The last time anyone pulled off a jaw-dropping snatch block in an NBA game was back in 2009, when the Lakers' Shannon Brown did it.
Back then, "Spring Man" Brown's chase-down snatch block on Hawks guard Mario West drew some classic reactions from Kobe and the others on the Lakers' bench.
However, Link's snatch block was even more explosive than Shannon Brown's.
First of all, Link had not snatch-blocked some obscure nobody like Mario West.
The man he had beaten was Kyrie Irving, a star guard who had cracked the top ten in scoring this season!
Secondly, when Shannon Brown made his snatch block, the game had already entered garbage time and the Lakers had victory locked up. Therefore, that block had little impact on the outcome and was simply spectacular to watch.
But Link's snatch block was not only visually thrilling—it also had a tangible impact on the game's result.
If Irving had made that layup just now, the Cavaliers would have taken the lead again. Without question, that would have put the Grizzlies in a very passive position.
But Link's block stopped all of that and preserved the Grizzlies' advantage.
That was why Link's chase-down snatch block was more exhilarating and more shocking.
Reggie Miller could guarantee that this play would rank among the top five plays of Link's career!
Irving's heart had completely gone cold. Link's strength was like a bottomless black hole—impossible to fathom!
As a skill-based point guard, Irving, like Paul, was one of the players in the league who got blocked the least.
But he would never forget the feeling of having the basketball forcibly snatched right out of his hands.
Irving was traumatized now. For the final two-plus minutes, he would be living under Link's shadow.
That was exactly what Link wanted. Now,