LOS ANGELES, 14 January 2004 — With Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone sidelined with injuries, Kobe Bryant has been trying to shoulder the load for the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, he became the third star to fall out of the star-studded line-up.
Rookie Brian Cook came off the bench to score 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter to lead the short-handed hosts Lakers past the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers 89-79 on Monday night.
The Lakers’ second straight victory following a four-game losing streak was costly, however. Bryant sprained his surgically-repaired right shoulder in the final seconds of the first quarter when he was fouled by Kendrick Brown on a 3-point attempt.
Bryant made all three free throws, then went to the locker room to have X-rays, which were negative. He returned midway through the second quarter with his arm dangling by his side. But he was in too much pain and left for good with 20 minutes remaining before halftime, finishing with 10 points in 17 minutes.
“I could definitely tell when it happened that it was serious,” said Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who had nine points. “Kobe is extremely tough and resilient. Any time he goes down for that many seconds, you know he is in a lot of pain, especially the way he was carrying his arm. I do not want to speculate. It’s just not good timing.”
With O’Neal missing his fifth straight game with a strained right calf and Malone out the last nine with a sprained knee ligament, this was especially not a good time for the Lakers to lose their top gun.
“Whenever we step on the court now, to be realistic, we’re going to be the underdogs against a lot of teams unless we play Atlanta,” Lakers veteran backup center Horace Grant said. “It’s a challenge for us.
The first meeting between Bryant and rookie phenom James was a disappointment but could end up devastating for the Lakers.
Bryant will have a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test to determine the damage.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 19 points, while Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, which was outscored 29-14 in the fourth quarter.
Mavericks 127 Knicks 121 (OT)
German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 10 rebounds while Steve Nash scored 28 points as the visiting Mavericks regrouped after blowing a near insurmountable lead down the stretch to edge the Knicks.
Michael Finley had 25 points, Antawn Jamison added 23 and Antoine Walker had a triple-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for Dallas, which outscored New York 12-6 in the extra session after blowing a six-point advantage in the final 11 seconds of regulation.
Stephon Marbury had 38 points and 14 assists but it wasn’t enough to prevent New York from falling for the fifth time in the last six games. Allan Houston added 29 points and Penny Hardaway finished with 19.
76ers 87 Magic 82
Allen Iverson scored 26 points while Samuel Dalembert had career-highs of 15 points and 11 rebounds as the visiting 76ers survived a poor-shooting fourth quarter to edge the Magic. The 76ers missed 14 of 17 shots in the final 12 minutes but made eight of 10 free throws down the stretch to escape with the victory.
Grizzlies 115 Warriors 113 (2 OT)
Mike Miller scored 24 points and Shane Battier added six of his 14 in the second overtime, including the go-ahead basket, lifting the Grizzlies to their second road victory in as many nights after stopping an eight-game slide. Erick Dampier led Golden State with a season-high 23 points, 22 rebounds and seven blocks.
