Battle with Tim Duncan (4K)

"Kobe cleared out and went one-on-one against Duncan! The game was packed with fireworks from the very start!"

"I heard you destroyed the greatest power forward in history last round? Then let me destroy you! Kobe must have been thinking exactly that!"

Kobe had the ball. There was nothing flashy about his dribble, yet the basketball stayed tight to his body, weaving back and forth below his knees!

This was the safest kind of dribbling! Even players known for steals could never strip Kobe with a dribble like this.

And standing before him was the towering Tim Duncan! There was even less chance Kobe would make a mistake with this kind of dribble!

This was Kobe's respect for Duncan. He understood this old rival! Against other big men in a guard-versus-big mismatch, Kobe would already have been dribbling the ball high up near his shoulders!

Thump!

Thump!

Thump, thump!

The ball bounced faster and faster!

Then Kobe suddenly accelerated!

Duncan's hair stood on end in an instant, goosebumps rising across his skin! His entire body tensed as he tried to read Kobe's next move!

Left?

Or right?

Kobe pulled the ball back!

A pump fake!

His head lifted slightly, his expression focused!

He's going to shoot? No, it's a fake! Duncan did not step forward to contest! But his center of gravity still tilted forward involuntarily!

That tiny shift in balance was enough for Kobe!

Crossover!

He lowered his body!

His right leg exploded off the floor!

The ball stayed low!

Like a motorcycle leaning through a high-speed turn, he drove in hard!

"Stay with him, Tim!" Popovich roared from the sideline.

Duncan gritted his teeth!

With an exaggeratedly long stride, he retreated!

In the briefest instant, he corrected the forward shift in his balance.

Against any other guard, Duncan