Chapter 2 The Second Battle

The second game of the series was scheduled to continue in two days.

Losing the first game, especially at the Spurs' home court, wasn't an unacceptable result for the Lakers.

After all, if the Lakers had won, they would have stolen the home-court advantage in the series.

However, after the loss, the Lakers' training session the next day was closed to the public.

This move showed that the impact of the game on the Lakers was greater than expected.

Inside the training facility, the Lakers were engaged in a full-fledged scrimmage, with Kobe's shouts echoing throughout.

Kobe's demands on his teammates were among the highest in the league, if not the highest.

Of course, he was like that because he demanded even more of himself and could lead by example.

After the scrimmage, the teammates walked towards the locker room one after another, but no one spoke, and the atmosphere was heavy.

Kobe didn't return to the locker room with the other players, but instead stayed in the training facility for extra practice.

With each shot, sweat streamed down his forehead.

He was well aware that the team's loss in the first game was largely due to his poor shooting touch.

After more than an hour of extra practice, he habitually lay on the floor and began to meditate.

This was also part of his daily training routine, to empty his mind.

However, his meditation was soon interrupted by footsteps.

He sat up and saw Pau Gasol returning from the players' tunnel.

Compared to the Lakers team that won two consecutive championships, there were only a few players left, and Pau Gasol was his closest and most important teammate.

The two were not only teammates on the court, but also had a good relationship off the court.

"Did I disturb you?"

Pau Gasol asked with a hint of apology.

"No, I was just about to finish training."

Kobe said as he stood up.

"What's up?"

He asked directly after standing up. It had been more than an hour since the team's training ended, and Pau Gasol hadn't been doing extra practice. He should have left already if nothing was wrong.

Pau Gasol nodded, then motioned for Kobe to sit down and talk.

"I think the key to our wins after the All-Star break, including the first round of the regular season, was sharing the ball. We didn't do that in the last game."

Pau Gasol had a good relationship with Kobe, so he dared to say things that others wouldn't.

Kobe remained silent, with only sweat dripping onto the floor.

"Kobe, we want to win, right? We can't afford to lose this season."

Pau Gasol continued.

Outsiders didn't know, but they were well aware that before the All-Star break, the conflict between Kobe and Howard was irreconcilable, and Howard had been put on the trading block.

Later, Kobe himself took the initiative to ask the management not to trade Howard, and then traded for Livingston and C.J. Miles, and then held a team meeting to say that they couldn't afford to lose this season, and that's how the current Lakers team came to be.

Pau Gasol's words weren't a challenge, but a reminder.

"I got it."

Kobe nodded, then stood up and walked back to the locker room without acknowledging Pau Gasol.

Pau Gasol sighed as he watched Kobe's back.

Kobe had been suppressing his scoring desire for the team's sake this season.

Forming the F4 this season came with enormous pressure, and they really couldn't afford to lose.

Two days later, the Lakers and Spurs played again at the AT&T Center.

On this day, Kobe showed fans his remarkable ability to adjust. He only took 15 shots in the entire game, and his shooting touch was still average at 6-for-15.

But in addition to scoring 17 points, he also contributed 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

The Lakers played a game that was representative of their season.

Howard had a team-high 21 points and 13 rebounds, Nash had 11 points and 10 assists, Gasol had 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, Miles had 12 points, and Artest had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.

The Lakers had 6 players scoring in double figures, defeating the Spurs 104-100 and tying the series at 1-1.

This was also the first time the Spurs had lost in the first two games of a series since Tang Tian joined the Spurs.

"The Lakers showed their competitiveness, proving that they are still championship contenders."

ESPN used this headline to report the news after the game.

Clearly, the victory not only boosted the Lakers' morale but also restored confidence in them from the outside world.

If the F4 were all healthy, their strength couldn't be underestimated.

After two games, the two teams would move to Los Angeles for the next two games.

Although they lost the second game, the Spurs players seemed to be in good spirits, chatting and laughing on the plane.

Tang Tian was also talking to Green about the league's recent announcement of the best general manager award.

Ujiri beat Morey to become the best general manager of the 2012-2013 season.

Although the Nuggets were upset by the Warriors in the first round, their record-breaking regular season couldn't be erased.

Except for special cases like averaging a triple-double, most of the time the league's honors are tied to the team's record.

"Tang, come here."

While they were talking, Tang Tian turned his head and saw Popovich calling him.

NBA teams charter planes for away games, and the coaches and managers all sit in business class.

Tang Tian got up and followed Popovich to business class.

There was already a bottle of red wine and two glasses on Popovich's seat.

Obviously, the old man was having a craving for wine on the plane and wanted him to keep him company.

Before, because of the matter of reducing his playing time, the two of them had been somewhat estranged, and Popovich hadn't asked him to drink much.

Now that so much time had passed, the estrangement was long gone, and these gatherings between alcoholics were inevitable.

After sitting down and drinking, the two inevitably talked about losing the last game.

He didn't know when it started, but Popovich had already regarded Tang Tian as half an assistant coach.

"When that Kobe kid first entered the league, I had just become the head coach of the Spurs. I remember the first game between the two teams that year very well. He was matched up against Dominique Wilkins. You know, Wilkins was old, but he was still the team's leading scorer.

Kobe took him on twice and was blocked twice. One time, it was a face-smashing block that made Del Harris, the Lakers' coach at the time, jump up and down. He almost took him off the court, but the third time, he forced a foul on Wilkins.

I knew back then that that guy was a super obsessive-compulsive, but tell me, how could someone like that, at 35 years old, suddenly change his nature?"

Popovich was complaining to Tang Tian while also wondering.

"No, old man, he hasn't changed his nature, he's just suppressing his scoring desire."

Tang Tian put down his wine glass and said.

Kobe's strength lies in scoring, but the problem also lies in his love for scoring.

The Lakers' three-peat was precisely because Phil Jackson suppressed Kobe's scoring desire.

Phil Jackson even made a special mention of this when he wrote the foreword to Kobe's autobiography, *The Mamba Mentality*.