Over in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers had been cruising along smoothly.
With Isaiah Thomas sidelined, the Celtics had no ability to fight back against the Cavaliers.
It could be said that the Cavaliers making the Finals for the third straight year was already a foregone conclusion.
Thus, the eyes of the entire world had turned to the West. The matchup between the Grizzlies and the Warriors, the two teams with the best regular-season records, was currently deadlocked.
May 20, Oracle Arena.
Warriors fans had been waiting here for a long time.
The Warriors had posted an astounding 67 wins in the regular season, yet they still failed to secure home-court advantage in the Western Conference Finals.
This was also the first time in this year's playoffs that the Warriors had to play two road games before returning to Oakland.
Of course, the Warriors' performance had delighted their fans. Coming away from FedExForum with the series tied 1-1 was already impressive enough.
After all, before this, no team had managed to defeat the Grizzlies in the playoffs.
Now, Warriors fans were all hoping their team could extend its advantage at home.
Before the game began, ESPN reporters interviewed many fans waiting in line outside Oracle Arena.
Every Warriors fan was wildly passionate, dressed in yellow T-shirts like a sea of flames.
"Draymond was right—the Grizzlies will never get past the Western Conference Finals!"
"Fuck the Grizzlies! They're not taking a single win away from here!"
"They're just a defeated opponent. I believe Kevin, Stephen, and the others can handle the Grizzlies."
Every Warriors fan interviewed shouted bluntly at the cameras.
The city of Oakland truly harbored deep hostility toward the Grizzlies.
As Link and his teammates rode the team bus from their hotel to Oracle Arena, massive crowds of fans