When NBA Games Turn Into PERSONAL BATTLES

This was personal between Shaq and Bynum. O’Neal wanted to dominate every time he faced his former team, and Bynum was the guy who was going to replace him. So there was no backing down, he wanted to prove that he’s worth it.
So the result was this sequence between the 2 escalating with a little pushing and shoving.
In the heat of the moment sometimes the ego takes over,
so let me show you what happens when NBA players turn games into personal battles. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it.
Shaq also had a personal battle against Dwight Howard for the Superman title as ridiculous as that sounds.
The media hyped it up and the pressure was on, as you can clearly see both players wanting the ball and wanting to go at their opponent. At times even forcing it and playing overzealous with a lot of fouls and a lot of mistakes.
Still, they didn’t disappoint as both Shaq and Dwight had their moments in the game.
At the end O’Neal ended the game with 20 points while Howard had 22 along with 16 rebounds and 4 blocks and the Magic got the win.
Back in 02 Kobe and T-Mac were unstoppable offensive forces and there were debates about who is a more prolific scorer. Those debates sparked some 1 on 1 battles on the court between the 2, and the most memorable one was this game where Bryant and Mcgrady took turns going at each other. Look at some of these tough shots that they are hitting. And the slow motion angles make them that much more epic.
This is a perfect combination of high level competitiveness looking artful.
Both guys ended the game with 38 points but the moment that people talk about to this day is this sequence where initially T-Mac absolutely drops Kobe on this spin before swishing the fadeaway and then as the Lakers take the ball out, Bryant immediately gets it and hunts Mcgrady for the revenge. And watch what happens. Boom.
Kobe blows by for the thunderous dunk and you see him slapping the backboard showing just how much this means to him.
And this is another example where we see how much it meant for Carmelo and Lebron.
I mean check out the defense from Anthony. This has to be the defensive highlight of his career.
This too was mano a mano showdown of one of the best young superstars in the league at the time. You can see the level of competitiveness and the overall physicality of the game.
Watch Lebron poking Carmelo’s headband off of his head, and the subsequent tough foul on the drive. They were in each other's faces.
As the game went down to the wire, here’s Anthony with the amazing spin and the double clutch finish. And Lebron takes the ball and goes right back at him, stopping at the 3 point line and swishing the shot, as the 2 share a laugh.
And as the game went into overtime, the back and forth intensified and neither of them would flinch, hitting shot after shot over tough defense.
In this wild game James would end with 43 points and this is the game winning 40th point for Anthony, capping off this spectacle.

Tracy Mcgrady also had one of the highest combined scores against Dirk. A 53 to 48 point shootout this is possibly the most underrated head to head matchups and it’s forgotten by the large majority of NBA fans.
But as you watch these amazing shots from both Mcgrady and Nowitzki it’s a nice reminder why the battle of texas in the early 2000s was incredible.
The Dallas Mavericks held on to win this game that resulted with a combined 101 points from the 2 superstars.
James Harden and Bradley Beal however combined for 105 in a game where the beard absolutely exploded for 59 points.
Speaking of high scores however, we gotta mention the playoffs record that Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell set in the bubble both going over 50 points in the same playoff game.
That entire series was a deathmatch between Mitchell and Murray as both guys had 2 games with 50 points. Unbelievable.
Btw, the record that they topped was this battle between Gilbert Arenas and Lebron James.
In a chippy and physical series between 2 rival teams, Cleveland and Washington went to a pivotal game 5 all tied up at 2, with a lot on the line.
And their 2 main superstars knew that they needed to bring their A-game.
That’s exactly what happened as Agent Zero matched the king shot for shot throughout the entire game, scoring 44 points and hitting incredible shots to keep Washington in the game, but unfortunately for him and the Wizards, Lebron had the ball on the final possession. And this is what happened.
There are countless of these 1 on 1 showdowns and I’m sure I’m missing some. So let me know in the comments if you think of one. That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.