Jim O'Brien's Embarrassment

Roy Hibbert covered his head with both hands, deeply frustrated. This was already his second foul in the first quarter.

Normally, to keep a player out of foul trouble, a head coach would take him out after he picked up two fouls in the first quarter. For a center tasked with protecting the rim, keeping an especially close eye on his fouls was even more important.

So as Link stepped to the free-throw line, Jim O'Brien also took Roy Hibbert out of the game. The guy fans jokingly called "Black Yao Ming" had done a good job of keeping his fouls under control for the first half of the quarter, but no one had expected him to be sent to the bench because of an "insignificant" undrafted rookie.

Paul George, sitting on the bench, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. On the one hand, he was thrilled with Link's performance. On the other, it was his own team giving up the points. But George could be certain of one thing: Hibbert wouldn't be the last player to get burned by Link.

When the crowd saw Link make a contorted layup over Hibbert and draw a foul with sheer force, the laughter in the stands stopped.

The guy who'd forgotten to take off his warm-up, and looked like "a five-star general who couldn't win a single battle," was wilder and more dangerous than anyone had expected.

"Damn undrafted rookie!" Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien cursed, then sent the veteran white center Jeff Foster in for Hibbert.

By the end of 2010, Yao Ming and O'Neal had both long since left the court. These two great giants had been forced to retire from the battlefield early because of injuries. Their departures also meant that the center's final twilight had passed. The ancient and glorious position was about to enter a long period of darkness.

During this period, the number of centers dwindled, and a truly good one was a rare find. The days when a team could stock several outstanding centers were over. In today's league, a team was lucky just to have one usable center.

So when Hibbert left the game, the Pacers' interior defense vanished in an instant. Foster, who replaced him, had plenty of experience, but he was old. He couldn't run or jump very well, and he was neither as tall nor as long as Hibbert. The Pacers' rim protection was bound to be much weaker from then on.

In other words, the Grizzlies' offense would get easier from this point on. And they had Link's courage to thank for it.

A simple three-point play could very well change the course of the game!

"I didn't expect Link to pull off such a beautiful play." Webber still couldn't quite believe his eyes. The composure Link had shown in the air while avoiding the block was a stark contrast to how nervous he'd looked before entering the game.

"Link has always been a steady scorer. Otherwise, he never would've put up 52 points in a single game in the G League. I just didn't expect him to bring that same composure to the NBA."

Van Gundy had grown serious. He no longer looked at Link through the lens of conventional wisdom. As Yao Ming's former head coach, Van Gundy was perhaps the commentator who understood Asian players best. Most players like him might struggle to survive in the NBA, but every so often, one or two extraordinary guys could take over the court!

As Link stepped to the free-throw line, the Pacers fans did their best to boo him. Most undrafted rookies would probably have started trembling at the sound of it.

But Link's touch wasn't affected in the slightest. He released the ball softly from the free-throw line. At this point in his career, Grant Hill was still shooting over 80 percent from the line. That wasn't as freakish as the 90-percent free-throw shooters, but it was still pretty reliable.

The free throw was good. Link completed the three-point play, helping the Grizzlies cut the deficit to just five points.

Sam Young clenched his fists. The better Link played, the more pressure he felt. Even though Link was his teammate, he still couldn't help secretly hoping that Link wouldn't do anything else impressive. It'd be even better if he turned the ball over or got torched by Granger.

It seemed Sam Young understood better than George that people were most likely to screw over the ones they knew.

Unfortunately, Sam Young's hopes came to nothing. On this possession, Link actually managed to intercept the Pacers' pass!

The Pacers' point guard was Darren Collison, from UCLA. A star point guard in college, Collison had always been known for his scoring.

Though he played point guard, his passing and playmaking weren't as good as those of his college teammate Jrue Holiday. This season, Collison was averaging 5.1 assists per game, but also turning the ball over 2.5 times. Holiday was averaging the same 2.5 turnovers, but had 1.4 more assists per game.

This time, Collison's pass was far too casual. His habit of being careless with the ball was hardly what you'd expect from a point guard.

Collison thought that once he got the ball to Granger, his job would be done. But in the NBA, a careless pass could easily lead to trouble.

With Grant Hill's veteran savvy, Link easily read Collison's passing lane. And since Collison had been so casual with the pass, the ball wasn't moving very fast, either.

So Link stepped in at just the right moment and stretched out his arm. Granger was already set to catch the ball and drive, but Link's hand got between him and the ball first.

After the steal, Link took off downcourt, and the Grizzlies, a team that had always relied on half-court offense, actually managed to launch a rare fast break!

Of course, with his current athleticism, Link wasn't about to throw down a coast-to-coast dunk. On the fast break, he relied less on his physical gifts and more on his court vision.

