When LeBron James played his first game against Carmelo Anthony, the home opener in his rookie season in 2003, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a boxing-style promotional poster with the tag “Rivalry begins tonight!”
　　当勒布朗·詹姆斯在2003年的新秀赛季揭幕战中主场迎接卡梅洛·安东尼的时候，克利夫兰的经营者曾设计了一张以“经典对抗始于今夜”的宣传海报。
　　By 2005, every time James and Dwyane Wade played against each other, the game was ticketed for national television.
　　2005年里，詹姆斯和德韦恩·韦德的每一次交手都会登上全国直播的舞台。
　　The desire to create a genuine duel between James and Kobe Bryant led Nike to create a series of commercials in which the puppet version of each would trash talking each other. Even if the men themselves showed little interest in doing it for real on the court.
　　将科比·布莱恩特和詹姆斯的比赛打造成经典对决的想法甚至让Nike为此策划了一系列的商业活动来塑造一场轰轰烈烈的对抗。哪怕他们本人并没有对这些表现出太多的兴趣。
　　For various reasons, these attempts to generate a rivalry for James failed. But he does have a less-publicized but legitimate rival, in a fierce competition that has been nurtured organically through postseason battles and periods of authentic dislike, genuine bad blood and some hard-won respect.
　　因为这样或者那样的原因，为詹姆斯塑造一个“仇家”的计划最终没能成行。但是其实，他有一个并不广为人知的对手，这场激烈的角逐赛里夹杂着由于在季后赛里的缠斗和相互之间的厌恶、热血甚至包括一点点得之不易得的尊重。
　　When the Eastern Conference finals open tonight, James will play his 19th career playoff game against Boston Celtics future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce. For the 19th time they will likely be each other’s primary defender. For the 19th time there’s probably going to be some hard stares, complaints to the officials about the other and perhaps even a few borderline dirty plays.
　　今晚(5月28日)东部决赛的号角即将吹响。勒布朗将生涯第19次迎战皮尔斯的球队——波士顿凯尔特人。他们俩在之前的对决里都是相互对位。这19次比赛可是不可避免的高强度防守、互相抱怨对方打球肮脏。
　　“Oh, we know each other,” James said.“More than any other matchup in the league. We know each other’s likes and dislikes.”
　　“我们都非常了解对方，”詹姆斯说。“我们是联盟互相盯防最多的。我们知道彼此的喜恶。”
　　This is the fourth time in the five-year run of the Celtics’ Big 3 era -- starting when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Pierce in 2007 --that James will face Boston in the playoffs. The Celtics’ success partially willed James to form a competing triumvirate of his own. After losing in a seven-game series to the Celtics’ newly created super team in 2008, James sat on the podium in Boston and demanded his team make some move to improve its talent level. When his season ended again there in 2010, after a series of Cavs trades failed to produce a title, James proclaimed he and “his team”had a plan in place for his free agency.
　　这是詹姆斯在最近五年里第四次在季后赛和由加内特、雷·阿伦和皮尔斯从2007年开始组建的三巨头率领的凯尔特人对决。凯尔特人的成功模式也促成了詹姆斯自己组成了三巨头。在2008年抢七大战输给凯尔特人后，詹姆斯当场要求他的队伍需要做一些改进以便更好的发挥他的天赋。在2010年他的赛季再次结束的时候，在他的队伍引援失败之后，詹姆斯宣布他和他的团队打算试水自由市场。
　　The product of that plan is James’ arrival with the Heat, and they’ll be taking on the Celtics in the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
　　而这个计划的结果就是前往热火，并且在来年季后赛拿下凯尔特人。
　　"[Pierce] is the closest thing to a rival, if LeBron has one," Wade said. "They make it tough on each other."
　　“[皮尔斯]是最接近勒布朗的对手的人，如果勒布朗真的有个对手的话，”韦德说。“他们对彼此都很压制。”
　　That James felt the need to partner up with Wade and Chris Bosh to compete with the Celtics is a sign of esteem. But the skirmishes between Pierce and James started long before they worked to create their own All-Star teams. At times, it has gotten so personal it has involved family members.
　　詹姆斯觉得与韦德还有波什凑在一起是能够和凯尔特人抗衡的一个标志。但是皮尔斯和詹姆斯之间的恩怨纠葛早在他们成为“全明星”队友之前就结下了。很多时候这些事端都是由他们的家庭成员引起的。
　　The closest thing James has ever had to a fight in the NBA came against Pierce, though most may not remember it. It happened way back in 2004, during a preseason game at Ohio State. It took place during Game 2 of the World Series, when the Red Sox were on their way to their first title since 1918 and certainly no one in Boston was paying much attention.
