One Thousand and Forty Two: The Tragic Princes (5/5)

This is not the first time Hubie Brown has experienced such a desperate moment at FedEx Arena.

But at this time, he was still extremely nervous.

Behind him, many fans were as transfixed as him.

Because today, the two people who visited FedEx Arena had extremely high kill rates!

At this time, the Grizzlies, wearing white home jerseys, were facing the Portland Trail Blazers, wearing black jerseys. This is the Grizzlies' second consecutive home game after facing the Clippers two days ago.

With only 31 seconds left in the game, the two sides are currently tied at 101.

Last summer, the Trail Blazers nearly went through a shakeup. Because four of their starting five players left in one breath!

Except for the youngest Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers didn't retain anyone.

People thought that after the starting five went their separate ways, the Blazers would fall. But last season, under the leadership of Lillard, the Trail Blazers achieved a record of 44 wins and 38 losses and successfully entered the playoffs!

And in the playoffs, the Trail Blazers also performed very well. They didn't lose until they met the "Galaxy Battleship" Warriors in the second round.

The Trail Blazers can continue to stand strong in the Western Conference where there are many strong players. In addition to Lillard's best performance of his career, the rise of C.J. McCollum, the No. 10 pick in 2013, also exceeded most people's expectations.

Last season, McCollum averaged 20.8 points per game and shot 41.7% from three-point range!

You know, before this, McCollum averaged less than 10 points per game!

The emergence of Portland's double guns in the backcourt allows the Trail Blazers to still occupy a place among the top eight in the Western Conference.

And this backcourt combination has one characteristic, that is, they never show mercy at critical moments!

Facing the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs last season, it was Lillard's last-minute buzzer beater that sent the Rockets home!

In a regular season game last season, due to Lillard's absence due to injury, McCollum took the lead and finally made a throw to kill his opponent in the last second of the game.

Both defenders have been labeled "cold-blooded killers" by fans. Moments like today are simply made for Lillard and McCollum!

In this game, McCollum and Lillard both performed very well. With the Grizzlies firing on all cylinders, Lengshi and the Grizzlies were at a 50-50 draw.

Among them, McCollum made 6 of 12 shots from beyond the three-point line today, shooting 50% from three-point range!

Wade, Carter, Tony Allen and even Iguodala all took turns guarding McCollum, but his hot touch was unstoppable.

In addition, Lillard also felt very good today. Although he didn't score many three-pointers, he scored a lot of points on mid-range pull-up jumpers.

The outstanding performance of this pair of backcourt double guns is the main reason why the Blazers were able to hold on to the score today.

At this time, the Trail Blazers have the ball, and both Lillard and McCollum definitely have the ability to complete the final blow.

Lillard was stalling for time outside the three-point line, and the person who came up to defend him at this time was Lillard's good friend Link!

Lillard is very calm, although Link is very strong, and in the 2015 playoffs Link and Conley teamed up to prevent Lillard from almost becoming autistic.

But after all, they are good friends and train together every summer. Lillard himself has also improved rapidly.

Therefore, Lillard faced Link with less fear in his heart.

When the 24-second shot clock was about to end with only 6 seconds left, Lillard called for a screen and then looked for a scoring opportunity.

The Trail Blazers' last choice for attack is Lillard!

All it takes now is a two-pointer,

It only took two free throws for the Blazers to take the lead. Therefore, Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts did not choose to take risks outside the three-point line.

Moreover, based on Lillard's hit rate on pull-up jumpers today, he believes that Lillard can win this game just like he did with the last few kills!

Using Mason Plumlee's screen, Lillard broke through to the free throw line, then stopped and took a shot!

But Link appeared in front of Lillard almost without delay, and he took almost no time to get rid of the screen!

"Link defended very well. He was not disturbed by the screen and did not overshoot. Damien is in danger!"

"Fuck!" Lillard's heart thumped, he was out of ideas!

Of course he knew how good Link's defense was, and Lillard didn't expect to take the shot easily.

But he believes that he can at least get a little shooting space. As long as there is a little shooting space, it is enough!

However, Link didn't even give him the slightest chance!

Lillard knows it's no longer a question of whether or not he can score. If you insist on taking action, you will definitely be blocked directly!

