To be merciful to one's enemies is to be cruel to oneself.

And giving face to the opponent is actually losing face on both sides.

The truth of competitive sports competition, Kobe Bryant will not understand.

In fact, if you want to say that you don't give face, Kobe Bryant can be regarded as one of the most faceless players in NBA history.

At the 2003 All-Star Game, everyone was playing games to contribute to Jordan an All-Star MVP as a gift for his retirement.

Kobe Bryant didn't give face, and in the end he had to hit a free throw to make the East lose.

Although it has been criticized, this is the most fundamental spirit of professional sports, competitiveness.

So that thought just flashed through Kobe's mind, and he immediately cheered up and wanted to get it back in Li Liang.

In the first quarter of the game, Kobe Bryant has been looking for opportunities, and in the middle of the first quarter, he seized the opportunity to run back to the basket, received Gasol's pass, crossed Li Liang's defense, and scored with one hand!

After scoring the goal, Kobe Bryant got close to Li Liang, looked at him and said, "How about my dunk?" “

"Very Cai." Li Liang responded simply.

Because of the Achilles tendon problem, Kobe's dunk did not have the strength and explosion it had at the beginning.

And Kobe's dunk is aesthetically average, without the explosive power of Jordan's panther or Carter's ape-like stretch.

He was able to win the slam dunk championship in 1997, more because of that slam dunk contest, and other people's dunks were really bad.

In that slam dunk contest, Kobe Bryant didn't even complete a 50-point dunk.

Kobe Bryant didn't argue with Li Liang too much, after all, he was 34 years old and wouldn't keep arguing with Li Liang.

He knew that if he could contain Li Liang at both offensive and defensive ends, the more Li Liang played tricks, the weaker he became.

In the NBA, any trash talk must have enough strength and performance to back it up.

The bragging that is realized is really awesome, and the empty bragging will only make people laugh.

But Li Liang is not a person who can only blow empty.

Kobe Bryant began to defend Li Liang one-on-one in person.

Kobe Bryant no longer has the crazy stickiness of his youth, but his defensive foundation is still there.

Kobe Bryant is not the Kobe of the year, and Li Liang is not the Li Liang of last year.

When the two had a one-on-one heads-up in the team last year, it was always Kobe Bryant who attacked Li Liang's defense, and Li Liang's attack had no chance at all.

And now, Li Liang's ball holding level has improved, although the moves are monotonous, they can work.

Li Liang scored twice in a row after using the simplest ball-holding breakthrough on the wing and hitting a stop-and-go jumper.

Li Liang's jump shots are relatively close to the basket, and he is very good at using the cover of his teammates to get himself to a deeper position to attack.

Li Liang is very clear about Kobe's defensive habits.

Kobe Bryant is not highly educated, so his defense is more dependent on feeling and concentration, and his strategy is not very strong.

This is evident when comparing an academy defensive elite like Battier to him.

Battier is often overwhelmed by attackers' talent for his lack of movement speed and bursts, but he rarely gets shaken and is very precise in his positioning and technical movements.

It's just that in front of a powerful attacker, there is no point in being in place.

Kobe Bryant is different, his defense is as aggressive as his offense.

Tireless following, kraft candy-like close-fitting, all-out closure, concentration burning like a flame.

These have made Kobe's defense gain a lot of impression points.

Including some ball commentators and media people, "Kobe's defense is very active, very fierce, and the defense is really good," so they will vote for him when the first defense votes.

No way, Kobe's style of play is like this, no matter offensive or defensive, he can always catch people's attention.

But these became weaknesses when he was old and his physical fitness declined.

Last season, Li Liang wiped Kobe's ass a lot in defense, and his poor positioning and concentration that was not online from time to time made Li Liang angry.

Now that Kobe Bryant is energetic, he still wants to deal with Li Liang like he did when he was young, but Li Liang has been tested by young Kobe, and of course he will not be afraid of the current Kobe.

Two pull-up jump shots, Kobe Bryant was shaken.

Among the stars with excellent perimeter defense, Kobe Bryant is relatively easy to shake.

You don't eat like Paul, it's useless for him to jump, it's better not to jump.

Of course, when he was young, Kobe Bryant was very physical, and sometimes even if he was shaken by a feint, he could interfere with the second jump and even block the opponent's shot.

Not anymore, the Achilles tendon doesn't allow it.

Kobe Bryant was shot twice by Li Liang.

After that, Kobe Bryant tried to single Li Liang in the low post, but found that Li Liang defended very well in the low post.

Bryant was deflated twice, missing a strong shot once, and having to pass the ball out once.

Kobe Bryant was a little depressed, this kid's defense has improved again?

Li Liang has indeed improved, but the anti-Kobe Bryant's back is grinding out of the system every day and the peak Kobe.

At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers overtook the Lakers and led the Lakers by four points at 32:28.

Griffin scored 10 points in the first quarter and Li Liang scored seven.

Bryant scored the most, scoring 12 points, but his efficiency slipped in the second half of the first quarter.

The Clippers paid attention to the retreat issue, and Collison strengthened Kobe's defense against the counterattack.

At the same time, Li Liang replaced Barnes to defend Kobe, making Kobe's singles ineffective for a while.

Kobe knew he needed to be in better shape.

