Kobe will miss final two

Kobe Bryant decided to sit out the Lakers' final two regular-season games. Officially, he will not play against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and the Clippers on Wednesday in order to give his broken right index finger a rest before the playoffs begin Sunday. He missed two games last week in order to rest his swollen right knee. Bryant informed Lakers coach Phil Jackson of his decision via a text message hours after Sunday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Bryant was unavailable for comment today.

"Well, certainly I'm concerned about it, but I'm not worried about it that much," Jackson said. "We'll have practice time. There should be two or three days in between (the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs). ... Yeah, I think he's a little worn down."