Fierce Battle

Right after the opening tip, the Lakers used a full-court press and called a timeout on the Chinese team with a quick fast break.

"What are you doing? Have you even learned how to play basketball? If you can't play, get off the court! Hu Weidong, you got beaten in one step? Li Nan, you threw the inbound pass right into someone else's hands?" Gong Luming roared at the players coming off the court.

"No, Coach. That kid's defensive instincts are just too sharp. It was like he knew where the ball would appear," Liu Yudong argued on behalf of his teammates.

"I won't say any more. Take care of the ball, run the plays, and show some style. The fans back home are watching. No matter how good he is, he's just a wet-behind-the-ears kid!" Gong Luming knew that blaming them endlessly was useless, so he laid out the next set of tactics.

"Li Xiaoyong handles the ball. Hu Weidong, pull Kobe down into the corner. We'll focus on Liu Yudong. If they press, throw it back over the top to the center. Their white center is very slow laterally. Understood?"

"Understood!"

The atmosphere on the Lakers' side was nowhere near as tense as China's.

Rambis looked at the talented men under his command, brimming with confidence. Though United States basketball dominated the world at the time, leading a summer league team to beat another country's national team was still an exciting prospect.

"Good work, guys. Keep pressing them. Our goal is to keep China from getting past half court." Rambis pulled out his clipboard and drew up the plan.

"Got it. Coach means we should pull back from the press and play steadily. Take it one possession at a time, don't force anything, and protect the paint. Understood?" Kobe knew that China was experienced. With so many excellent wing players, the press could not remain effective for long. It would also drain their own stamina badly.

"Got it, boss!" The players responded one after another.

"But... but what I said was to keep pressing." Rambis stared blankly at the players already heading back onto the court. He felt as if he was losing control of this team. That seventeen-year-old player seemed more like the coach, while Rambis himself was merely an assistant.

Back on the court, China had possession. They looked somewhat surprised at the Lakers retreating into their own half. Li Xiaoyong controlled the ball and brought it into Lakers territory. Fisher guarded him closely, and Li Xiaoyong called Liu Yudong up for a pick-and-roll. Ben Wallace switched out to cover him.

Liu Yudong was broad-bodied, and his solid screen caught Fisher, creating a mismatch. He rolled into the high-post area for the ball, rose with ease, and calmly knocked down a mid-range jumper over Fisher with his height advantage.

"This guy's got something." Fisher was a little surprised, but then he felt a chill down his back. Old Fish did not dare turn around. He did not need to; he knew it was Kobe's gaze. Damn it, I need to show what I can do. It's not because I'm afraid Kobe will beat me up after the game—I'm doing this for the team's victory!

On the change of possession, Old Fish brought the ball across half court. Li Xiaoyong's defense did not trouble him much, and he controlled the ball steadily. Kobe took Hu Weidong on a loop beneath the basket, using screens from Ben Wallace and Travis Knight to get open.

Fisher fired a quick, accurate pass. Kobe caught it beyond the three-point line—wide open—rose up, and hit the jumper.

The first quarter passed in a back-and-forth battle. Kobe's defense was pulled into the corner by Hu Weidong. He did not dare leave Hu Weidong to double-team, which left the Lakers' perimeter defense noticeably less aggressive. China's quick passing and ball movement also had the inexperienced Lakers players scrambling to cover one another.

Hu Weidong tried to attack Kobe twice, but both attempts ended in failure. Bruce Bowen also kept Li Nan firmly under wraps, so Liu Yudong became the breakout point. Using screens, Liu Yudong repeatedly found mismatches for isolation plays or open mid-range jumpers. Strong and fundamentally sound, he made nearly every shot he took.

Kobe did not control the ball in the first quarter, leaving Fisher to distribute it. His constant off-ball movement also opened up enormous space for the team's offense. China did not dare leave Kobe open from three, pouring much of its defensive attention into switching against his off-ball cuts. Kobe still found openings and knocked down three three-pointers.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers held a slight 25–21 lead over China.

Kobe and the starters came off to rest at the start of the second quarter. China brought on an inside-out twin towers pairing of Bater and Wang Zhizhi. The Lakers' reserves struggled to hold up. The 2.11-meter, 132-kilogram Bater had just turned twenty-one that year. With tremendous strength, he was like a gate guardian, swatting away the Lakers' attempts in the paint one after another.

"Whoa, that big guy's fierce," Fisher shouted.

Wang Zhizhi was even more spectacular. Though only nineteen, his offensive skills were already exquisite. With nimble footwork and a soft mid-range shot, he toyed with the Lakers' backup power forward. At 2.14 meters, he was still thin, but his quick mobility and outstanding technique made him look completely at ease on the court.

"These two young big men are really good. They've got potential. Let's see if we can recruit them to our school." Scouts on the sideline were astonished. Bater's defense and Wang Zhizhi's offense had both caught their eyes. They had not expected Asia to produce such gifted young talents.

Top American players were quickly snapped up by prestigious colleges once they reached university age. Some schools that could not recruit young domestic talent had already begun preparing to seek players overseas for the NCAA. These two big men fit the standard perfectly. If they could dominate the Lakers' summer league reserves, they absolutely had the ability to start in the NCAA.

Halfway through the second quarter, the Lakers, whose interior was getting destroyed, were quickly caught and even overtaken by China. Kobe could no longer sit still and suited up for battle.

Kobe took over ball-handling duties from Fisher. With one crossover, he shook past Li Nan, the Little Li Flying Dagger.

"This is my territory!" Bater rotated over beneath the basket, looking utterly ferocious.

Kobe showed no fear. He could have pulled up for a mid-range jumper, or passed to the open Travis. But Kobe did neither. He wanted to stop the bleeding and ignite the team. He knew exactly what to do. He had done it countless times before.

He took a long stride forward, gathered the ball, and soared into the air. Kobe launched himself with everything he had, leaping so high that his head was already above the rim. In midair, he cocked the ball back behind his head, his body arching like a bow, then slammed it viciously through the hoop right over Bater.

The image froze in that instant, like a poster: Kobe rising against the 2.11-meter giant Bater and hammering down with a mountain-splitting dunk!

"OMG, what the fuck did you just do?!" His teammates were already incoherent. They rushed over and helped up Kobe, who had fallen after landing unsteadily. Kobe puckered his lips. This was exactly the effect he wanted—the Lakers' momentum had surged.

The Chinese players were stunned by the dunk. Their giant in the paint had been dunked on head-on. Bater stood there blankly with both hands extended, as though he were still defending and the dunk had never happened.

"Did you get that on camera?" the reporters along the sideline asked one another.

"KOBE! KOBE! KOBE!" The American crowd knew basketball, and they chanted Kobe's name. His dunk over a giant was simply too spectacular.

"The game isn't over. No matter how pretty that dunk was, it was only two points!" Liu Yudong looked at his shaken teammates and let out a deep roar.