Death Five.
Link had only just uttered the term during his halftime interview, yet within the few minutes before the third quarter began, it had already become a trending topic on social media.
During halftime, Hubie Brown and Mike Breen had both discussed just how "deadly" this Death Five really was.
"Interesting. That really is Link's style of talking. Death Five—have to say, the Hawks being down by so many points at halftime is indeed because they couldn't withstand the Grizzlies' small lineup."
"That's right, Mike. The plan to play Link at the five has worked wonders. I'd wager that even Coach Dave Joerger never expected Link to be this effective at center. Seven rebounds and two blocks—even elite big men might not put up numbers like that in a half. But Link did it."
Link and the Grizzlies' first-half performance had sparked heated discussion. Once both Horford and Antic had fallen before Link, this game was destined to be anything but ordinary.
Meanwhile, in the Hawks' locker room, Mike Budenholzer had completely lost the confidence and passion he had shown at the start of the game.
From the beginning of the season until now, the Hawks had been unstoppable. Their record had even surpassed the Cavaliers', and they had always been able to overcome every difficulty through teamwork.
But being down by 24 at halftime... this was the largest halftime deficit the Hawks had faced all season.
They had never encountered such adversity, never been pinned to the ground and thoroughly dominated by an opponent like they had today.
The Hawks' largest margin of defeat so far this season had been 11 points, against the Raptors on November 26.
And in that game, the outcome had not been decided until DeRozan erupted late in the contest.
Down 24 at