Link, having taken a hidden elbow, naturally wouldn't just sit there and take it.
In Link and Bosh's pick-and-roll, the opposing Center, wearing jersey number 58, chose to switch defenses.
Link first dribbled between his legs, then suddenly lowered his Center of gravity and broke through from the left. The opponent's footwork was quick, and he swiftly moved to cover. Before the opponent could stick to him, Link made a sudden stop and slowed down, pausing to observe. Then, he abruptly took another powerful step, continuing his strong drive to the left.
The opponent mistakenly thought Link would change direction and go the other way, and was caught off guard. "Bang!" Their shoulders collided. Link exerted force, and at the same time, his ball-handling hand slightly lifted, also giving the opponent an elbow.
While the opponent was in pain, his defense opened up. Link seized the opportunity to drive to the basket and scored with a layup.
He secured his 25th personal point of the game.
"Ref, he just..." The number 58 Center, who had been elbowed, complained to the referee, but the referee spread his hands, indicating he hadn't seen it.
Seeing this, Link scoffed, "Just a softie who only knows how to jump around!"
"What the hell did you say...?" The number 58 Center was furious.
"Did I say anything wrong? What else can you do besides catch lobs? You can't even stop me, a point guard," Link continued to trash talk.
The number 58 Center, still just a high school student, couldn't withstand this critical blow from the Little Shakespeare from the East.
Soon after, during a half-court offense, Link's defense rotated to face the number 58 player.
"Chris, you don't need to come over."
Bosh saw that the number 58 player had a mismatch with Link in the paint. This situation was completely different from the high post; the offensive distance was short, and he only needed to use his physique to push in and finish. But at this moment, Link refused Bosh, who wanted to come over and help.
"Softie, I advise you to pass the ball!" Link laughed.
"Get lost!" The number 58 Center suppressed his anger and prepared to post up and forcefully drive against Link.
On the first hard post-up, Link retreated a big step. The number 58 Center was about 1 meter from the basket.
"Thump!" Seeing a glimmer of hope, the number 58 Center continued to post up forcefully.
But this time, Link suddenly pulled a chair. The number 58 Center, who was exerting all his strength to post up Link, fell flat on his back.
Link seized the opportunity to snatch the basketball from his hands. The number 58 Center, unable to contain his anger, even reached out to pull Link, who was trying to advance with the ball, while lying on the ground. Feeling the resistance, Link fell backward, landing directly on his head.
"Ah!" The number 58 player let out an angry and painful scream.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle also sounded.
Number 58 defensive foul.
"WTF!" The number 58 player roared in exasperation.
At this moment, Link's heart filled with joy.
A system prompt appeared in his mind.
[Ding, detected that the opponent has broken down!]
[genius nemesis, current mission progress: 3/5]
Only 2 more people are needed to get the basic reward.
Link then looked at the opposing number 51 small guard.
In the next offensive possession, Link didn't come to a high pick-and-roll with Chris Bosh, but instead engaged in a 1v1 with the opponent at the top of the arc.
Link pointed to the lower left and said, "I'm going to score here!"
"Hmph," the opposing number 51 snorted.
The next instant, Link drove hard to the lower left. Although the number 51 player appeared on the breakthrough path in advance, Link, relying on his tonnage advantage, forcibly squeezed out half a step. He feigned to continue breaking through, but after shifting the opponent's Center of gravity, with a "whoosh!" he directly pulled up for a jump shot.
The opponent's reaction was quick, and his Explosiveness was indeed impressive, but the gap in static talent still couldn't prevent Link's shot.
With a "swish!" Link made the shot exactly where he had pointed, scoring his 28th point of the game.
"Dude, I told you I was going to score here," Link said.
The opposing number 51's face was covered in black lines, but he was powerless to refute at this moment.
Damn it!
If only I were taller, I could definitely block your shot.
Four minutes passed, and with 1 minute and 9 seconds left in the game, Link once again engaged in a 1v1 with the opposing number 51 at the top of the arc.
"Kid, I'm going to score here again," Link said, pointing again to the mid-range area in the lower-left direction.
"You wish!" The opposing number 51's voice came out furiously through gritted teeth.
Just like before, Link used the same method, but this time, after being pushed away, the opponent chose to charge forward. Link, however, played with the timing and rhythm, waiting for him to get close before jumping up to shoot.
"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded.
Opponent defensive foul.
Link stepped to the Free Throw line and made both shots.
He scored 3 points.
"You're lucky, you didn't let me get an and-one," Link said with a contemptuous tone.
The opponent, who had been completely dominated by Link, was enraged and, completely broken down, went up to confront Link. But Link was not afraid, and at the same time, other members of the Dream Chasing Warriors Team also came over to help.
Of course, the fight didn't actually break out due to the referee's timely intervention.
But the opposing number 51 was indeed completely broken down.
[genius nemesis, current mission progress: 4/5]
...
...
The game ended.
109 to 70!
The Dream Chasing Warriors Team crushed their opponents by 39 points.
Three players on the team scored over 20 points: Link with 30 points, Josh Smith with 22 points, and Chris Bosh with 26 points.
Link also had the game high, plus 8 assists, 4 Steals, and 2 rebounds.
Chris Grant, sitting on the coaching bench, applauded his players while also noticing that many sports media outlets and NCAA scouts on the sidelines had developed a "strong" interest in Link.
There was even a scout from an NBA team — the Washington Wizards.
"I feel like this kid is getting better every day."
"If this continues, he really might play in the NBA."
On the other hand.
Winning the game and scoring 30 points in a single game, Link not only received post-game rewards but also completed the random mission issued by the system yesterday.
[Ding, congratulations Host for receiving post-game reward: 70 Goat points!]
[Ding, congratulations Host for completing the random mission — I can also score high!]
[Mission Reward: 200 Goat points!]
[Goat points: 36/706]
...
...
Link immediately chose 3 random draws.
First draw: [star (Draymond Green) sparring partner card].
Second draw: still Green's metaverse, but this time it was [All-Star (Draymond Green 15-16) sparring partner card].
The third draw, however, completely surprised Link... [special sparring partner card — Taekwondo (Ran Mouri)].