　　詹姆斯在NBA唯一一次差一点打架的冲突对方就是皮尔斯。那是2004年在俄亥俄州进行的季前赛。当时正值MLB世界巡回赛的第二场，当时波士顿红袜正有机会夺取自1918年来的首次总冠军时，没人给这支NBA的波士顿的球队太多的关注。
　　After things had gotten a little heated the night before during a preseason game between the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers at①Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, it boiled over when they played again in Columbus.
　　在康涅狄格州的金神赌场举行的凯尔特人和骑士的季前赛前夜这件事情的火药味愈加浓烈，而他们在哥伦比亚比赛的时候整个事情已经炸开了。
　　There was already some beef starting between the two from the previous season, James’ first in Cleveland. Pierce had gotten into an in-game trashing talking war with ②Otis Carter.
　　其实早在在詹姆斯的新秀赛季里，俩人之间就已经有了纠葛。皮尔斯跟奥蒂斯·卡特早就展开了口水战。
　　After a Pierce hard foul on James, Carter started screaming at Pierce from courtside seats. It was part of the first great JamesPierce battle. James had 37 points that night, the second-highest output of his rookie year. But Pierce ended up scoring 41, burying the Cavs with a series of offensive moves and staring at Carter after each basket in the second half. He told James late in the game he needed to tell Carter to be quiet or he’d go for 50 points. Or at least that is how the story goes.
　　当时，在皮尔斯对詹姆斯一次重手犯规之后，原本坐着的卡特愤而站冲着皮尔斯就开始咆哮。这是詹姆斯-皮尔斯之战的开端。那天晚上詹姆斯砍下了37分，这是他新秀赛季以来的第二高得分。而皮尔斯则砍下了41分，在受到卡特的谩骂之后几乎凭借一己之力在下半场手刃骑士。赛后，他告诉詹姆斯，如果卡特能安静点那他就能砍下50分了。这是他们一系列矛盾的开端。
　　It wasn’t the only time Pierce would get into it with a James family member. During the 2008 playoffs, Pierce wrapped up James on a drive to the basket during Game 4 of the conference semifinals in Cleveland. The two spilled into the stands, where Gloria James, LeBron’s mother, got up from her seat and began yelling at Pierce. James famously yelled to his mother to “sit your [blank] down.”
　　这不是惟一一次皮尔斯跟詹姆斯的家人发生争执。在2008年东部半决赛第四场在克利夫兰的比赛时，皮尔斯突破詹姆斯的防守直接杀到篮下得分。两个人顶到了一起，詹姆斯的妈妈格洛丽亚站起来冲着皮尔斯咆哮起来。勒布朗那句著名的斥责就发生在此刻——“坐回你的座位去。”
　　In that 2004 preseason game at Ohio State, Pierce scored twice in a row on James during the third quarter. On the second hoop, he used a crossover dribble to shake James on the way to the basket and let everyone know he’d just beaten the young kid. James answered with a jumper and then picked Pierce’s pocket and ran to the other end for a dunk.
　　在2004年俄亥俄州的那场季前赛里，皮尔斯在第三节连续在詹姆斯脸上投中两球。尤其是第二次抛投时，他在运球突破中虚晃了一下詹姆斯并且让所有人知道他教训了这个小家伙。作为回应，詹姆斯先来个跳投，然后抢断皮尔斯直冲篮下完成了一个暴扣。
　　Soon after the two got into each other’s faces and were hit with technical fouls. Then Pierce spit toward the Cavs’ bench, for which he was later fined $15,000. But that’s not where the fight almost happened; it was in the dressing room area after the game. The team locker rooms were next to each other and the tempers flared again in the hallway. Pierce’s teammates had to literally carry him away to prevent an altercation.
　　没过多久，两个人又互相杠上了，然后双双吃T。皮尔斯直接冲着骑士板凳席挑衅，这也让他付出了15000美刀罚款的代价。然而，这还不是他们争端的全部；真正的争端是在赛后更衣室里面。两支队伍更衣室就隔着一个墙壁，两人在半路就开始硝烟四起。队友们只好拦住皮尔斯，以防横生更多事端。
　　The two would eventually call for a truce at the All-Star Game the next year. Since then, their conflicts have all been centered on the floor. The rivalry, however, has only matured.
　　一直到第二年的全明星赛时两人之间的关系才得到了缓和。从那儿之后，俩人之间斗争才只会在场上发生，因为他们都变得更加成熟。
　　“I don’t think it is like or dislike, it is what it is,” Pierce said. “He’s been on some great teams, I’ve been on some great teams and we’ve had to face one another. After awhile it became a mutual respect for the things he’s done in this league and the things I’ve done in this league.”
