The game-winner missed.
This was not actually something worth making a big deal over.
In fact, most clutch shots ended in misses.
It was precisely because game-winners were so hard to come by that they became the most thrilling moments in basketball.
But when this was tied to the conflict between Durant and Link, it was no longer insignificant.
Durant had provocatively claimed that the Warriors were more likely than the Grizzlies to finish January undefeated, yet he himself failed to make the game-winning shot.
It was his own miss that ruined the Warriors' undefeated plan.
This time, Durant had raised his hand and slapped himself in the face.
Without question, that made Durant the target of criticism from fans and reporters.
Although Durant did not attend the postgame press conference, the reporters had no intention of letting him off the hook.
Instead, they rubbed salt into the wound, deliberately asking plenty of questions about the missed game-winner during the media availability the following day.
Faced with the reporters' pointed questions, Durant suffered bitterly.
Ever since joining the Warriors, Durant had been public enemy number one for two years.
At first, he had comforted himself by saying that once he won a championship, all the doubts and insults would disappear.
Yet this season, Durant's image had not recovered much. The Grizzlies' resurgence had only sent the images of Durant and the Warriors plummeting further.
After being a "villain" for barely two years, Durant was already finding it unbearable. He truly could not imagine how Link had endured those years when the criticism against him had been at its fiercest.
The Warriors' loss to the Trail Blazers brought their losses this season up to eight.
Not only had Durant failed to push the Warriors closer to the top of the Western