Right from the opening tip, both sides traded blows in a thrilling back-and-forth.
The teams' consecutive baskets seemed to have set the tone for the game.
This matchup—no, this entire series—was bound to be fiercely contested.
The Warriors remained in the lead, but Durant felt somewhat uneasy.
He had no idea what Link had just said to Jokic, and it bothered Durant greatly.
After speaking with Link, Jokic no longer seemed so dejected.
In last season's Western Conference Finals, to be honest, Jokic had not left much of an impression on Durant. In his eyes, Jokic was merely a somewhat outstanding second-round pick.
But this year, Jokic's stellar play made it impossible for Durant to ignore him any longer.
That guy definitely had what it took to cause the Warriors trouble!
That was precisely why Durant was wary of him.
Link and Jokic both had extremely high basketball IQs. Who knew what they were plotting?
Yet the Grizzlies' next offensive possession was quite ordinary.
Jokic and Link did not produce any brilliant combination play, and the possession ended with Wade missing a pull-up mid-range jumper.
Durant could hardly believe the Grizzlies had been stopped so easily. Could Link and Jokic have merely been putting on a show?
That was not impossible!
No matter how capable Link was, he could not possibly make his teammates explode every time with just a few words.
Durant immediately felt much more at ease. Now, all he wanted was to focus on offense!
The Warriors' offense remained as aggressive as ever, and Durant was still highly active.
This time, Durant chose to attack Link with a post-up.
However, Durant had a very difficult time dribbling with his back to the basket.
Link not only held his ground behind Durant to prevent him from backing down