Jackson becomes LA’s winningest coach
LOS ANGELES, USA (AFP) — Phil Jackson passed Pat Riley as the coach with the most wins in Los Angeles Lakers history on Wednesday night, but the milestone game left superstar Kobe Bryant hurting.
Bryant didn’t practice yesterday, a day after the Lakers eked out a 99-97 NBA victory over the Charlotte Bobcats — Jackson’s 534th victory at the helm.
“It has been a really good run,” said Jackson, who is also the winningest coach in Chicago Bulls history.
“Having this opportunity to coach this team is always special. The fact that we’ve had some great teams, great players, is always a credit to them. It’s not really an individual record in my mind.”
But not everything is rosy for the reigning NBA champions.
Bryant aggravated his already-sprained left ankle when Lamar Odom stepped on his foot late in the first half. Bryant was originally injured in a win at Philadelphia last Friday.
Bryant didn’t score in the fourth quarter, and was held to single digits in scoring for the first time this season with just five points against Charlotte.
“It was just stiff — stiff and tight,” said Bryant, who has also been playing with a broken finger on his shooting hand.
“Lamar stepped on my foot as I was changing directions, so… it just made it worse. It just set it back to square one.”
Jackson acknowledged there was a chance Bryant could sit out today’s contest against Denver.
“He’s working with it,” Jackson said on Thursday. “He didn’t come out on the court and practice. He’s trying a variety of therapies on it right now to see what will work for him.”
Bryant’s teammates said they would’t be surprised to see him in action against Denver.
“He usually plays 82 games,” Odom said. “That wheel is going to really have to hurt for him not to play.”
The Lakers were at home on Wednesday for the first time since defeating Orlando on January 18. They went 5-3 on an East Coast road trip and stayed on top of the Western Conference.
They’ll have little time to rest, however, with a schedule that includes four games in the next seven days.
