EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Kobe Bryant joined Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone on the sideline Tuesday, leaving Gary Payton as the only healthy Lakers superstar.
Bryant is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with an injured right shoulder, the result of a collision with Cleveland's Kedrick Brown on Monday night, the team said.
An MRI exam Tuesday confirmed Bryant sprained his surgically repaired shoulder. Coach Phil Jackson said Bryant won't need surgery but probably will be placed on the injured list, meaning he'd have to miss at least five games.
"I don't think there's any long-term effects to something like this," Jackson said.
Bryant could also miss a game in February and two in March because of hearings regarding the sexual assault charge he faces in Colorado.
Bryant, the league's seventh-leading scorer at 22 points a game, was injured with 5.7 seconds left in the first of Los Angeles' 89-79 victory when he faked Brown into the air outside the 3-point line and Brown landed on Bryant's shoulder.
Bryant had surgery June 12. He had an inflamed bursa removed and a frayed labrum trimmed in his shoulder.
O'Neal strained his right calf Jan. 4 and has missed five games. Malone sprained a right knee ligament Dec. 21 and has sat out nine games. O'Neal could return tonight against Denver, though he didn't practice Tuesday. No timetable is set for Malone's return.
JAYSON WILLIAMS TRIAL: Jayson Williams was introduced to a pool of potential jurors in Somerville, N.J., the start of the former Nets star's manslaughter trial for the shooting death of his limo driver two years ago.
Defense attorneys say the shooting at Williams' estate was an accident. Prosecutors say Williams was showing off his shotgun, then tried to make the death of Costas Christofi look like suicide.
More than 300 potential jurors were sworn in and filled out questionnaires after being introduced to the former center, who rose and said "Good morning."
The jury pool is triple the regular size because of the difficulty of finding people able to serve through a two-month trial. Questioning of individual jurors was scheduled today.
Williams, 35, faces seven charges, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that could carry up to 55 years in prison.
Christofi was killed Feb. 14, 2002, after driving Williams' friends to the player's 65-acre estate in Alexandria Township, N.J.
BULLS: Forward Scottie Pippen, who hasn't played since having knee surgery a month ago, was activated. Chris Jefferies (sprained left ankle) went on the list.
HEAT: Former Gator Udonis Haslem was activated from the injured list and Samaki Walker (bone spurs, right ankle) went on the list.
JAZZ: As expected, forward Matt Harpring is scheduled for knee surgery Friday, likely ending his season.
KNICKS: Don Chaney's tenuous employment status has created "horrible working conditions" for the beleaguered coach.
Team president Isiah Thomas donned a sweat suit Monday to instruct players at the morning shootaround. That night Chaney was the target of another "Fire Chaney" chant at Madison Square Garden in an overtime loss to Dallas.
"Horrible working conditions, definitely, but nothing's perfect and you have to deal with it," Chaney said.
WIZARDS: Forward Christian Laettner was suspended for five games without pay for violating league drug policy.
Tuesday's games
HAWKS 86, SPURS 77: Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 29 and host Atlanta built a big lead then held on for a surprising victory.
San Antonio, the defending league champion, lost for only the second time in its past 19 games.
After trailing 49-32 at halftime, the Spurs got within 75-73 with 2:23 left when Tony Parker put back an offensive rebound in the lane. Jason Terry responded with a 3-pointer out of the corner and Stephen Jackson finished off his former team by hitting a long jumper with 34 seconds left, just beating the shot clock.
TIMBERWOLVES 94, HORNETS 89: Latrell Sprewell scored 26, including two free throws with 14.5 seconds left, to lead visiting Minnesota. Kevin Garnett added 22, including a baseline turnaround jumper that gave Minnesota its first lead with 1:44 left.
ROCKETS 93, WIZARDS 80: Yao Ming scored 14 of his 21 in the third quarter for visiting Houston, which had a season-high 27 assists. The Rockets broke open a close game with a 14-3 run midway through the fourth.
BUCKS 111, CELTICS 103: Michael Redd scored 20 to lead host Milwaukee. Ricky Davis came off the bench to score a season-high 33 for Boston. The Bucks led 94-77 before 3-pointers by Davis and Paul Pierce helped Boston close to 102-94 with 3:03 left. The Celtics were within five before Redd made four free throws in the final minute.
NUGGETS 105, SUNS 92: Voshon Lenard scored 32 for visiting Denver, which continued its best start in 18 seasons. The Nuggets led by 21 at halftime and 32 in the third quarter. Denver is 23-16 for the first time since 1985-86.
JAZZ 97, WARRIORS 80: Andrei Kirilenko had 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks for Utah, which improved to 15-3 at home and won for the third time in four games.
PISTONS 105, BULLS 89: Richard Hamilton scored 24 for visiting Detroit, which went on a late 22-7 run to win its ninth straight. The run gave the Pistons an 88-66 lead. Chicago cut the deficit to seven with 4:12 to go on a jumper by Marcus Fizer, but got no closer.
KINGS 90, HEAT 86: Peja Stojakovic scored 14 of his 24 in the first quarter and Mike Bibby scored 20, including a clutch 3-pointer with 18 seconds left, for host Sacramento.
CAVALIERS 104, SUPERSONICS 96: LeBron James scored nine of his 27 in the fourth, sparking a key 10-0 run for visiting Cleveland.