After crossing half court, Link slammed the ball into the floor before Granger could catch up with him.

The ball hit the floor and bounced back up hard, landing right in the hands of O.J. Mayo, who was cutting ahead.

"A long bounce pass! My goodness, is this guy teaching Darren Collison what a real pass looks like!?" Webber's mouth fell open. He'd played with outstanding point guards like Mike Bibby and "White Chocolate" Williams.

He knew full well how hard it was to make a bounce pass over that kind of distance. Even a natural point guard wouldn't dare try it lightly.

But Link, a near-forward standing six-foot-eight, had delivered the pass without hesitation. Most importantly, it was right on target. When Link made the pass, Mayo wasn't even in position to catch it yet.

But Link had anticipated that his teammate would get there.

Mayo caught the ball and slammed it home with both hands. For the first time that night, Conseco Fieldhouse fell silent.

Though Mayo had finished the play, the cameras in the arena zoomed in on Link.

Randolph excitedly ran over and ruffled Link's hair. In the United States, ruffling someone's hair wasn't disrespectful; it was an affectionate gesture between good friends.

Randolph wasn't the only one celebrating. The Grizzlies' bench erupted, and nearly everyone except Sam Young and Gay waved a towel for Link.

Back when Link played NBA 2K, stealing the ball and then assisting a teammate for a score had earned the biggest boost to a teammate's rating. Now he could see that it really was true.

But Link quickly wriggled free from the "Big Black Bear's" embrace. It wasn't that he disliked Randolph; he was just worried his hair would end up like that of some famous Argentine basketball player...

"Three points! The deficit is down to just three! A few possessions ago, the Pacers had a chance to push their lead into double digits. But now the Grizzlies have a chance to tie it. And the only difference is that the Grizzlies put Link into the game!"

Van Gundy was already half a Link fan. He could tell Link really understood how to play basketball.

"The Pacers are trying to attack again. Let's see if Granger can break the spell cast by that Chinese-American number zero."

Granger definitely wanted to break the spell. He'd already taken care of Rudy Gay, only to lose to an undrafted rookie in the end. How could that be?

This time, Collison was much more careful with his pass. Link didn't try to jump the passing lane. He knew that gambling on a steal was no different from taking a risk. If you got the ball, great; if you didn't, your opponent could blow right past you.

Granger finally got the ball as he wanted, but he didn't notice that Link had reached one hand behind his back and signaled.

Randolph saw Link's signal and immediately understood. That guy was crafty!

Link was positioned slightly to Granger's right. He spread his arms and looked confident.

Granger dribbled from one hand to the other, signaling for his teammates to clear out. Once he had space, he suddenly accelerated past Link on the left!

Link had to admit that NBA players were in a completely different league from G League players when it came to athleticism. Granger was also six-foot-eight, but when he ran, he was as fast as a guard in the G League.

Link struggled to keep up, but he stayed alongside Granger and kept forcing him to the left.

"Don't bother!" Granger roared. He took two huge strides and jumped, ready to dunk. He couldn't believe he'd be unable to handle even an undrafted rookie.

But just as Granger was about to bring his arm forward, a massive shadow suddenly burst into view and swatted the ball right out of his hands.

"Thud!" When the massive shadow landed, Granger could almost feel the hardwood tremble.

He looked up. The one who'd blocked him was none other than Zach Randolph!

Don't let Randolph's size—or the fact that he played power forward—fool you. If he got the chance, he wouldn't miss it! Blocking shots wasn't his specialty, but he was more than happy to take one that was handed to him.

"A defensive trap! Daniel Granger fell right into the Grizzlies' trap. Link is smart. He deliberately forced Granger to the left because he knew Randolph would take care of the rest."

While Granger was still stunned, Conley had already scooped up the blocked ball and started pushing up the court.

Everyone thought he'd drive to the basket himself, but just as he reached the three-point line, Conley kicked the ball out to the right corner. Only then did the crowd realize that Link had quietly slipped into position. Granger, who'd been guarding him, had only just crossed half court.

"He's got a chance to shoot a three! The Grizzlies haven't made a three-pointer all night. Can Link help them get their first one!?"

No sooner had Van Gundy spoken than the ball dropped through the net. For Link, an open three-pointer was as easy as shooting at an arcade machine.

After scoring, Link raised his right hand, held up three fingers, and tapped the number 0 on his chest.

At the same time, the referee's whistle sounded. The Pacers had been pegged back to a tie, and Jim O'Brien had no choice but to call a timeout.

It was just a question of whether Jim O'Brien remembered what he'd said before the game.

"That Chinese-American won't have any impact on the game."