He was crossed over and sent to the floor, then immediately posterized.
LeBron James had never suffered such humiliation.
All along, even when LeBron James's team was defeated, James himself was never defeated.
Over the past four games, though the Cavaliers had suffered three crushing losses, not once had James been completely suppressed by Link.
Many James fans often said, "LeBron's team lost, but LeBron didn't."
But today, after Link scored five straight points over James in an almost humiliating fashion, James instantly grew tense.
He absolutely could not lose this game today.
Because if he did, both his team and he himself would suffer a complete defeat!
A four-point lead was all the Cavaliers had left.
No matter what, James had to protect that final four-point advantage until the end.
If they still couldn't beat the Grizzlies with the league helping them, that would be far too embarrassing.
After being posterized by Link, James quickly pulled himself together. This time, he called for Love to set a screen for him near midcourt.
That forced Jokic to switch onto James.
James had run away. He had effectively admitted that he didn't dare face Link one-on-one!
But what did running away matter as long as he could win?
James accelerated on the drive, leaned into Jokic, and scored the layup.
That wasn't enough. The referee also "cooperatively" called a foul on Jokic, giving James a chance for a three-point play.
And that was already Jokic's sixth foul of the game.
"Jokic has fouled out and will be forced to leave the court. Harrell is ready to take his place."
Jokic was deeply frustrated. As he walked off the court, he even secretly wiped at the corner of his eye. The guy was crying.
He was unwilling to accept that he couldn't