Kobe starts against Celtics

Bryant, who got hurt against Seattle on March 5, is wearing an NBA-approved brace on the injured shoulder. He missed the last two games and was expected to be sidelined for four weeks.

Bryant sustained a sprained acromio-clavicular joint when he collided with forward Reggie Evans in the first minute of last Friday’s 99-91 win over the SuperSonics at Staples Center.

Bryant missed six games after spraining the same shoulder against Cleveland on January 12. He also had surgery last off-season to repair torn tissue in the shoulder.

The All-Star guard leads the team in scoring, averaging 22.4 points in 46 games this season.