I'm So Excited, So Thrilled

After Popovich was ejected, the Spurs seemed to lose their spirit in an instant.

Though a head coach mattered less in overtime than during regulation, Popovich was one of the Spurs' spiritual pillars. Without him, the Spurs players could not help but feel unsettled.

In the past, whenever they ran into any problem, the Grizzlies players would instantly feel at ease as long as they saw that old man standing on the sideline with his arms crossed.

But now, when they needed a spiritual anchor in a critical moment, they turned their heads and saw only the flustered Chip Engelland.

"Hold the line! Even without the old man, we have to fight until the very end!"

In the end, Duncan let out a rare roar on the court, finally calming the Spurs players down.

Still, after Link's forceful three-point play, the Spurs players were more or less nervous.

During regulation, Leonard and Duncan had worked together to shut Link down.

But once overtime began, Link blocked Duncan once and converted a three-point play over Leonard, making the young Leonard doubt whether defending Link was even possible.

Could this guy really be stopped?

Over the next few minutes, Leonard was clearly out of sorts. On offense, he did not dare shoot casually, afraid of costing his team an opportunity. On defense, he became overly cautious as well, terrified that Link would draw another foul from him.

With the first line of defense, Leonard, breaking down, and Duncan unable to rotate over in time because he also had to account for Conley, Link began scoring repeatedly, and there was no stopping him.

"Link drives for the layup! This time, Link and Conley crossed paths on their cuts, leaving Tim Duncan unsure of whom he should help against. A beautiful basket—the lead has