Lakers' Kobe Bryant injured in exhibition
LAKERS
He leaves game after bumping knees with teammate.
Reported from San Diego — Kobe Bryant has experienced just about every injury in a pro career spanning 37,519 minutes, but this was a new one.
Bryant sustained a hyperextended right knee and was listed as day-to-day after banging knees with Lakers forward Josh Powell in the second quarter of Tuesday's 102-98 exhibition victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Bryant was injured while going for a rebound off Sun Yue's missed shot from the wing. Bryant bumped into Powell, his knee was hyperextended and he landed off balance.
Bryant immediately signaled to the bench that he was injured, and a timeout was called with 3:08 left in the second quarter. He walked over and sat at the end of the bench for a few moments before heading to the locker room under his own power, with trainer Gary Vitti closely behind.
Bryant did not return for the second half and will be re-evaluated today. The injury is not considered serious, and an MRI exam is not scheduled for today unless he wakes up and experiences pain.
"We'll see how it feels [today]. It's sore," Bryant said in a brief interview before ducking into a dark sports utility vehicle that was waiting in the Sports Arena loading dock.
An hour earlier, Bryant expressed relief to teammates upon realizing the injury wasn't serious. He told some he had never experienced the feeling of a hyperextended knee and initially feared it to be worse.
Veteran Derek Fisher, who knows a thing or two about Bryant's pain tolerance, said he expected Bryant to play in the Lakers' season opener next Tuesday against Portland.
"He'll be fine," Fisher said.
Bryant, who had four points on two-for-four shooting, might sit out the Lakers' rematch against Charlotte in Anaheim on Thursday. The Lakers conclude the preseason Friday in Ontario against Oklahoma City.
Andrew Bynum had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Charlotte in his most complete game of the exhibition season. Jordan Farmar was again a spark as a reserve, scoring 17 points in 22 minutes.
Prediction time
This time, the Lakers will defeat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
At least, that's what NBA general managers would envision based on an annual NBA.com survey to be released today.
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