Lakers at Spurs
THE STORY: Kobe Bryant is expected to be on the sidelines when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Bryant will likely miss his third straight contest with a shin injury as Los Angeles tries to build on its 1 1/2-game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Division. San Antonio had an 11-game winning streak end against the Utah Jazz on Monday. The Spurs trails Oklahoma City by one game for best record in the Western Conference.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, KCAL (Los Angeles), Fox Sports Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (36-22): Los Angeles is 1-1 in the two games Bryant has missed. The superstar guard has been sporting a walking boot on his left leg and the hope is that rest will allow him to recover without the ailment being a recurring issue during the playoffs. “I’d rather he be fresh going into the playoffs and us be fourth or fifth (seed) than him hurting or dinged up going into the playoffs and we’re third,” Lakers coach Mike Brown said. Forward Pau Gasol has stepped up in Bryant’s absence with 55 points in the two contests, including a season-best 30 points in a loss to the Phoenix Suns.
ABOUT THE SPURS (40-15): San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich held out veteran stalwarts Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker out of the loss to Utah to rest the trio with a brutal stretch of games ahead to conclude the regular season. San Antonio plays 11 games in the final 16 days of the campaign, including a back-to-back-to-back and three other stretches of games on consecutive nights. “We’re trying to survive,” Popovich said. “Our schedule speaks for itself. If you look at the schedule, you figure it out real quickly.” Popovich plans to give the three players some more nights off down the stretch.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The two teams meet three times in 10 days after not previously meeting this season.
2. San Antonio has won eight consecutive home contests since losing to the Clippers on March 9.
3. Los Angeles center Andrew Bynum is averaging 24 points over the last four games.