Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is now out indefinitely with a severe left ankle sprain suffered during Wednesday night's 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
At the conclusion of the game Bryant immediately went and got x-rays done, which came out negative.
Bryant had 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the loss. He was hurt on a baseline jumper, where he appeared to land on Dahntay Jones' foot and twisted his left ankle, crumpling to the court in pain.
No foul was called.
After the game Bryant made a statement about the referees needing to do a better job protecting the shooters from defenders who go underneath the legs of the shooter while they're shooting.
"As defensive players, you can contest shots, but you can't walk underneath players," Bryant said. "That's dangerous for the shooter."
Bryant stated the injury was the worse he's sustained since the 2000 NBA Finals. He, of course, s referring to Jalen Rose, who admitted later on that he was intentionally attempting to hurt Bryant during the Finals. Kobe stated he didn't want to accuse Jones of attempting to try and hurt him, but did hint at the possibility after the game.
"He Jalen Rose'd me," Bryant said of Jones on Wednesday night.
Bryant later took to Twitter with more of his thoughts on the play:
Jones responded via Twitter:
Regardless, the Lakers aren't going to be in very good shape if Bryant isn't able to suit up for an extended period of time.
The Lakers are back in action Friday when they take on the Indiana Pacers.
