Not that it assuages the Lakers’ frustration surrounding his season-ending left torn Achilles tendon that required surgery. But Kobe Bryant earned the NBA’s Western Conference player of the week honors for the third time this season after pouring in everything to ensure playoff contention.
The Lakers won all four games in the past week, with Bryant averaging 37 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2.7 steals in 44.6 minutes in those three of those games.
Following Bryant’s surgery on Saturday, the Lakers expect him to stay sidelined at least for six to nine months. Bryant had averaged 27.3 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting this season, the third highest scoring output in the NBA behind New York’s Carmelo Anthony (28.7 points per game) and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant (28.1)
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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com