In the second quarter, Griffin continued his scoring show.

Howard and Gasol, two long-armed monsters, went off the court, and Griffin used his more fast and flexible impact play and one-hand distance to lead the Clippers to play a beautiful offense off the bench, and at one point stretched the margin to 10 points.

Just when people thought that the Clippers were going to go all the way and win the derby, the Lakers' veterans reappeared and stabilized the situation.

Kobe Bryant once again showed his excellent and rich scoring skills, and when he couldn't deal with Li Liang with his back, he chose to use a more flexible basket to deal with Li Liang.

He twice caused Li Liang's defensive foul to go to the free throw line, so that Li Liang didn't dare to be too fierce.

Then, after turning on the Lakers' offense, he began to use passes to connect teammates, assist Howard, and assist Gasol.

The Lakers' offense came alive all of a sudden.

For the Lakers, a fluid positional offense is their lifeline.

The Lakers drove the score back little by little, and at the end of the second quarter, Kobe Bryant hit a three-pointer from the outside!

This brought his half-time score to 22 points and helped the Lakers regain the lead!

Although the Clippers' offense is also playing well, and Li Liang and Griffin's blocking and pick-and-roll cooperation is becoming more and more proficient, they can't stop Kobe's efficiency defensively, resulting in the fast counterattack that the Clippers rely on for a living can't play.

Without wave after wave of fast-break counterattacks, the game slowly entered the rhythm that the Lakers liked.

At halftime, the Lakers regained a four-point lead at 61-57.

Kobe Bryant's excellent play in the second quarter was the key to the Lakers' ability to take the lead.

By the end of the half, Kobe Bryant was already full of sweat, and beads of sweat were dripping down the tip of his nose.

He looked like he had finished the game, but he was only halfway there.

But it was enough to see that he did his best, and the 22 points in the half was his best first half since his comeback this season.

Li Liang's performance in the first half was not bad, but it was a little tarnished compared to Kobe.

Li Liang has a very good mentality, and he didn't forget to remind Kobe, "I have half of the credit for your good play!" ”

Kobe Bryant laughed, thinking to himself, if it weren't for Li Liang, he wouldn't have been forced to be in the best state after recovering from injury in the first half.

With a gap of 4 points, the Lakers can lead by 4 points in the face of the Clippers, which has surprised many people.

The Clippers are now a true aircraft carrier, and there are only a handful of games that the Clippers have trailed at halftime this season.

Especially after Mike Brown came to the Clippers and worked out a new rotation and defense, the Clippers' combat power has become more stable and strong.

Their almost seamless lineup rotation allows them to maintain a relatively high level of firepower and be able to keep their opponents at bay.

All I can say tonight is that Kobe Bryant really played well.

But in the third quarter, when everyone was expecting the Lakers and Clippers to continue the wonderful confrontation, the situation changed.

Li Liang first attacked the outside line in the first attack, and suddenly fired a three-pointer with the help of cover.

Then he steals Kobe Bryant again in defense and assists Barnes for a fast-break layup.

In just over 20 seconds, the Clippers regained the lead.

Then, when Kobe Bryant wanted to take over the game again, he found that he had worked hard to score two points or a free throw, and Li Liang turned his head and went to a three-pointer.

His three-pointers were more resolute, more decisive, and more sudden than he had been with the Lakers.

A single-block cover, he will shoot when he has the opportunity, his shot speed is faster, and the shot distance is not so far.

His shots are more casual and natural, while the hit rate is still terrifying.

After 5 minutes in the third quarter, Li Liang shot 4 of 6 from beyond the three-point line to help the Clippers re-establish their advantage.

Kobe Bryant found out at this time that Li Liang had scored two three-pointers, and he had to score three two-pointers to catch it back.

What's even more terrifying is that Li Liang's trash talk in the first half has come true, "The three-point shooting rate is higher than your two-point shooting!" ”

How to play this?

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers all know that Li Liang can shoot three-pointers, and he is very accurate and explosive.

But when I really cast it on my head, I felt that it was really scary.

After 7 minutes in the third quarter, the Clippers turned the score into 71:85 with a 14-point lead, fueled by a strong three-point wave from Li Liang.

In 7 minutes, the Clippers scored almost 30 points.

D'Antoni had to call a timeout, feeling that if the Lakers couldn't bring up this breath, they might be about to die.

D'Antoni tries to get his players to perform better from beyond the three-point line, both defensively and offensively.

The defense blocked the Clippers' three-pointers and the offense made more three-pointers.

But when it really comes to the court, the style of play with Kobe Bryant as the core is destined to not have too many three points.

The result of a hard throw is that it becomes inefficient, and it is a huge damage to the team's offense and defense.

When Kobe Bryant made a strong three-point shot from the outside to try to save the decline, a familiar "Bang" gave the Clippers another chance to fight back.

Li Liang held the ball and quickly crossed the half, and he suddenly stopped on the outside to shoot a three-point shot!

Kobe Bryant rushed up from behind to interfere, but he used too much force and hit Li Liang's body, and was fouled by the referee.

After the foul, Kobe Bryant raised his hand in frustration, he didn't want Li Liang to shoot three points again, even if he fouled, he didn't hesitate to do so.

And Li Liang said to Kobe: "Old Ke, times have changed. ”