Indiana

The Lakers (34-32) visit the Indiana Pacers (40-24) on Friday night. The Pacers are the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. Defensively, Indiana is a bear, holding teams to just 89.7 points a game. The Lakers score 102.4 points nightly, but can they get close to that with Kobe Bryant on the shelf with a severely sprained ankle? Earl Clark, still starting for the injured Pau Gasol (foot), also sprained an ankle Wednesday but is expected to be available in Indiana. The Lakers lost a close one at Staples Center to the Pacers in late November on a last-second layup from point guard George Hill.

INDIANAPOLIS - Kobe Bryant is expected to play Friday against the Indiana Pacers. "He's better. A lot better," Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni said. Bryant sustained a severely sprained left ankle Wednesday against Atlanta and was declared out indefinitely by the Lakers. He did some shooting almost three hours before tip-off, testing out the ankle. D'Antoni said the coaching staff and athletic trainer Gary Vitti would watch Bryant closely when the game starts. "We'll all sit together and we'll have a conversation," D'Antoni said.

INDIANAPOLIS - Kobe Bryant will be a game-time decision Friday against the Indiana Pacers, Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni said. Bryant was not on the court for the team's morning shoot-around because he was getting treatment for a severely sprained left ankle and, D'Antoni said, “thinking about” playing. “Obviously, he'll get better every day and we'll just see. When he can go, he'll go,” D'Antoni added. Jodie Meeks would start in Bryant's place against Indiana if Bryant can't play.

Lakers 99 - Pacers 93 (Final) The Lakers muscled out arguably their best win of the season, defeating the Pacers in Indiana, 99-93. Kobe Bryant got through a quarter on a severely sprained ankle he suffered Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, but couldn't play after 12 scoreless minutes. His teammates came through with contributions from some unlikely sources. Steve Blake (18 points) and Antawn Jamison (17) contributed 35 off the bench, both hitting crucial shots against a tough Indiana squad.

When: 4 PDT. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis. On the air: TV: TWC SportsNet, TWC Deportes; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 34-32, Pacers 40-24. Record vs. Pacers: 0-1. Update: Indiana is second in the Eastern Conference despite playing almost the entire season without Danny Granger (knee). Paul George averages a team-high 17.6 points for the Pacers, who are 26-7 at home, second only to Miami (30-3) in the East. Kobe Bryant had 40 points but 10 turnovers as the Lakers lost to the Pacers, 79-77, in late November at Staples Center.

Ed Asner was hospitalized for exhaustion Tuesday night in Gary, Ind., after struggling with disorientation during his one-man show, "FDR. " The 83-year-old actor, who has been touring the country with the show for 3½ years, had led an acting class at another location hours before the show, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The show started 45 minutes late, the paper said, and Asner struggled with lines from the beginning. He was reportedly walked off stage by emergency medical personnel about 15 minutes into the performance.

Indiana Coach Tom Crean got pretty emotional after the Hoosiers' 72-71 victory over Michigan on Sunday. But it wasn't all the kind of emotion one might expect from a coach whose team had just come back from a five-point deficit in the final 41 seconds to claim the victory and the Big Ten title. During the postgame handshakes, Crean and Michigan assistant coach Jeff Meyer reportedly got into each other's faces while exchanging angry words and "rapidly - and ridiculously - patted the other on the back," according to Yahoo!

Micky Moore and Hollywood grew up together. He was a toddler in 1916 when he began his career as a child actor in silent films and sat on the laps of such leading ladies as Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. As a 5-year-old he worked with legendary director Cecil B. DeMille, who would mentor Moore as he transitioned to directing in adulthood. As the motion picture industry moved from silent pictures to sound and into the digital era, Moore would contribute to more than 200 movies over nine decades.

As the crushing news shook a small Indiana town to its core this week, there was disbelief. This can't be happening. Not here. Not again. Two pickup trucks carrying students from South Ripley High School in Versailles, Ind., slammed into each other Thursday, killing three teenagers and rousing the collective grief of this farming town where three previous roadway tragedies recently killed four other youths. “It's a recurring theme,” said Marc Rulli, who owns the chili restaurant in town where students gathered for a vigil.

Gonzaga, the small Northwest school known for big NCAA tournament wins, is No. 1 in the Associated Press men's basketball top 25 poll for the first time. With the best record in Division I at 29-2, the Bulldogs took advantage of Indiana's loss to Minnesota last week. The Bulldogs switched places with the Hoosiers, advancing from No. 2 to move comfortably into the No. 1 spot Monday. Gonzaga received 51 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel, 44 more than Indiana.