Kobe makes surprise return against Celtics

03.11.2004

Boston, MA (Basketball News) - All-Star guard Kobe Bryant made a surprise return to the Lakers’ lineup on Wednesday and collected 18 points and 10 assists, as Los Angeles posted a 117-109 victory over the Boston Celtics at the FleetCenter.

Bryant had missed the last two games with a sprained right shoulder. He sustained the injury during a game against Seattle on March 5 and was expected to be sidelined for four weeks.

"It felt okay. It felt all right," said Bryant, who played with an NBA- approved brace on the shoulder. "The (Lakers medical staff) trust my decision- making. They knew I was ready to play. I felt I was ready to play and they let me go in there with (the injury)."

Bryant suffered 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, who entered Wednesday’s action averaging 22.4 points per contest, 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.

LAL

Post your comment:

No profanity or inaproppriate remarks. All i.p. addresses will be saved and abuse/hate posts will be reported to providers and authorities as part of the anti-spam act of 2003, thank you for posting comments on the articles only.