Kobe Bryant's Ankle Fails Playing Test; Lakers win

Kobe Bryant decided to give it a try Friday night when the Lakers took on the Indiana Pacers in spite of the sever sprain that he suffered earlier this week. He didn't last long. After about a period of play that was lackluster at best and saw Kobe go scoreless--only the 15th time in 17 seasons, he called it a night.



As it turns out that was okay. Dwight Howard turned it up a notch and led the team to a 99-93 win.




In a way, it was a shocker to see Kobe on the court. After the tumble that he took courtesy of Dahntay Jones's misplaced foot it would have made sense for him to sit. He is too valuable to the team's playoff run, and they need to have him back sooner rather than later.

Then again--this is Kobe we are talking about. If there is a game and he has a pulse he is going to do whatever it takes to get in. Although he might be better off sitting he wants to win so bad that it drives him to do things that most people could not conceivably do.

Like attempt to play basketball on a severely sprained ankle.

The win moves the Lakers a full game above Utah for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. Houston also won and still has a game and a half lead for the no. 7 spot.