![]() So James and Bryant remain rivals in many ways, not the least of which is their ongoing battle to be the most popular player in the world. (And it should be noted that he did so without being prompted.) At one point, James boldly declared himself the leader of the team. The two became what James called "good friends" during their time on Team USA during the Olympics in Beijing this past summer, when James led through his words and actions at practice and on the team bus and Bryant led through his work ethic. I'd be the first to admit that maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it was the one time all night when LeBron showed a little incredulity, and to me it was because of the underlying insinuation that James was some kind of a loner - a term folks around the NBA often use in describing one of Bryant's peculiarities. Kobe and LeBron go head-to-head on Sunday (ABC, 3:30 ET) as the Lakers visit the Cavs. LeBron lost his composure only once in his postgame interview Wednesday night following Cleveland's 107-102 victory over New York, taking exception to a question that insinuated he had acted like a loner at one point early in the game, walking to the bench with his head hung. You could see it in the way he started going off early in the first quarter, you could sense it beforehand during a casual conversation in which James made mention of Kobe's zero rebounds and three assists two nights earlier, and you could feel it in your bones if you had spent enough time around the two of them this past summer and witnessed their competition for the alpha dog role on Team USA. He didn't break the record, but he came pretty darn close, and he wanted it from the get-go. The notion that LeBron James did not want to score 62 points, that he did not want to break Kobe Bryant's 48-hour visiting-player scoring record at the new Madison Square Garden, is utterly, patently and absurdly false. In 14 regular-season games, Kawhi is 9-5 against LeBron, while he boasts a 7-5 postseason record against James.NEW YORK - First of all, let's get one thing straight: One player who has been a difficult out for LeBron throughout his career is Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard. In 2020, Howard signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers to play with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and new head coach Doc Rivers. As teammates, Howard and James were 50-15 in the regular season and 13-5 in the postseason. ![]() In 2019, Howard signed with the Lakers for his second stint in Los Angeles. LeBron is just 23-18 against Howard in regular-season games, and lost 4-2 in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, when Howard played for the Magic. ![]() Dwight Howardīefore Dwight joined forces with LeBron in Los Angeles, the two put up some heated battles across 47 head-to-head matchups. It wasn't enough, though, as Harden's Houston Rockets lost 4-1. ![]() "The Beard" played a more significant role this time, averaging 29.4 points per game and 7.2 assists in the Western Conference Semifinals. In 2020, Harden met LeBron for the second time in the postseason. Teammate Russell Westbrook put up 27.0 PPG. Harden averaged just 12.4 points per game and 3.6 assists in that series, while Durant led the team in scoring (30.6 PPG). ![]()
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