　　“我不认为这是喜欢或者不喜欢的问题，就是这样，”皮尔斯说，“他身处一支伟大的球队，我也是在一个伟大的球队，我们都要面对对方。毕竟他在联盟里做的让人尊敬的成熟行为也是我在做的。”
　　


　　During a game in 2006, they had another great battle in a doubleovertime game in Boston. James played 54 minutes, scoring 43 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a Cavs win. That night Pierce did get his 50 points, the first Celtics player to do so since Larry Bird, and drew a foul on James in the final second of regulation to force overtime.
　　2006那年在波士顿打出了一场两个加时的比赛。詹姆斯出场54分钟，得到43+12+11，帮助球队拿下了比赛。那个夜晚皮尔斯则砍下50分，这是这片场地自拉里·伯德之后第一个砍下这么多分的人，随后他在最后时刻在詹姆斯身上造了一个犯规后将比赛拖入了加时赛。
　　In the 2008 playoffs, Pierce and James staged several more classic battles. In a pivotal Game 5, James’ 35 points weren’t enough as Pierce scored 29 points and Boston took a 3-2 series lead. After James forced a final game with a supreme performance in Game 6 with 32 points and 12 rebounds, Pierce carried the Celtics to a Game 7 victory. He scored 41 points and the Celtics outlasted James’45-point effort that Sunday afternoon at TD Garden, still ranking as the best head-to-head playoff battle of James’ career.
　　2008年季后赛两人又上演了几次经典的争斗。在当时比较重要的第五场比赛里，詹姆斯得到35分却难挡皮尔斯得到29分并率领凯尔特人拿下比赛以3-2的大比分领先。虽然第六场詹姆斯放手一搏，砍下32分和12个篮板拿下比赛。但在接下来的那个周日在TD北岸花园球馆，皮尔斯率队赢得了这一场抢七大战。詹姆斯的45分在皮尔斯的41分面前黯淡无光，尽管那也是詹姆斯职业生涯最好的季后赛成绩。
　　“He’s one of the best at his position and I’ve been considered one of the best at my position,” Pierce said. “It’s been a very competitive battle.”
　　“他是他位置上最好的球员之一，我也是我位置上最好球员之一。”皮尔斯说。“这是对抗性非常强的比赛。”
　　In the 2010 playoffs, Celtics coach Doc Rivers’ game plan was to have Pierce concentrate on defending James and not to put as much emphasis on his own offense. It was part of an overall strategy to be physical with James and keep him away from the basket. Over the last three games of the series, which the Celtics won to pull the upset against the top-seeded Cavs, Pierce averaged just 14.3 points. But his defense helped the Celtics hold James to averages of just 21.3 points and 34 percent shooting as the spectrum of the series completely changed.
　　2010年季后赛，道格·里弗斯计划让皮尔斯将比赛重心放在防守詹姆斯身上，以减少进攻带来的消耗。这个战术，就是要让詹姆斯远离篮筐。在这个系列赛的最后三场比赛里，凯尔特人再一次将常规赛头号种子骑士击败。这样的防守让詹姆斯场均得分只有21.3分和34%的命中率，并改变了系列赛的走势。
　　James finally got his victory over Pierce and the Celtics in 2011 after joining the Heat. In the game that essentially decided the series, Game 4, James and Pierce added another chapter to their rivalry. The Heat won in overtime in Boston, taking a 3-1 series lead (they eventually won in five). With the outcome still in doubt, James had 35 points and 14 rebounds, including the go-ahead basket in overtime. Pierce had 27 points and eight rebounds and made a hoop in the final minute of regulation that ended up forcing overtime.
　　一直到2011年加盟热火之后，詹姆斯才得以在季后赛赢得对凯尔特人的系列赛。在系列赛中最重要的第四场比赛里，詹姆斯和皮尔斯将比赛拖进加时。热火在波士顿主场通过加时赛拿下了比赛，并且以大比分3-1领先(最终他们以五场比赛结束了系列赛)。詹姆斯贡献了35分加14个篮板，包括在加时赛里打进领先比赛的那个球。而皮尔斯的成绩则是27分和8个篮板，是他的最后一次进攻将比赛拖入了加时。
　　


　　Two days later, when James and the Heat closed the series out, he fell to his knee in appreciation of the accomplishment after he scored 10 points in the game’s last two minutes. Playing the Celtics, and their captain Pierce, has in many ways defined this portion of James’ career.
　　两天以后当勒布朗和热火拿下了这个系列赛，勒布朗在最后两分钟里砍下10分之后单膝跪地。凯尔特人以及他们的队长皮尔斯，教会了勒布朗职业生涯很多东西。
　　There might not be a better way to define a rival.
　　下面这句话也许更能解释什么叫做死敌。
　　“We understand how competitive each other are,” James said. “It’s always fun to go up against the best, and he’s one of them.”
　　“我们懂得相互竞争，”詹姆斯说，“和最好的球队打球很有趣，他是这支球队的一部分。”