Master P to Kobe -- 'The Truth Hurts' ... Where Were You Last Month?

Master P says he's willing to have a face-to-face with Kobe Bryant -- and his message would be simple ... "It's just sad that last month no one had anything positive to say about Lamar."

It's another round in the Master P vs. Kobe Bryant war -- which started when P told TMZ Sports Kobe was a phony friend to Lamar because he didn't help Odom when he needed it the most ... only to surface at the hospital after things went wrong.

Kobe responded by saying it's insensitive to question his support of Lamar in such a critical moment.

Now round 3 ... P issued another statement titled," The Truth Hurts" -- in which he says during conversations with Lamar, Odom would complain "how everybody turned their backs on him, even his nba buddies."

P continued, "I am not trying to question the support of others that are truly grieving, this is a critical, life and death situation. This is only my opinion, it's just sad that last month no one had anything positive to say about Lamar."

There's more ... P says he doesn't blame anyone else for Lamar's current condition -- saying it's "a result of his decisions and actions" -- and admitted that even he had to distance himself from Odom.

"I tried to mentor him and give him advice but he is a grown man and made his own decisions ... I get that, that's life. So that's why I stopped dealing with Lamar."