This was probably the fiercest, most grueling game Link had played since joining the Grizzlies.
In the last game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the opponent had been formidable, and Kobe had put a great deal of pressure on Link. But in the end, the Lakers had lost to the Grizzlies by nearly twenty points. Strictly speaking, that matchup against the defending champions had been far from intense.
But against the Thunder today, the two sides had been locked in a dead heat from the very start. There was nothing much to say about Oklahoma City—the individual talent of their twin stars ensured the Thunder would never be at a disadvantage.
Durant, that guy who claimed to be only 2.06 meters tall, found it absurdly easy to shoot over Gay. Someone born with such bug-level physical gifts was a mismatch against anyone.
After seeing Durant in person today, Link finally understood what it meant to lie without even blushing. The man was so damn tall—claiming to be 2.08 meters would have been believable, yet he actually said he was only 2.06! Link was a legitimate 2.03 meters, but the gap between him and Durant was far more than three centimeters.
As for Westbrook, he kept scoring with one reckless drive after another. He was another freakishly athletic player, but unlike Durant's height and wingspan, Westbrook's freakishness lay in his explosive power and incredible strength through contact.
Several times, Randolph and Gasol had made body contact with Westbrook, yet the No. 0 guard had still managed to finish the ball through the collision. It had not seemed like much when Link watched on TV before, but seeing Westbrook shrug off big men and score in person made Link feel that all his recent contact-finishing training had been far too gentle.
Fortunately,