No Longer Wanting to Coast

The piercing electronic buzzer saved Terry Stotts and his players. To them, it was like seeing a glimmer of light in endless darkness.

This disaster was finally over!

102–81. The fourth-ranked Portland Trail Blazers in the West had not only failed to defeat the Grizzlies, but had also set their season low for points in a single game on the Grizzlies' home court.

By the end of the game, Lillard was almost too embarrassed to go greet Link. He had dunked before the game to provoke Link, only for the game to end like this. How could he possibly face him?

Lillard's performance today had indeed been far from impressive. In 37 minutes, he had managed just 14 points, 3 assists, and 1 rebound.

Those numbers alone were not actually terrible, but compared with his 38 points in the previous game and Conley's 26 points and 8 assists today, they were far too lacking.

That was with Conley barely playing in the second half. Otherwise, getting past 30 points would have been effortless for him.

Lillard ultimately forced himself to his feet and walked toward Link.

Link stood where he was, waiting for Lillard with a grin. Lillard kept his head lowered the entire way. The distance was less than fifty meters, yet it felt as though he had been walking for several minutes.

"Damian, sorry about today." Link patted Lillard on the shoulder. Beating someone by more than twenty points by accident really was a little embarrassing.

"That was terrifying. You actually caught that ball, and you actually managed a 360-degree spinning layup in such a cramped space... Tell me, what kind of freakish moves have you prepared for the Slam Dunk Contest? If I'd known, I wouldn't have entered."

Even now, whenever Lillard recalled several of the spectacular