The battle between Link and Luka Dončić looked evenly matched on paper.
After all, Dončić had scored only three fewer points than Link. Their assist and rebound numbers did not appear to be far apart either.
So, many people initially assumed that the Grizzlies had won not because Link was stronger than Dončić, but because Memphis was the better all-around team than the Mavericks.
But after watching the game footage, people completely changed their minds.
The way Dončić had been shut down by Link in the second half made his performance utterly incomparable to Link's.
Dončić had shot under 30 percent for the game, which made his 28 points carry very little weight.
In fact, Link had seriously guarded Dončić for one quarter in the previous game as well.
And it was that third quarter that changed the course of the entire game.
The only reason Dončić had been able to score 28 points was because he had matched up with Link for just one quarter.
If this had been the playoffs, Link would have locked Dončić down from the very first second.
Forget 28 points—if Link had held him to single digits, no one would have been surprised.
The superstars of this era had no answer for Link, and neither did the super rookies of the next era.
Young or old, Link devoured them all.
"This was Link's way of welcoming Dončić into the ranks of superstars. With one quarter of all-out defense, he told Dončić just how long the road ahead still was."
"Link practically took out Dončić in a single quarter. He was telling him, 'Kid, it's not your turn to make noise yet.'"
"Although Dončić praised Link after the game, we all know he must have felt terrible during it."
Dončić had now become the object