West Los Angeles, Staples Center.
The moment the referee tossed the ball into the air, Andrew Bynum coiled his body like a spring and exploded upward.
But Tim Duncan's timing was surgical.
Combined with his massive wingspan, the "Big Fundamental" simply flicked the ball with his fingertips at the apex of the jump.
The ball sailed right to Tony Parker.
Spurs ball.
Parker brought the ball across half-court, and Kobe was all over him immediately.
Kobe's stance was low, arms wide, eyes locked in.
Parker could feel the suffocating pressure. This wasn't regular-season Kobe; this was "Battle Mode" Kobe Bryant.
On the first possession, Parker fed the ball to Duncan at the high post.
The Spurs' wings immediately started their signature weaving and cutting around Duncan.
After a few complex hand-offs, Duncan threaded a perfect bounce pass to a cutting Bruce Bowen.
Bowen went up for the layup.
But Lamar Odom was lurking in the shadows, ready to strike.
Whack!
A clean, emphatic block!
Link grabbed the loose ball and didn't hesitate, outletting it straight to Kobe.
Kobe pushed the pace. Catching the Spurs' transition defense napping, he pulled up for a long two.
Swish!
Lakers strike first!
The arena erupted.
Kobe jogged back on defense, stone-faced. No trash talk, no celebration.
Everyone knew what that look meant: Kobe had entered scoring mode from the opening tip.
Infected by his intensity, the rest of the Lakers dialed their energy up to 11. Every player looked ready for war.
On the next possession, Parker tried a floater off a screen, but Bynum aggressively altered the shot.
On the other end, Kobe pulled up for a transition three.
Cash!
5-0 start!
Possession changed. The Spurs, ever the veterans, stayed patient.
After swinging the ball around, they dumped it down to Duncan in the low post against Odom.
Duncan gave a quick jab step and went for a turnaround hook shot.
Clank!
Another miss.
The Lakers cleared the board and fed Kobe again.
Facing defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, Kobe executed a half-spin, drove hard along the baseline, and elevated.
Pull-up jumper.
Bowen couldn't even react in time. He just watched the ball snap the net.
Kobe had 7 straight points!
The cheers inside the Staples Center were deafening.
On the Spurs' sideline, Gregg Popovich didn't call a timeout.
The Spurs stuck to their guns, running the offense through Duncan.
Parker tried to work a pick-and-roll to get to his mid-range spot, but Kobe stuck to him like glue. Parker couldn't even get a clean look to receive the pass.
Phil Jackson's defensive adjustments were working!
Under Kobe's relentless harassment, the Spurs' play broke down. They were nearly forced into a 24-second violation.
With the clock winding down, Duncan was forced to heave a contested long two.
Brick!
Kobe snatched the rebound.
He pushed it up the floor, used a Bynum screen, and slashed into the paint.
Duncan rotated over to help.
Kobe hit him with a hesitation move—a "Shammgod" fake. Duncan bit just enough.
Seizing that split-second opening, Kobe dropped his center of gravity, practically scraping the floor as he drove into the restricted area.
Duncan recovered incredibly fast, chasing him down.
Kobe jumped off one foot, contorted his body in mid-air, and went for a reverse layup.
The ball spun off the glass at an impossible angle, evading Duncan's fingertips.
Good!
"WOW!" The crowd went berserk.
"Unbelievable!!" commentator Mark Jackson screamed. "Kobe Bryant with 9 straight points! Duncan played perfect defense, but better offense beats perfect defense every time!"
Duncan's defense was elite—he had recovered from the fake and nearly pinned the shot.
But that play just showcased Kobe's legendary body control. Even with just a sliver of daylight, he could find the bottom of the net.
Four straight stops. Four straight scores. The Lakers had all the momentum.
The bench was going wild, towel-waving like maniacs.
Popovich finally stood up. His face was grim, showing no emotion, but he decisively signaled for a timeout.
Beep!
The whistle blew. Spurs timeout.
The noise in Staples Center hit a fever pitch as fans vented their excitement over the perfect start.
Kobe walked back to the bench, high-fiving his teammates. His eyes were still burning with focus.
"Great work, fellas!" Brian Shaw clapped loudly, hyping up the squad.
On the other bench, Popovich was scribbling furiously on his clipboard, clearly unhappy with the offensive stagnation. Kobe's solo blitz had completely disrupted their rhythm.
"Be decisive on offense! Stop hesitating!" Popovich barked.
---
Timeout over. Spurs ball.
This time, after Parker brought it up, he immediately deferred to Manu Ginobili on the wing.
The rest of the team spaced out on the weak side.
The Spurs were shifting the attack to their Sixth Man, the "Demon Blade"—Manu Ginobili!
Link felt a chill run down his spine. He dropped into a defensive stance, arms wide, sticking close to Manu.
He knew how dangerous the Argentine was.
It wasn't raw speed like Parker; it was an unpredictable, snake-like rhythm.
Ginobili caught the ball a step behind the three-point line. No flashy moves yet.
He just dribbled with his right hand, turning his body slightly, eyes scanning the paint.
At that moment, Duncan came up from the low block to set a solid screen.
Odom hedged hard, ready to switch.
Link tried to fight over the screen, but Duncan was like a brick wall.
Odom moved to cover the drive, but in the split second the switch happened...
Ginobili moved.
He didn't use the screen to go left.
Instead, just as Link and Odom shifted their weight, Manu snapped a lightning-fast behind-the-back dribble to his right.
He dropped his shoulder, practically hugging the floor, and slithered right through the gap.
The first step wasn't explosive, but the rhythm was so weird it threw everyone off.
Link and Odom were left in the dust, watching Manu glide into the paint.
Link scrambled to recover, but it was too late.
Bynum stepped up to help, but Ginobili didn't force the shot.
Contorting his body in mid-air, he flicked his wrist and threaded a pass through a tiny window to a wide-open Nazr Mohammed.
Mohammed laid it in. The Spurs finally scored!
"That is Manu's value right there! He collapses the defense and makes the game easy for everyone else!" Mike Breen praised.
Lakers possession. Kobe tried to keep the heat check going.
But Bowen was draped all over him this time. Kobe's pull-up jumper rimmed out, and Duncan secured the board.
The Spurs pushed the pace. Ginobili was the engine now.
He caught the ball near mid-court. Facing Link's retreat, he suddenly accelerated, then hit a push-cross!
Link stumbled, his ankles momentarily confused.
"Mama, there goes that man!" Mark Jackson shouted. "What a move!"
Near the sideline, Manu executed a brilliant nutmeg-style move to split the defense.
On the Spurs, only Ginobili had the green light to dribble like that.
Facing Odom's help defense, Manu unleashed his signature Eurostep.
He folded his body in the air, dodging the block, and laid it in!
Link took a sharp breath. Being on the court with Ginobili was terrifying.
Every dribble, every twitch was a lie.
You think he's driving? He pulls up.
You think he's passing? He squeezes through a gap that shouldn't exist and scores.
And he wasn't done. The Lakers bricked another shot.
Ginobili brought the ball up.
He hit a massive crossover, followed by a huge step-back, freezing Bynum on the switch.
Manu launched a three.
Swish!
Good!
5 points and 1 assist in the blink of an eye.
The Spurs had answered with a 7-0 run of their own!