Chapter 73: Verbal Domination

He Xinghui and Kobe clashed fiercely on the court, exchanging trash talk without pause. Anyone unaware of their history would have thought they were bitter enemies. Meanwhile, Vanessa and Theron sat together off the court, chatting amiably as if nothing could disturb their peace.

"Charlize, you don't need to worry," Vanessa said with a smile. "All men are like this. They fight to the death on the court, but off it, they admire each other—they're actually good friends..."

Charlize Theron felt a wave of embarrassment at Vanessa's words. She understood the implication: as women, they should ignore the rivalry between men and remain close friends themselves. The only problem was, Theron was not He Xinghui's partner, nor a member of the basketball wives' circle. Vanessa had clearly misunderstood.

Now was hardly the time to explain, so Charlize could only keep up a polite smile. She had no choice but to do so, especially since the cameras kept panning to her for close-ups—after all, she was one of the main characters in this public spectacle, a focal point of attention.

On the court, He Xinghui had just sunk his fifth shot, reaching a total of thirteen points. The Zen Master called a timeout, and He Xinghui immediately seized the moment to dash over to the crowd, shouting, "Who's guarding me? Who's on me? Is anyone even guarding me?"

Shameless.

The Lakers players couldn't help but curse under their breath, their focus on the coach's tactics completely shattered. If He Xinghui alone were dominating the game, his swagger might have been understandable. But Kobe, too, had racked up twelve points—his performance was just as dazzling. Yet Kobe made no effort to show off, while He Xinghui seemed inexplicably delighted, as if he were single-handedly crushing the opposition.

Naturally, Kobe's diehard fans greeted this behavior with a chorus of boos. But He Xinghui's fans cheered him on, making the stands even livelier than the action on the court itself.

"He is amazing," a young woman exclaimed.

"He's only scoring because his teammates keep setting screens for him. If you ask me, Kobe is the real star," her boyfriend retorted.

"I don't care, my cousin is the best!"

"Kobe's better!"

"Fine, let's break up. Go date Kobe if you love him so much."

"Alright, He Xinghui is better."

...

After the timeout, the Lakers adjusted their defensive strategy, ramping up the pressure on He Xinghui. Kobe shadowed him, while Odom was ready to double-team at any moment. This approach left Odom more likely to lose track of Livingston, but the Zen Master was willing to accept that risk.

He had no choice now but to treat He Xinghui as a superstar and deploy the classic tactic: "Let the role players beat us."

Confronted with this defense, the Clippers shifted their focus to Brand, making him the centerpiece of their offense. Meanwhile, they also began double-teaming Kobe on defense. After all, anyone could key in on a superstar.

Tactics were no secret; the real difference lay in how well the players executed them on the floor.

This stage could never truly become a one-on-one duel between He Xinghui and Kobe.

On a Clippers possession, He Xinghui darted about the court. Odom moved in to double-team, so He Xinghui quickly passed the ball to Livingston. Mihm stepped up to help, and Livingston dished it to Brand, who muscled past Brown to score.

The Clippers made the bucket, but He Xinghui hardly cared. He was far more interested in seizing the opportunity to taunt Kobe.

"So this is what gets you selected for the All-Defensive First Team?" He Xinghui shouted in Kobe's ear.

"Shut up, you spot-up shooter who only hides behind screens. You'll never be a superstar," Kobe shot back.

"If anyone should shut up, it's you, the so-called superstar who always needs teammates to bail him out."

...

The Lakers countered, with Kobe preparing to go one-on-one against He Xinghui. Livingston started moving in for the double-team, as per the coach's instructions.

But He Xinghui waved him off.

"Stay back. This guy isn't even worth a double-team!"

He had just taunted Kobe for needing help from his teammates; if he called for help now, it wouldn't get under Kobe's skin nearly as much. So, even at the cost of giving up two points, he was determined to defend Kobe single-handedly.

Livingston looked conflicted, while Coach Dunleavy on the sidelines felt wounded. His authority seemed to be slipping away by the minute; now, he dreaded the day He Xinghui might snatch the clipboard from his hands and start drawing up plays for the team himself.

Kobe made his move.

With a quick change of direction, he tried to break past He Xinghui. But He Xinghui gambled on a steal—after all, he couldn't stop Kobe any other way, so he might as well take a chance. Luckily, with his long wingspan and a bit of luck, he timed it perfectly and snatched the ball away.

Instead of taking the fast break himself, He Xinghui passed the ball to Livingston, then used his body to block Kobe's path back on defense—while continuing to taunt him: "See that? That's real defense, you overhyped fake superstar."

"Mother—"

This time, Kobe was genuinely angry.

He didn't doubt his own superstar status, but being stripped of the ball like that was embarrassing. He wanted to return the favor, to steal the ball from He Xinghui and restore his pride.

But He Xinghui always caught and shot in one fluid motion, never giving him a chance. It was maddening.

The Clippers converted a two-on-one fast break for another basket.

Overall, the Clippers had a slight edge in strength. Aside from Kobe and Odom, the Lakers' lineup was full of misfits and benchwarmers.

At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers had built up a lead, 32 to 27.

Kobe grew anxious and asked Phil Jackson to keep him in the game for the second quarter. Jackson didn't refuse; he knew Kobe was playing with his heart on his sleeve tonight, and trying to rein him in would only make things worse.

Besides, who else could he rely on now besides Kobe?

Kobe stayed on the court, while He Xinghui took a break—he couldn't match Kobe's stamina.

With Kobe leading the reserves, he didn't rack up many points. The Clippers swarmed him with double teams, forcing Kobe to keep passing the ball to his teammates. The Lakers managed to catch up and even take the lead during these minutes, but Kobe himself only scored four points.

By the time He Xinghui reentered the game, the individual scoring battle stood at 18-17, Kobe ahead by a single point.

"Even if you cheat and play extra minutes, you still can’t beat me," He Xinghui called out, his voice reaching Kobe's ears before he even set foot on the court.

Kobe was livid. How was this considered cheating? Was he supposed to waste his stamina, simply because he had more of it?

He knew, though, that fans wouldn't care about such details. Even if he won, Xinghui's fans would point to the difference in minutes played to discredit him.

It just wouldn't be perfect—unless he could outscore He Xinghui by a wide margin.

Perhaps victory in this game was already out of reach.

The thought crept into Kobe's mind: he wanted to go all out, to shoot and score relentlessly. As for the outcome of the game itself, he could no longer afford to care.