The moment Link stepped onto the court, he saw Luka Dončić approaching him.
"Is this the league's strongest player? Look at the big screen above your head." After getting close to Link, Dončić actually started talking trash!
By telling Link to look at the big screen, he was clearly saying that his first-quarter performance had completely outclassed Link's!
After saying that, Dončić stepped onto the court and got ready to defend.
If anyone thought Dončić was really some well-behaved, academic-type kid, they were dead wrong.
He might not like talking trash, but that did not mean he could not do it.
In fact, Dončić had exchanged plenty of trash talk with opponents—and even opposing fans—on NBA courts.
Dončić was definitely not some soft pushover. If necessary, he would hit back as hard as possible.
Whether on the basketball court or with words.
If Green or Durant had dared to trash-talk Link like that, Link guaranteed they would be finished, because that would have made him furious.
But when Dončić talked trash, Link could not bring himself to get angry.
Instead, he found himself admiring the kid.
Daring to challenge the best player in the league—he had guts!
Just like back then, when Link had been only a second-year player and still talked trash to Kobe, James, Durant, and others.
Link now saw the handsome No. 77 in a new light. It seemed he was not just a goofball capable of stuffing a hundred selfies into his phone in a minute.
Luka Dončić really was an opponent who needed to be taken seriously. Now, it was time for Link to show his respect.
Although Dončić's trash talk had not made Link angry, the outcome would be the same.
He was finished.
The Grizzlies had the ball first in the second quarter.