By the end of the first half, few fans inside Oracle Arena were smiling.
58-55, the Memphis Grizzlies returned to the locker room with a three-point lead.
Although three points was not a huge gap, the Warriors had still been unable to pull ahead despite Gasol's absence. That was immensely disappointing for the Warriors fans in attendance.
The entire second quarter had become Link's personal showcase.
Whenever the Warriors were about to take the lead, he always stepped up to defuse the crisis, making one astonishing shot after another.
By halftime, Link had already scored 22 points. Fourteen of them had come in the second quarter alone.
Durant, meanwhile, had only scored 14 points across both quarters. He had not scored much during the defensive battle of the first quarter, and in the second, he had repeatedly hit a wall in his one-on-one matchups with Link.
Now, forget paying him back double—Durant could not even match Link evenly.
Everyone thought the Warriors had to be incredibly frustrated right now, that they must have been burning with anxiety.
Yet when Steve Kerr was interviewed courtside, he looked completely calm.
"We're only down three points. So far, the game is still under control. In the second half, it'll be our turn."
Kerr spoke evenly, and his composed demeanor did not seem to be an act.
In fact, Kerr was not pretending at all.
Link's performance in the second quarter had been simply breathtaking. By himself, he had filled the void left by Gasol's departure. By himself, he had dominated both ends of the floor.
But likewise, the second quarter had taken an enormous toll on Link!
When every possession meant facing a defender like Durant, even if you could score, you had to pay a tremendous price. Not to mention having to