Kobe Bryant did not break his finger in the first quarter of Monday’s game against Cleveland, X-rays showed.
Bryant, who was guarded by Sasha Pavlovic early on, dislocated his finger on his shooting hand in the opening two minutes, but trainer Gary Vitti popped it back into place. He continued playing without coming out of the game or showing any ill effects.
“It scared the (heck) out of me,” said Bryant.
“I thought I was done to be honest. It felt like I had two fingers on one. It was just disgusting.”
Phil Jackson initially thought Bryant wouldn’t be able to score, but he managed 20 points and dished out 12 assists.
“For a while, we thought he was just going to be a play-maker tonight, but the second half he started feeling like he could shoot it,” Jackson said.
