The Attention is Rising!

Jiang Lin had already scored 18 points and handed out 6 assists!

The Chinese commentators were fired up, even more excited than Jiang Lin himself on the court!

Every point was hard-fought. Everyone saw how strong this rookie from China was!

The Grizzlies players trusted him unconditionally; no one could defend him one-on-one!

At the end of the third quarter, Jiang Lin, drenched in sweat, had his jersey soaked, and his knees were trembling. He had pushed himself to the limit.

But his face showed no sign of fatigue. This determination kept the Grizzlies players motivated, even without Jiang Lin on the floor, forcing the opponents to keep struggling.

Coach Hollins gave Jiang Lin a high-five: "Great job, take a rest and hydrate."

"Also, are all Chinese people this honest?"

Jiang Lin took a Gatorade and laughed, "Of course, a promise is a promise."

Then, surprisingly, Coach Hollins made a joke: "I asked you to go head-to-head, not to cross him over, haha."

During the break, the atmosphere on the two benches was completely different...

The Grizzlies were now fully confident they could win this home game. Morale was high. Earlier, the starting lineup had dug a hole, but with Jiang Lin on the court, the Grizzlies had outscored their opponents. So, as long as Jiang Lin played with the Grizzlies, they believed they could defeat last year's Eastern Conference champions!

Coach Hollins used the tactics board to outline his plan: start the fourth quarter with the bench players. Conley would lead the second unit against the Bulls' weaker bench, then bring Jiang Lin in for the final showdown.

Everyone nodded, looking at Jiang Lin. His first game with the Grizzlies, and he was already playing in the clutch moments, even earning Conley some rest. This was a top rookie.

"JIANG, are you ready? The final moments will be almost entirely anaerobic." Tony Allen expressed some concern about the physical endurance of an Asian player, often seen as more injury-prone.

"Don't worry, I'm ready." Jiang Lin nodded. This was his first time playing so many minutes in the NBA, the intense competition and the difficulty of each shot draining his stamina. Fortunately, his ankle had received a boost, or he might have been injured by now.

"This is intense, but I like this feeling of pushing beyond limits." Jiang Lin's fitness was decent. Even though playing as the primary ball-handler was exhausting, even LeBron couldn't handle it all the time. It was just a matter of getting used to it. A few more games and he'd be fine.

He applied an ice pack to his knee. Since he wouldn't start the fourth quarter with the bench, he had time to recover and prepare for the final battle.

Thibodeau was also calculating. He wondered if Hollins would bring Jiang Lin in during the final moments. If Jiang Lin played at the start of the fourth, he'd send in Butler, his best defender. If Jiang Lin came in later, it would be a problem. He couldn't have Rose guarding Tony Allen, right?

Everyone knew you could put your weakest defender on Tony Allen. Having Rose guard him would hurt his confidence.

So Thibodeau's plan was to start with Hamilton and then bring in rookie Jimmy Butler to defend Jiang Lin in the final moments.

"Okay, I'll shut him down!" Jimmy Butler was eager. He had defended Jiang Lin well in the second quarter. Seeing Rose struggle and get crossed over, he wanted to improve his standing in the team. Maybe this was his chance to move into the starting lineup.

"This is crazy; they're treating JIANG like the opponent's core player," Grizzlies' assistant coaches watched Thibodeau's focus on Jiang Lin in disbelief.

But it was the right move. Jiang Lin had a +18 plus-minus on the floor. He was the key to the Grizzlies' victory, so targeting him was smart.

However...

He's an undrafted player, and his combine results were below average. Yet, he's playing like this.

Some felt uneasy, wondering if this would backfire.

Thibodeau was frustrated, thinking that Jiang Lin could have been a Bull.

As the fourth quarter began, Tencent Sports' live viewership reached 5 million, and CCTV's rating hit 10%, meaning 10% of TV viewers were watching this game. That's comparable to the ratings during the Olympics when China had games!

Even hosts from other channels came to CCTV-5's studio to watch the broadcast, hearing that a Chinese player was going toe-to-toe with Rose!

ESPN announced this game as the most exciting of the night and broadcast the news nationwide.

Fans went crazy discussing Rose getting crossed over. The idea spread: Jiang Lin doesn't cross over nobodies?

He goes after the best?

Jeremy Lin tweeted several exclamation points followed by "JIANG!" showing he was watching the game.

More insiders were taking notice of this player who had joined the Grizzlies just a day ago.

After four minutes, the score was 83-85.

Conley did well leading the bench, using his skills to keep the game close.

The Bulls gradually brought back their starters. Hollins called up Jiang Lin and Gasol.

Jiang Lin stood up immediately. Hollins whispered in their ears: "You two run the pick-and-roll, targeting Noah's inability to defend it. Shoot over him!"

"Got it!" Jiang Lin admired Hollins' insight. This might be a rare flaw in the Bulls' defense.

On the court, Rose hit a 2+1 pull-up jumper, despite Tony Allen's foul.

Then, Jiang Lin and Gasol subbed in for Ed Davis and Conley.

It was time for the final showdown.

"JIANG, read the situation. I can either cut to the basket or take the shot off the pick-and-roll."

"Understood. Can you catch alley-oops?"

"Uh… sure, just don't throw it too high." Gasol was a bit surprised, feeling nervous. Alley-oops required precise timing.

"Alright, guys, let's finish this game!"