NBA: Despite negative x-rays, Bryant 'out indefinitely' with severe ankle sprain - reports

[Video courtesy of The Point Forward]

(Updated 11:24am) Kobe Bryant will be out indefinitely for the Los Angeles Lakers, after suffering a severe ankle sprain in the dying moments of his team's 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

[Related: Short-handed Hawks survive Lakers, as Kobe Bryant goes down late]

Bryant rolled his ankle when he landed on Dahntay Jones' foot after missing a potential game-tying bucket with just seconds to play and the Lakers down 94-92. The Lakers superstar managed to limp to the locker room afterwards.

X-rays negative on Kobe's ankle. Severe sprain.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) March 14, 2013

Lakers say Bryant is "out indefinitely."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) March 14, 2013

I'm guessing "out indefinitely" for Kobe Bryant means 48 hours. #RobotMamba

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 14, 2013

Following the game, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that x-rays were "negative" but that it was still a "severe sprain" and the Lakers were ruling him "out indefinitely."

#dangerousplay that should have been called. Period.

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) March 14, 2013

Bryant later took to Twitter, saying that what Jones had done was a "#dangerousplay" and added "that should have been called [as a foul]. Period."

Kobe said he was "Jalen Rosed" by Dahntay Jones, citing a play in the 2000 Finals when he feels like Rose purposely went under him

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 14, 2013

He also referred to the act as being "Jalen Rosed," in reference to an event during the 2000 NBA Finals, when Rose was with the Indiana Pacers.

The Lakers are currently in a tightly-contested race for a Western Conference playoff berth. The loss dropped them to 34-32, but the Utah Jazz fell into a tie with them, following a 110-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on the same day.

Six of LA's next eight games are on the road. They head to Indiana to play the Pacers on Friday (Saturday, PHL time), before heading home for the Sacramento Kings on Sunday (Monday, PHL time).

Bryant currently norms 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists and leads the Lakers in scoring. - AMD, GMA News