still terrifying enough.
Tomjanovich was an innocent victim back then, kindly attempting to break up a fight when he was attacked by Washington, his brain matter ending up outside of his skull.
But Thomas is different, these past few years relying on his status as Pistons’ boss to misbehave, blatantly making personal threats in interviews.
In games, despite his small size, he has many tricks; hitting, poking eyes, kicking groins, undersetting feet, various dirty and vile moves keep emerging, all to completely disrupt the opponent psychologically.
The League indulges him, referees are lenient, plus the Pistons are united from top to bottom, Thomas and Lan Bi’er among others, can truly be described as rampant in the league.
In 1989, the Trail Blazers experienced a series of misfortunes and were knocked out in the Western Finals, and the Pistons achieved success in the finals, further fueling their arrogance.
But vengeance is a dish best served cold, their time hadn’t come until, meeting Ah Gan in the 1990 finals, which was their retribution.
As Thomas was rushed to the hospital, Lan Bi’er, Mark Aguirre, and others were beaten into a daze, and the Pistons, having no more fighting spirit left in the first game, just wanted to finish quickly and recoup.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers, united as one, heard Bobby Beelman shout "If we can’t win the game, we won’t be able to face Ah Gan. He has fought with his fists to secure a fair and clean playing environment for us; the least we can do is to clinch the victory."
Even without Ah Gan during the latter part of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers still maintained a complete offensive and defensive system.
Sabonis, originally a low-end substitute for Ah Gan (although taller and heavier), differs from the Trail Blazers of the first three-peat period.
During the first three-peat, if without Ah Gan, it would have been difficult for the Trail Blazers to even make it to the playoffs, let alone win a championship.
But now, the Trail Blazers rely a bit less on Ah Gan, with a more mature system and players with more diverse roles.
The Pistons team suffered heavy losses, not only losing their core Thomas but also with Lan Bi’er, Rodman, Aguirre among others significantly weakened.
The Pistons only had Melvin Turpin and Joe Dumars desperately holding on, still entangled until the latter half of the fourth quarter.
Finally, Porter and Hornacek successively scored three-pointers, followed by the Trail Blazers using a counterattack to unleash an 11:1 offensive surge, collapsing the exhausted and startled Pistons.
The final quarter of the game proceeded unusually smoothly, without interruptions, vicious fouls, or petty moves; everyone played the game respectfully.
In such circumstances, the offensive-oriented Trail Blazers naturally had the advantage; they played more and more smoothly, crushing the Pistons and finalizing the score at 95:107, decimated Trail Blazers defeated the decimated Pistons by 12 points, seizing victory in the first game of the finals.
The overall score 1:0.
Yet, everyone wasn’t too concerned about the outcome of the finals, they wanted to know how the league would handle this unprecedented court brawl incident.
Ah Gan would definitely be suspended, but for one game? Or for the entire finals?
Just how severe are Thomas’ injuries, and will he appear again in the finals?
Will this incident exceed the scope of the NBA and escalate into an intentional injury case in federal court?
Will the NBA amend its regulations in the future to address instances of extreme violence on the court?
In any case, various questions filled everyone’s mind.
As soon as the game ended, reporters were as busy as bees in a garden, gathering pollen nutrients.
At the press conference hall, Chuck Daly’s left cheek was even more swollen.
The game had ended, they lost, and he was no longer suppressing his anger: "This was the most savage game I’ve ever experienced, comparable only to the third game of the 1987 finals, also Ah Gan’s doing. I don’t understand, how such a butcher-like player can still be active in the NBA? He’s even the league’s regular season MVP, a leading figure! I can’t believe it, I simply can’t!"
"Now our core player is still lying in the hospital, his life hanging in the balance, and I believe Ah Gan should not appear in the remaining games of the finals. He is an incredible athlete, I respect him, I admire him, his skills are astounding, but so is his violence, this shouldn’t be a league of violence."
If another coach had said these words, they would carry weight, but coming from Chuck Daly, some reporters couldn’t help but sneer.
A reporter from The Oregonian immediately retorted, saying, "The Pistons’ violence is as shocking as your results, shouldn’t you also disappear from the NBA?"
Daly glared at the reporter but did not respond, briefly answered two more questions, and then hurriedly ended the press conference to visit Thomas with his players at the hospital.
No matter how much the outside world despised the Detroit Pistons, the Pistons themselves were indeed a very united team, wholeheartedly committing collective misdeeds.
Unfortunately, they encountered Ah Gan.
In the Trail Blazers’ locker room, after Gan Guoyang said, "The Detroiters and the world say goodnight," he did not make any more statements related to this one-sided beating, just chatted with reporters until the game ended.
The Trail Blazers players returned to the locker room with victory, and Jerry West closed the locker room door.
One by one, teammates came forward to embrace Gan Guoyang, Petrović and Divac bowed their heads to kiss Ah Gan’s bandaged hand.
The locker room had a solemn atmosphere, everyone waiting for Gan Guoyang to speak, at this moment a single word from him could lead them all through fire and water.
Gan Guoyang didn’t deliver an impassioned speech but said instead, "I’m truly sorry, I was too impulsive, leaving you to compete on the court while I could only hide in the locker room praying for the team. There’s nothing worse for me than this. Thank you for securing the victory, thank you for helping me, for tolerating me, for supporting me, thank you."
As he spoke, tears flowed from Gan Guoyang’s eyes.
He was not regretting beating the Pistons’ players but was saddened by the prospect of being suspended and unable to fight alongside his teammates.
Veteran Mychal Thompson was the first to speak up, saying: "Whether you are on the court or not, Ah Gan, we will definitely keep the championship trophy in Portland, I swear to God."
Jerome Kossie chimed in, saying: "Even if it costs me my life on the court, we will win the championship and never give the Pistons another chance!"
Porter and Hornacek, both not very articulate, stepped forward and silently embraced Ah Gan, giving him strength with their firm arms.
Then Jerry West spoke, saying, "I will never let Ah Gan miss all of the finals, at most two games, suspended for at most two games. I will do everything in my power to protest to the League, using all my connections. Donald has also assured the audience, don’t worry, Sonny. If tonight you had hit Mark Price, then I could only send you to court. But Isiah Thomas? If he’s not dead, that means God has forgiven you, after all, even Satan doesn’t want to keep him."
The atmosphere in the locker room lightened a bit.
As he was speaking, Calvin pushed open a side door and entered, saying, "Sonny, you have a call."
"Who?"
"Er... many, your wife, dad, Minister Clinton, Governor of Oregon, President of California State Assembly, Chairman of Avia, and ... also Michael, two Michaels... the phone lines are exploding, too many."
"Okay, I’m coming, I’ll be right there."
