The Pistons Head Coach, Rick Carlisle, was extremely conflicted at this moment. He didn't know whether he should Double team Link.
He knew Link's Passing ability was extremely penetrative and destructive, easily activating his teammates. But if they didn't Double team Link, the Pistons would be destroyed by him.
Link once again used Haywood's pick-and-roll to break through. The Pistons still chose not to Double team, but this time Ben Wallace chose to help defend. Seeing the DPOY moving towards him, Link was not afraid; instead, he deliberately took small steps forward, further compressing Ben Wallace's defense. Ben Wallace worried about Randolph cutting inside and retreated a step, trying to Block Link's Passing lane. Just as Ben Wallace retreated, Link stopped abruptly and pulled up for a mid-range shot.
"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded simultaneously.
On the left side, Corliss Williamson jumped to defend and fouled, his body crashing directly into Link in the air. What shocked the Wizards' home fans was that Link, after stumbling in the air, actually adjusted, maintained his balance, and made the shot.
"Oh, no!" Pistons Head Coach Rick Carlisle threw his hands over his head upon seeing that Corliss Williamson not only failed to stop the shot but also committed another defensive foul.
"Coach, this guy is simply a monster. He can still make that shot."
"Yeah, Link... he's becoming more abnormal."
The fighting spirit in the eyes of the Pistons' assistant coaches visibly dissipated.
This play not only showcased Link's shooting fundamentals but also his powerful core strength. Leading Corliss by more than half a body length, Link used rhythm to lean on him on his left shoulder. Every dribble involved significant physical contact. A lanky guard with poor core strength would have lost the ball long ago, but Link managed to drive into the paint with the ball alive. Furthermore, when Link jumped to shoot, his broad shoulders acted like a city wall, blocking the opponent out. Corliss Williamson, with his similar wingspan, found it difficult to effectively contest Link's shot.
With a "swish," Link completed the and-one, making the score 45 to 56, extending the Wizards' lead to 12 points. There was less than two minutes left until the end of the first half. Carlisle still did not choose to Double team, but he did employ help defense from the wing. Jerry Stackhouse rushed over like a hungry wolf. When Link read that it was an excessive help defense, he executed a no-look pass behind his head. The basketball turned into an orange beam of light and landed in the hands of the Masked Man, who caught and shot for the score.
Excessive help defense meant they rushed too aggressively and had no time to recover to their assigned players.
"Brother..." After completing the assist, Link made a gesture towards Jerry Stackhouse.
First, he made a gesture for the number "9," and then, he gestured for an "8."
"8" represented Jerry Stackhouse's current personal score.
"9," although representing Link's data, was not his "points," but his "assists."
Jerry Stackhouse was slightly stunned, frowning deeply. He first thought to himself, this damn rookie really didn't go to college; he can't even do basic math. How could you only have 9 points? You already surpassed that in this second quarter. Wait... no... that damn bastard... he's showing off his assist numbers.
Meanwhile, in Motor City, the Pistons fans watching the live broadcast at home were cursing Link on their screens.
"Fuck Link!"
"Damn liar, didn't you cramp last game? Didn't your team say... you might not play tonight? But how are you acting like nothing happened now..."
"Unbelievable!"
"Shameless liar!"
...
...
Jerry Stackhouse, who was being guarded primarily by Link, felt quite bitter. He was having a very tough game tonight.
This damn rookie was getting better at stripping the ball, and he even appeared in his dreams last night.
Stackhouse was now reluctant to challenge Link one-on-one with the ball; he mostly relied on Off-Ball Movement, attacking when Link was unstable.
This time, Stackhouse finally used a screen to get away from Link. Hamilton, who was closest to him, came over for help defense.
"Rebound!"
"Protect the rebound!"
Wizards Head Coach Doug Collins shouted loudly.
The moment Stackhouse shot, Ben Wallace and Haywood battled for position under the basket. Simultaneously, Link also joined in, using his shoulder to lean against Ben Wallace, applying pressure. With a "clang," the ball bounced off the rim. Ben Wallace, who was in a better position, was like a'sandwich cookie' and couldn't jump. Brandon Haywood, standing at 213cm, used his height advantage to grab the rebound.
"Don't put it down!" Link reminded him loudly.
As a rookie, Haywood had a bad habit of putting the ball down after securing a rebound, a mistake that cost them in the previous two games. However, Haywood had learned his lesson now; even without Link's reminder, he wouldn't easily put the ball down.
"Good, good job!" Doug Collins loudly praised his player from the sideline after securing the rebound, giving a thumbs-up.
Link received the pass and suddenly forced a fast break. Corliss Williamson chased with all his might. When Link reached near the three-point line, he suddenly stopped abruptly. The defender quickly slammed on the brakes, screeching... At this moment, Link dipped his left shoulder, faking a crossover move. Corliss Williamson hastily shuffled sideways, but Link suddenly exploded forward with a powerful dribble... blowing past his opponent in one step. Ben Wallace in the middle quickly turned around and rushed to help defend Link. Link appeared to be changing his mind and Passing to Randolph, but instead, he executed a reverse scoop layup and made it!!!
"Wow!!!"
"Our triple-double monster is terrifying!"
"He got a big triple-double of 30+ this time!"
The Wizards' home announcer exclaimed.
With this basket, Link's personal stats rose to 31 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds, 3 Steals, and 1 Block.
The incredibly brilliant statistics made it hard to believe this was achieved by a rookie player...
It is worth mentioning that there were still 4 minutes and 21 seconds left in the game.
79 to 94, the Wizards held a 15-point lead.
Uh...
If it weren't for the Wizards' lack of offensive firepower from their bench during the rotation period, the gap might have already been pushed past 20 points.
...
...
The final four-plus minutes completely devolved into garbage time.
To protect their core players, the Wizards substituted Link out after just a few possessions.
Pistons Head Coach Carlisle stared intently at Link as he walked toward the bench.
"This kid... why does he feel even more well-rounded than Elvin Hayes..."
"The Wizards had him participate in Defensive Rebound protection tonight, which unexpectedly dropped Ben Wallace's rebounding total into single digits."
Carlisle thought to himself.
With Link possessing [Box-Out Master (Gold)], even if he couldn't win the rebound against Ben Wallace one-on-one, a two-on-one situation was no problem. It was precisely Link's help in boxing out that reduced Ben Wallace, who averaged 17 rebounds across three games, to only 8 boards tonight, with only 1 Offensive Rebound.