Dillon Brooks's toughness was indeed admirable. Though his physical gifts were nothing special in the NBA, a place teeming with freak athletes, he was always one of the hardest-working players on the court.
The Grizzlies had completed the comeback, and now everyone was waiting for the Heat to strike back.
Although the Grizzlies had shown greater momentum over the last two possessions, the Heat were still a team capable of battling through tough games.
Most people still believed this would be a tense tug-of-war.
Of course, Link didn't see it that way.
He had no intention of dragging this game into the final moments. A quick resolution might be poison for ratings, but it was also the fastest way to solve a problem.
This time, Adebayo was clearly much more cautious.
Link's steal just now had put immense pressure on him, to the point where he didn't even dare make a careless pass.
At FedExForum, any inattentive pass could turn into a turnover.
As Adebayo organized the offense from mid-range, every Grizzlies player tightly stuck to his own assignment.
It left Adebayo in an awkward position. The ball stayed in his hands for what felt like forever, yet he still couldn't find a pass.
In the end, Adebayo chose to drive himself and put up a floater.
Though Adebayo possessed refined skills, this attempt was still far too forced.
Adebayo's floater missed under Jokic's contest, and the Heat's team offense was already showing signs of being contained.
When it came to defending team offense, the Grizzlies had plenty of experience as well.
After all, back then, the Grizzlies had repeatedly beaten the Spurs in the West—a team that had perfected team basketball—to earn their Finals meeting with the Heat.
Who would have thought that now the Heat themselves were playing