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Bryant questionable with ankle injury as Lakers face Hornets

Dec 6, 2006 - 5:22 PM New Orleans (8-8) at LA Lakers (12-5) 10:30 pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The emerging supporting cast of the Los Angeles Lakers may have to play without their star for the second time this season.

With Kobe Bryant questionable for Wednesday's contest, the rest of the Lakers will have to step up when they host the New Orleans Hornets.

Bryant was forced to leave the game with 9:33 left in the third quarter after rolling his right ankle on the foot of Indiana's Jeff Foster while attempting an acrobatic layup. Bryant went to the locker room and later returned to the bench, but just to watch his team hold on to win.

Prior to injuring his right ankle, he scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half and Kwame Brown added a season-high 17 as the Lakers raced ahead early before holding on late to post their eighth consecutive home victory over the Indiana Pacers, 101-87.

Brown, Lamar Odom, Smush Parker and Los Angeles' supporting cast has played well. At the outset of the season, the Lakers won back-to-back games with Bryant recovering from offseason knee surgery. Los Angeles also has shown much more balance this season with Bryant yet to return to form.

On Friday, a pair of fantastic individual performances did not prevent the Hornets from losing their fifth straight game. Rasual Butler made seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 33 points and Chris Paul had 25 points, a career-high 18 assists and 11 rebounds in a 111-108 loss to Chicago.

The Hornets, who have dropped five of their last seven contests away from home, have lost 17 of their last 21 games against the Lakers.