Kobe Bryant sits again as Lakers lose at the buzzer

Reporting from Orlando, Fla. —  As Kobe Bryant eased his way to the Lakers’ bench Wednesday night stylishly dressed in a blue pinstriped suit, the fans inside Amway Center waved at him and chanted “Ko-be! Ko-be!” as he sat down.

It was the second consecutive game Bryant had been in a suit, unable to play because of a sore back, this time forcing him to watch the Lakers drop a 101-99 decision to the Orlando Magic on Nikola Vucevic’s last-second shot over Roy Hibbert.

Bryant had gone to a local health club early in the day and lifted weights with the hopes of being able to play. But just like Tuesday night in Miami, Bryant couldn’t go, leaving him to say he will try to play Friday night in Dallas when the Lakers finish their five-game trip.

Though rookie D’Angelo Russell scored 14 points and finally played in the fourth quarter, Hibbert got 15 points and three blocks and Lou Williams and rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. scored 13 points each, Bryant could only watch the Lakers falter down the stretch.

“We let the game get away from us, took our eye off our guy, gave them some easy opportunities to stay in the game,” Bryant said after the Lakers dropped to 1-3 on the trip, 1-7 overall. “He [Vucevic] hit a tough shot to win it.”

The Lakers led by four points in the fourth, trailed by five later in the quarter and were tied at 99-99 after Julius Randle (12 points, eight rebounds) scored inside.

They even played good defense to get the ball back with 25.5 seconds left, giving themselves an opportunity to win the game. But Williams’ runner was an airball and Hibbert’s put-back was after the 24-second clock expired.

That gave the Magic the ball back with 1.5 seconds left and set the stage for the 7-foot Vucevic, the former USC Trojan, to make a 20-foot turnaround over the 7-2 Hibbert as time expired.

The Magic players were jubilant after the win. The downcast Lakers quickly left the court.

“You’ve got to give Vucevic credit,” Lakers Coach Byron Scott said. “He got it, turned, shot it. All net.”

After it was over, Bryant was the first to speak to the media.

He then took pictures and signed autographs, perhaps another sign that this will be his last year playing after 20 seasons with the Lakers and that the Magic fans saw the unofficial Kobe Farewell Tour.

He said he was hopeful that he feels better Thursday and can play against the Mavericks Friday night.

“It’s still too tight,” Bryant said. “I stretched it out as much as I can. I iced it out as much as I can. Hopefully by Friday I’ll be ready. It just has to go away. The back pain just has to go away.”

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