Lakers’ Bryant broke nose in All-Star game

  • By Mike Bresnahan Los Angeles Times
  • Monday, February 27, 2012 10:24pm
  • Sports

LOS ANGELES _ Anybody wondering if Kobe Bryant will play Wednesday against Minnesota?

You’ll have to wait a bit.

Bryant will see an ear, nose and throat specialist Tuesday, a Los Angeles Lakers spokesman said.

He sustained a broken nose Sunday during the All-Star game, apparently when he absorbed a hard foul from Miami guard Dwyane Wade in the third quarter of the Western Conference’s 152-149 victory in Orlando, Fla.

Bryant briefly left the court between free-throw attempts so a trainer could examine the nose. He continued to play but did not talk to reporters afterward. Bryant rarely misses games, but he was said to be experiencing headaches after the All-Star game.

He returned to Los Angeles on Monday.

Wade told reporters that “I obviously didn’t try to draw no blood, but I took a foul. Kobe fouled me two times in a row, so he’s still got one up on me. But I’m glad that everything was cool and we got back to being competitive and having fun.”

Bryant had 27 points and passed Michael Jordan as the highest-scoring player in All-Star games. He now has 271 career points.

Wade was complimentary of Bryant’s game, saying it was “great being a little piece of history.”

“He’s one of the best of all time. We will one day say we had the honor of playing against one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball.”

The Lakers (20-14) begin the second part of the season with three home games, including a Sunday matinee against Wade’s Heat. Next week they hit the road, a trouble spot this season, with games at Detroit, Washington and Minnesota.

Bryant wasn’t the only Lakers player on medical watch.

Center Andrew Bynum played the first 5 minutes 31 seconds of the All-Star game before exiting. He had a scheduled injection in his long-bothersome right knee the previous day and did not want to put added pressure on it before Wednesday’s game.

The Lakers said the “Synvisc” injection was a routine procedure. It was administered by Bynum’s longtime knee specialist, David Altchek, and was expected to lubricate joints in the knee while providing a cushioned effect.

Bynum is averaging 16.3 points and 12.8 rebounds this season.

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