Bryant Injured, but Lakers Survive

It was an NBA finals “Survivor” episode, and the Lakers were the ones who kept losing crucial elements for existence.

Kobe Bryant . . . gone in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle that left him screaming in pain on the floor for a minute and kept him in the locker room for the rest of the game.

Shaquille O’Neal’s free-throw touch . . . gone, practically all game.

Indiana Coach Larry Bird’s promise not to deploy the frustrating Hack-a-Shaq . . . finished with a flourish, producing O’Neal’s night of 100 free throws, or almost.

Game 2 at Staples Center was every heart-dropping playoff circumstance the Lakers have ever feared, packed into a three-hour miniseries, unraveling before Phil Jackson’s very eyes.

So, with a patched-together lineup, a patient O’Neal’s free throw recovery, and equal parts grit, stubbornness and unanticipated performance, the Lakers ducked the Pacers’ best shot, pulling out a 111-104 victory to move within two games of the NBA championship.

Bryant, who had no major damage but whose ankle was swelling and very sore, was listed as day to day for Game 3.

When the Lakers learned that Bryant was definitely sidelined for the rest of the game--and not guaranteed to play in Game 3 or possibly even Game 4--Jackson said he told his players that this was an all-important moment.

But the Pacers, led by Jalen Rose (30 points) and playing with more passion and better shooting accuracy than in their Game 1 flop, kept coming at the Lakers, narrowing their deficit to 80-78 early in the fourth after the Lakers had led most of the early going, then to 86-84 after O’Neal had picked up his fifth foul midway through the fourth quarter.

IN QUOTES

“At halftime, some of the guys came around and said that they were going to step up and they were going to make things happen. And I believed them.”

KOBE BRYANT,

Laker guard

THE SERIES

Lakers lead, 2-0