Lakers lose after Bryant suspended

NEW YORK – Kobe Bryant was suspended and denied an expedited appeal by the National Basketball Association Tuesday, forcing the superstar guard to sit out the Los Angeles Lakers’ 99-94 loss to New York.

Bryant was banished one game for striking San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili in the face during a game Sunday, a suspension that stunned the guard since it came on what he considered an accidental contact. Ginobili, a Spurs guard who helped Argentina win Olympic gold at the 2004 Athens Games, was struck an elbow from Bryant with 2.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 96-94 overtime home loss Sunday.Ginobili needed medical attention before overtime but returned to the game.Bryant said he checked with both Ginobili and Spurs forward Tim Duncan to see if Ginobili was all right after the incident.”I’m surprised and shocked by it, actually,” Bryant said.”It’s basketball.You catch people with elbows accidentally all the time.I felt horrible about it.”Bryant, who lost 196,875 dollars for the ban, asked for a quick hearing before being forced to sit out but was denied despite being in the NBA league headquarters city.He will return when the Lakers play on Wednesday at Boston.Bryant, fourth in NBA scoring, leads the Lakers with 28.4 points and 5.5 assists a game and also contributed 5.4 rebounds a game to the team, which at 27-18 stands sixth in the Western Conference.Nampa-AFPGinobili, a Spurs guard who helped Argentina win Olympic gold at the 2004 Athens Games, was struck an elbow from Bryant with 2.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 96-94 overtime home loss Sunday.Ginobili needed medical attention before overtime but returned to the game.Bryant said he checked with both Ginobili and Spurs forward Tim Duncan to see if Ginobili was all right after the incident.”I’m surprised and shocked by it, actually,” Bryant said.”It’s basketball.You catch people with elbows accidentally all the time.I felt horrible about it.”Bryant, who lost 196,875 dollars for the ban, asked for a quick hearing before being forced to sit out but was denied despite being in the NBA league headquarters city.He will return when the Lakers play on Wednesday at Boston.Bryant, fourth in NBA scoring, leads the Lakers with 28.4 points and 5.5 assists a game and also contributed 5.4 rebounds a game to the team, which at 27-18 stands sixth in the Western Conference.Nampa-AFP