Bryant was on the active roster Wednesday night at Utah, but did not dress and was not with the Lakers on the bench. It was the third straight game the Lakers were without Bryant, who said this week he wasn't sure if he would be healthy enough to play in the All-Star game on Sunday.
Bryant originally sprained his ankle on Jan. 29 in Philadelphia and aggravated it last week.
The Lakers also played without center Andrew Bynum, who was inactive with a bruised right hip.SALT LAKE CITY -- Kobe Bryant sat out the Lakers' 96-81 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday with a sore left ankle.
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Bryant was on the active roster Wednesday night at Utah, but did not dress and was not with the Lakers on the bench. He had been seen in the locker room napping on the trainer's table but was not going through his customary massage and pregame ankle-taping routine.
Bryant has missed the Lakers last two games with a sprained left ankle. Bryant first injured the ankle seven games ago on Jan. 29 in Philadelphia after a third-quarter collision with the Sixers' Elton Brand. The condition of his ankle worsened against Charlotte when Lamar Odom stepped on his left foot just before halftime, re-aggravating the injury.
Andrew Bynum was also inactive with a bruised right hip. He missed his second straight game.
Bynum is planning on getting a bursa sac in his right hip drained after the All-Star break if the swelling does not subside on its own. He said he will make the determination Monday.
Bynum hurt his hip Saturday when he was fouled by Portland's Juwan Howard with 10:58 remaining in the first quarter and landed hard on the floor. He played the next four minutes before subbing out and heading directly to the locker room to have his hip attended to. He did not play in the second half and missed the Lakers' following game against the Spurs.
Bynum said he is hopeful that his hip's swelling follows the same course as his left knee that was bothering him after a knee-to-knee collision with Charlotte's Stephen Jackson last week, but has healed naturally.
Odom, who left practice on Monday to receive a MRI and CAT Scan on his sore right foot, did play.