Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character ‘Dutch’ made the bold statement during the 1987 movie Predator that “if it bleeds, we can kill it”.
It’s a sentiment that rings true for the vast majority of beings that exist on this planet we call Earth.
Unfortunately Joe Ingles isn’t of this world, a fact the Memphis Grizzlies discovered on Tuesday afternoon.
The Utah Jazz sharpshooter was opened up by opponent Marshon Brooks with 3:54 left to play in the fourth quarter and was sent to the sidelines to be patched up.
Just like Clark Kent running into a phonebox and emerging cladded in his Superman outfit, Ingles strolled to the bench and came back out onto the hardwood rocking his own superhero look.
It seems the Grizzlies helped unlock the secret weapon in Ingles’ arsenal as the silky left hander not only returned to the game, he put it beyond doubt with two huge plays.
The Grizzlies managed to cut the lead down to five points, but then Ingles drew power from the bandage and ended any hopes Memphis may have had.
His first telling blow came when he drove inside the arc before stopping on a dime and luring big man Marc Gasol away from the rim. Finding an open Rudy Gobert who finished the pass off to extend the lead back out to seven.
After several misses from both teams, the clock dwindled down to under a minute to play when the hero Utah needed emerged once again.
Ingles handed the ball off to teammate Donovan Mitchell as he slipped out to the three point line, the ball made it’s way back into his hands and he calmly drove the final nail into the Grizzlies coffin.
His celebration after drilling the cold-blooded three-pointer was a thing of beauty as he paid homage to the bandage.
Social media went into meltdown over the brilliant look from the underrated star and teammate Mitchell clearly enjoyed it as he shouted “Headband Joe” immediately after the game.
Ingles however wasn’t buying into the mayhem as he explained he just simply wanted to be back on the court helping secure the win. Their third in a row after suffering four-straight losses.
“I just wanted to win the game. We were playing well, I just wanted to get back in. I told Eric (Utah’s trainer) to wrap it up as quick as possible and was able to get back out,” Ingles said.
After being told his new look had become a trend on Twitter, the quick witted Ingles produced a brilliant line that had those around him in hysterics.
“That’s what I’ve been striving for my whole life,” Ingles proclaimed.
After receiving four stitches following the game, Ingles revealed it is the first time in his life he has ever had stitches.
Ingles ended the game with a team-high 19 points while adding six rebounds and five assists. The efforts coming after he equalled his career-high in scoring during the teams last outing against the Boston Celtics.
Despite Ingles’ modesty over his superhuman efforts, social media wasn’t going to let the moment slip and even the team joined in the festivities as they updated their profile picture to a logo of the team rocking a headband.
Arnold Schwarzenneger may have been able to take down the Predator, but Joe Ingles is a completely different beast and one the former Mr. Universe wouldn’t be able to contain.