APThe Los Angeles Times reports Kobe Bryant will return to the Lakers' lineup tonight after missing three games because of a sprained ankle. L.A. won all three games.
Bryant practiced with the team on Monday, the final day of the NBA's All-Star break. He did not speak to reporters afterward.
"He said he didn't have the normal strength he'd like to have, but it'll come back," Lakers coach Phil Jackson told the media Monday. "That's just getting back in the flow and getting some strength there again, reconditioning it. He hasn't played in two weeks, so there's a lot of things that he was trying out and trying to figure out -- passes that went awry and shots he was reluctant to shoot -- but he'll come [around]."
Also, center Andrew Bynum told the Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., that it's "80 percent" he will return tonight after sitting due to a hip injury.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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