Link moved without the ball, using David Lee's off-ball screen at the high post. He first cut toward the rim. Hodge, who was guarding him, slowed down when he saw Link decelerate, but Link suddenly used a sneaky second burst of Speed, sprinting directly to the left corner.
Hodge immediately lost him, and Eddy Curry went to switch. David Lee took advantage of the confusion during the switch, feinting a face-up drive from the high post. Kwame Brown was forced to turn his back to the basket. With a "whoosh," David Lee made an interior pass to Tyson Chandler. The latter caught the ball and, with a "boom," posterized the 198cm Hodge with a dunk.
"Nice shot!"
"Perfect execution of the play!"
"Wow, I didn't expect these high schoolers to pull off NBA-level coordination."
The commentators for the ESPN2 Channel couldn't help but offer their praise.
However, the object of their praise wasn't Chandler, who finished the dunk, but Link's off-ball movement and David Lee's secondary playmaking.
"Link is different from those Point Guards who want to dribble for 20 seconds every possession. He can switch back and forth between [on-ball] and [off-ball]. Furthermore, his timing and techniques for movement have already reached NBA-level standards."
"Now I'm starting to understand why Sports Illustrated made him the first high schooler to be a cover athlete."
After another easy basket, Chandler further widened the gap to 59 to 48!!!
The West Star Team was now leading by 11 points, with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Link, who currently had 12 points, prepared to launch a scoring wave to completely kill the game.
"[Dominance Moment—Sharpshooter] Lv1, Activate!"
With his player Takeover activated, Link used three consecutive pick-and-rolls with Tyson Chandler to complete off-the-dribble pull-up jumpers.
"Shit!"
"Damn it!"
"That went in too?!"
As the opponent's best perimeter defender, Julius Hodge's emotions collapsed after Link's third jumper, and he directly started swearing.
There was no helping it...
This time, Hodge had finally managed to fight through the screen and get in front of Link, his large hand almost touching the basketball, but the opponent unreasonably forced the ball in anyway.
During the 2-minute Dominance Moment, Link easily scored 6 points, bringing his personal total to 18.
But what truly broke the defender Hodge's composure were the following 3 minutes. Facing a red-hot Link, you had no choice but to play tight defense. This gave Link the opportunity to drive. Relying on the quick start of [First Step Master (Bronze)], he gained half a step of advantage with one move. He first accelerated and then abruptly stopped. This sudden stop made the opponent think the red-hot Link was going to shoot. Link then quickly lowered his center of gravity and accelerated, driving into the paint. He would either finish the layup himself or, after drawing help defense, dish the ball to Chandler or David Lee under the basket.
The third quarter ended!
The lead between the two sides had been stretched to 18 points.
80 to 62!
The fourth quarter almost turned into garbage time.
Facing the national television cameras, the East Star Team certainly didn't want to give up.
Eddy Curry began to power through in the low post.
Facing a massive weight disadvantage, Tyson Chandler struggled a bit. Although Chandler had the face of a "bruiser center," in reality, his strengths lay in rim protection and help-side rotations. He wasn't particularly outstanding in 1v1 post-up defense.
After being scored on three times in a row, Chandler was visibly frustrated.
"Buddy, don't worry, I'll help you double-team," Link said.
At that moment, a golden beam of light seemed to pierce through Tyson Chandler's somewhat dark inner world.
After Eddy Curry received the ball in the low post, Link came over to provide help defense and disrupt him. With a 7-foot wingspan, Link's defensive coverage was vast. What gave Eddy Curry the most headache was that this guy recovered quickly. It wasn't just raw Speed, but Speed of awareness—he could react immediately upon sensing a Passing intent.
Additionally, his height and wingspan provided a large defensive control area. If the ball wasn't passed to an open teammate in time, he could easily catch up.
This made Eddy Curry, whose Passing ability wasn't great, feel extremely stifled. Well... in the small-ball era, interior players rarely post up in the low Block, and this is one of the reasons: those forwards with 7-foot wingspans can harass you after you catch the ball, and if you pass, they can immediately return to guard their own man.
...
...
Kwame Brown, the "two-way" star and favorite for the number one draft pick during high school, found the half-court game particularly difficult because the space under the basket was clogged, leaving him with only fast-break opportunities to showcase his talent.
He finally managed to catch a mismatch against Link in the half-court, but he couldn't capitalize on it well.
Although Link was pushed back step by step, he struck the ball fiercely the moment Kwame Brown went up. Even if he didn't necessarily strip it, the strike would change the "position of the ball in the hands." For the butterfingered Kwame Brown, this was fatal.
Furthermore...
The commentator for the ESPN2 Channel, who often broadcasted Link's games, remarked once again, "I don't know why, but every time I call Link's games, I can clearly feel his growth..."
"What surprised me most in today's game is... Link even scored 6 points through fast-break layups. My god... that was very rare in his previous games."
"This proves that Link's athletic talent is indeed awakening!!!"
"At this moment, I only have one question I really want to ask Link in person..."
"Link, when will you be the number one?"
This commentator from Florida said this in his local accent.
...
...
The game ended.
108 to 80!
The West Star Team won by a full 28 points over the East.
Three players on the West Star Team scored in double digits.
They were:
Tyson Chandler, 12 of 15 shooting, 4 of 8 from the Free Throw line, finishing with 28 points, 1 rebound, and 3 Blocks.
David Lee, 7 of 13 shooting, 5 of 5 from the Free Throw line, finishing with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Link, 17 of 21 shooting, 2 of 6 from three-point range, 2 of 2 from the Free Throw line, finishing with 38 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 Steals.
As for the East Star Team...
Only one person scored more than 20 points, and that was TJ Ford.
Dajuan Wagner scored 11 points, but Link's defense held him to only 30% shooting.
Eddy Curry, 18 points and 5 rebounds.
The most unfortunate was Kwame Brown, the favorite for the number one draft pick, with 9 points and 6 rebounds on 4 of 9 shooting and 1 of 3 from the Free Throw line.
Although his shooting percentage was a bit poor, it was barely acceptable; however, in his 4 mismatch post-ups against Link, one was disrupted by Link, and of the remaining 3, he only made one shot.
In this era, if a powerful interior player cannot punish a mismatch, they are considered a bust.