Kobe's Lakers flop in pre-season game

Kobe Bryant managed only six minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers lost 111-92 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA pre-season game in London last night. Bryant's much-anticipated appearance at the O2 Arena turned into a disappointment as he failed to score before being pulled from the game, still hampered by the knee injury which forced him to miss the FIBA World Championship this year.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson had said he planned to start Bryant and see how his knee responded, hoping to get 15 minutes out of him, but the news was apparently not good as he did not return once benched midway through the opening quarter.