Lakers carry on without Kobe
ESPN.com news services
INDIANAPOLIS -- Phil Jackson made the decision easy for Kobe
Bryant.
He said no.
About an hour after telling reporters it was basically up to
Bryant whether or not he played in Game 3 of the NBA Finals,
Jackson told the 21-year-old star to sit it out.
|  | | Bryant's ankle injury in Game 2 left him on crutches. |
And with Bryant on the sidelines because of his sprained left
ankle, the Lakers lost to the Indiana Pacers 100-91 on Sunday
night, trimming their lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.
"Actually, he put his shoes on and came in the coaches' room
about 35 minutes before game-time and said, 'I can go,' " Jackson
said. "And he said, 'I can try it.'
"I wanted to see him do some lateral slides, and I asked him
how it felt. He said, 'It hurts.' I said, 'Well, then, let's save
it. We can save this one.' And it was a tough decision, but I think
it's better for us actually in the long run. He accepted it."
Bryant wasn't seen during the game; Jackson said he was
receiving treatment at that time, and he wasn't seen afterward,
either, leaving without speaking with reporters.
"He would have helped us greatly," A.C. Green said. "But he
wasn't there, and he might not be there Wednesday. We just have to
find a way to get back to our style of basketball and game pace."
Bryant's status for Game 4 is uncertain, but when asked if he
thinks Bryant will play, teammate Derek Fisher replied, "It seems
like it. I'm not exactly sure how painful it is. We would hate to
have him out there and not be Kobe."
After winning twice at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the
Lakers never led in losing Game 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse, where the
Pacers went 36-5 during the regular season.
Los Angeles trailed by as many as 18 late in the third quarter
before rallying within four points on a twisting layup by Ron
Harper with 3:03 left, and three on a 3-pointer by Harper with 14.8
seconds to go.
The Pacers then scored the final six points on free throws.
"We were battling uphill it seemed like the whole time in the
second half," said Fisher, who had 10 points and 10 assists. "We
couldn't get over the hump."
Bryant's absence was noticeable on both ends of the court as the
Lakers were unable to replace his 21.2-point playoff average or his
All-NBA first-team defense abilities.
Bryant sprained his ankle late in the first quarter of Game 2 in
Los Angeles on Friday night, and didn't return. However, Harper and
Glen Rice picked up the slack with 21 points each to support
Shaquille O'Neal, who scored 40.
O'Neal had 33 points and 13 rebounds Sunday night, but didn't
get nearly as much help from his teammates as Harper scored 14
points, Rice had just seven and others faltered as well, especially
on the backboards.
Indiana, the poorest rebounding team in the NBA during the
regular season, outrebounded the Lakers 39-33.
O'Neal was the only Los Angeles player to score in double
figures until Robert Horry's jumper 35 seconds into the fourth
quarter gave him 10 points.
Brian Shaw, who started in Bryant's place, scored only six
points on 3-of-10 shooting.
"I think the difference is when you have a key player like Kobe
out of the game and you've got another key played like Shaq, you
try to ride his back a little too much," Horry said. "I think
tonight we went to Shaq a lot. In doing so, we made a lot of dumb
errors, which was a lot of turnovers. That killed us."
The Lakers did a terrific job defending Reggie Miller in the
first two games, as the Pacers' star shot 8-of-32.
In Game 3, Miller went 11-of-22 in scoring 33 points.
"You knew it was coming, sooner or later," forward Rick Fox
said of Miller's offensive production. "The reason we lost tonight
is because the Pacers played at a level that we didn't match, first
of all. Our defensive and offensive execution was off a hair.
"In a setting like this, where it's the NBA Finals and you're
up 2-0 and you come into an opponent's floor where they feel the
need to rejuvenate themselves with a win, you can't be a hair off.
You have to be just as sharp or sharper."
And the Lakers weren't. |
