The Los Angeles Lakers got a critical 118-116 win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday, but their journey to the Western Conference playoffs may have been halted by a major injury.
According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant left Friday night's game with a leg injury in the final minutes and did not return:
As of right now, the team is fearing the worst. Mike Trudell of Lakers.com reported that Los Angeles believes Bryant tore his Achilles tendon and he will get an MRI on Saturday:
Bryant initially went down midway through the third quarter following a Festus Ezeli foul. Laying on the ground grimacing in obvious pain, Bryant was attended to by trainers and could barely even walk, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin:
However, true to Bryant form, he refused to exit the game. The Lakers star got back up after a long stay on the Staples Center floor, took a deep breath and went to the line for his two free throws.
After an initial period of everyone in Purple and Gold nation waiting on bated breath, Bryant's discomfort seemed to fade away. He played 45 minutes and finished the game with 34 points on 9-of-21 shooting.
But there was no superhero finish for Bryant on Friday. As the fourth quarter went along, it became obvious that the pain was getting too great and he needed to come out of the game. The Lakers then committed an intentional foul late in the fourth quarter to get their fallen star out.
The instant ramifications of this injury are massive. Los Angeles has a one-game lead over the Utah Jazz for eighth place in the Western Conference, but cannot afford any mistakes down the stretch. Utah holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lakers, meaning L.A. has to finish a full game ahead of the Jazz to make the playoffs.
With just two games remaining in the regular season for both teams, there is no time for rest. The Lakers take on the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, and all eyes will be on Bryant's status in the coming hours.
But after the scene at Staples Center on Friday night, this injury may have been the straw that finally broke Mamba's back.
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