In desperation, Lillard changed his shot into a pass and "passed the blame" to McCollum.

McCollum was not at all prepared to execute the buzzer-beating ball. He took a hasty shot as soon as he caught the ball, as if he had received a hot potato.

The result is obvious. McCollum's three-pointer missed the frame, and Portland missed the opportunity to kill the game with two shots from the backcourt!

With 6 seconds left in the game, the Grizzlies immediately counterattacked!

Link controls the ball himself to advance, reducing the risk of unnecessary passes and mistakes.

As soon as he passed half-time, another "African Prince" Aminu came up.

In the past two days, Link really made a lot of friends with the princes.

In the last game, we just killed Prince Bamot of Cameroon, and today we have another Prince of Nigeria, Aminu.

However, the situation of both princes was very bad. In the last game, Mbah a Moute scored a triple-double of 30 points in two and a half quarters against Link. Today Link also scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on Aminu.

Scored a triple-double in three consecutive games!

In the crucial blow, Link didn't use any fancy moves. He started holding the ball with his back in the mid-range, intending to hit Aminu with his back!

In the last 1.3 seconds, Link turned over and shot a jumper under the interference of Aminu's long arm.

His turnaround jump shot seems to be a combination of Jordan and Kobe. It is both elegant and beautiful, and his movements are very capable.

As if Link was deliberately stuck in time, the moment the backboard glowed red, the basketball followed suit and hit the net.

"Beep~~~~"

"Brush~~~~"

Lillard and McCollum both opened their mouths, and Link looked calm when he finally shot, as if he knew the ball would definitely go in...

"The buzzer beater, the first buzzer beater this season! Link finally won the game. He showed Lillard and McCollum what a true cold-blooded killer is! My God, this goal was so exciting, It’s worth defending ten times, a hundred times! At that moment, I seemed to see the shadows of Kobe and Jordan in Link!”

After a successful kill, Link looked at Lillard and spread his hands, "I'm sorry, man, I don't want to lose yet."

Lillard shook his head, admitting that he was unlucky.

When he met Link, he had already been mentally prepared for this. After all, he is the strongest man in this league.

Link's buzzer beater allowed the Grizzlies to narrowly defeat the Trail Blazers 103-101.

This is the most thrilling win for the Grizzlies since the beginning of the 16-17 season.

But thrill or not, the Grizzlies won the game, that's the fact.

Seven consecutive victories, 7 wins and 0 losses, the Grizzlies' undefeated status was maintained by Link's beautiful turnaround jump shot!

"My God, this season the Grizzlies really seem to be back to their heyday. It's only one year apart, and the Grizzlies have recovered after only one year! I don't know which team can defeat the Grizzlies. ! I really look forward to the day when the Warriors and Grizzlies meet soon!"

"Yes, both Lillard and McCollum did their best today. There is nothing wrong with their performance. However, if they want to beat Link, they have to be even better. "

"Yes, after this game, I think those who question Link's ranking in the Hall of Fame pyramid should shut up."

"In fact, after the last game against the Clippers, they shut up."

Listening to Hubie Brown and his partner starting to praise Link, Mbah a Moute, who was watching the game, turned off the TV.

The Grizzlies won again, and they won with a buzzer beater...

Their strength made Bamot admire him so much.

Ever since he was beaten by Link and beaten by the Grizzlies in the last game, Mbah a Moute has been paying close attention to the Grizzlies' dynamics.

He believed that in ten minutes, the news that Link had completed the winning goal would surely hit the screens of all sports websites in the world again!

This unparalleled attention may even be beyond the reach of James.

And this is exactly why Mbah a Moute cares about the Grizzlies.

He himself didn't care about the attention, but one of his friends did.

So Mbah a Moute took out his mobile phone and sent a text message, "No matter what, you must play against the Grizzlies. And try to win them! If you can, you can become famous in one battle!"

After a while, Mbah a Moute received a reply, "Don't worry, I will do my best. I have already put a red circle on that day on the calendar. Maybe I will really give them a surprise, haha."

Looking at the text message, Bamot smiled happily.

If it's a genius like Joel Embiid...well, maybe he can really do it.