Four minutes passed quickly, and before long, the game was drawing to a close.
The numbers on the clock kept ticking down, but Devin Booker's point total did not change at all in those final minutes.
With only 53 seconds left in the game, the number beside Devin Booker's scoring stats still read "38."
Countless Suns and Warriors fans had been hoping Booker would drop 40-plus points at FedExForum today, yet they still had not seen that moment arrive.
Ever since Link switched onto Booker, the outstanding second-year guard had been completely frozen out.
It was not just that he could no longer make shots—his confidence had been completely ground away!
No one knew what Link had said to Booker after finishing that fast break a few possessions earlier, but from then on, Booker seemed to become a puppet, left entirely at Link's mercy.
He was only one basket away from 40 points, yet no matter what he did, Booker simply could not cross that final hurdle.
By then, the Suns were down by 12. If not for Bledsoe repeatedly attacking the basket and drawing fouls, the gap might have been even wider.
Without Booker, their most important scorer, the Suns' offensive threat plummeted.
"Link completely shut Booker down in the closing stretch, not even allowing him a single point. In crunch time, no one can threaten Link!"
Hubie Brown watched the dejected Booker and knew the game was over.
God knew what Link had just said to Booker, but the second-year guard had surely gained a profound understanding of just how terrifying Link was.
To be honest, in their previous two matchups, neither Link nor the Grizzlies had been pushed to reveal their real strength.
That was precisely why Devin Booker had developed the dangerous notion that he could