NBA Roundup: The Game's Afoot

Notes from Monday's games in the National Basketball Association ...

• Eeeee! Panic In The Streets! Kobe Injured! Actually it is kind of sad; just when he got things rolling, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant sprained his ankle during a 101-87 win over the Pacers. Bryant scored 21 points before the injury early in the third quarter and is listed as day-to-day with a "moderate sprain" of his right ankle. "It should be a lot worse, the way I came down on it,'' Bryant said. "I'm happy that I feel the way I feel right now. I don't know about Wednesday.'' The Lakers return to action Wednesday night against the NOOCH. Further details over at Lakers Blog, where Andrew and/or Brian Kamenetzky favor us with the line: "To say the least, this was something of a herky jerky, disjointed affair, with less flow on display than a Kevin Federline boxed set."

• Arenas Of The Incredible. Gilbert Arenas had 38 points and eight assists as the Wizards fulfilled an ancient prophecy by breaking the Maverick's 12-game winning streak with a 106-97 victory. This was also foretold by Wizznutzz, which kind of went crazy with the Gilbert Photoshop on Saturday.

• 999 Wins On The Wall, 999 Wins. Come on, give it up for Jerry Sloan, who is poised for four-digit status in career wins. The Jazz held Michael Redd to two points in the second half (18 for the game) in a 101-88 win over the Bucks; Sloan's 999th career win.

• Manu Will Rock You (Eventually). Manu Ginobili returned to the Spurs after a four-game absence (back spasms), but they didn't really need him. He scored six points over 16 minutes as San Antonio laid down a Golden State beatdown, 129-89. The Spurs had a season high 37 assists.

• Garden Party. Eddy Curry scored 26 points to lead the Knicks over the Grizzlies 98-90 — their second home victory of the season, before a little more than 15,000 fans. (Note: By "15,000," the Knicks public address system meant "around 10,000."