Bryant Feels the Personal Effects

Three hours before game time Saturday, Kobe Bryant walked through Staples Center and sat in the stands behind the scorer’s table. The Laker Girls rehearsed on the floor. Television reporters stared into cameras and adjusted their suits along the baseline.

There was a stir when Bryant arrived. He was not in his gray sweats, what he usually wears in his home pregame ritual, when he shoots for about a half-hour. Perhaps he was still measuring the toll of Thursday night, when exhaustion forced him to take intravenous fluids. He had said he nearly passed out in the moments after Game 5.

ESPN was on live, and its cameraman turned to film Bryant as he sat down. Several other cameras turned, as well, and Bryant appeared to become angry.

“Leave me alone!” he shouted across the floor, according to an ESPN reporter.

His bodyguard then stood up and moved between the cameras and Bryant.

Coach Phil Jackson said Bryant’s condition would force him to pay close attention to his playing time.

“It’ll probably be a while before he totally recovers from the past four days,” Jackson said. “But he’s better.”

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Before the Lakers played Game 6, Jackson said of all of their possible motivations, avoiding a Game 7 in San Antonio, where wins come hard, was not among them. “It’s about closing out a team and doing it appropriately,” he said, “when it’s right.”

Derek Fisher’s shot, oh-point-four having become the symbol of turning around the series against the Spurs, was gone, Jackson said, by Saturday.

“They’ve pushed it behind them,” he said. “They had a moment to savor it and they’re moving on.”

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Karl Malone spends his days between playoff games avoiding big headlines and highlight shows.

It was easier in Salt Lake City, probably. In Los Angeles, he’s inundated. So on Friday, he went straight to practice in the morning and straight home afterward. He spent the day with his family and caught a movie later on.

“I watch more [movies] this time of year,” he said, “so I don’t get the urge to watch sports.”

When Malone injured his right knee in December he had some time on his hands. Jackson said he should watch “The Last Samurai” if he had the chance.

He got around to it Friday, and liked the message of staying on task.

“It was fitting,” Malone said.