LeBron James balked at the implication going in, that this somehow was himself vs. Kobe Bryant, even with Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade again sidelined by a balky right ankle.
James then nearly made the debate moot when he missed the morning shootaround with flu symptoms.
Ultimately, James found himself with ample support, in a 98-87 victory Thursday night over the Los Angeles Lakers that lifted the Heat to 5-0 in Wade's absence this season and 10-4 overall.
"I just wanted to be there for my teammates," he said, after finishing with 31 points, eight rebound and eight assists.
And they were there for him, from Shane Battier's defense against Bryant, to Chris Bosh's 15 points and eight rebounds, to Eddy Curry making it all the way back in his battle of the bulge.
For those keeping score, yes, it made it 11-5 LeBron over Kobe in their 16 career matchups, and it also gave James a victory in his first matchup against Lakers coach Mike Brown, his coach for five seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"It's never been between me and Kobe," James said, downplaying the one-on-one battle. "I've been in this league long enough that I don't have to prove anything to Kobe, and he doesn't have to prove anything to me."
On this night, Bryant didn't prove much, shooting 8 of 21 from the field for 24 points.
With Wade out, coach Erik Spoelstra inserted Battier into the starting lineup in place of James Jones, and Battier took over from there, harassing Bryant into a 1 for 8 first half.
"Kobe and I have had a lot of battles, 10 years of battles," said Battier, who also sparked the offense with three 3-pointers. "There's no one in this league I respect more than Kobe."
There also was respect in the locker room for what Curry did in his six minutes, and for more than his six points and three rebounds.
Spoelstra closed the first quarter by giving Curry his first NBA action since Dec. 17, 2009, while Curry was with the New York Knicks.
"It felt great," Curry said of the ovation that greeted his entrance. "I didn't know what to expect. I've been working hard for this moment. It's the first of many. It's a long way to go."
Curry, who dropped an estimated 100 pounds since his initial bid for a Heat job last spring, moved well in his brief stints.
"He has been tremendous with his work and commitment," Spoelstra said. "We started this process last spring. He did a lot of work on his own to get the opportunity to join our training camp. It's great to see him make the most of it and get to this point.
"He has come a long way, and we're all very encouraged by it. It is a big step forward."
For the most part, Curry kept pace with play.
"He gave us good minutes, good energy," Spoelstra said. "It was a pleasure for all of us to see him out there, in a game situation."
There was a degree of pleasure of also seeing James make it to the gym for the opening tip.
