Kobe Bryant to play in Game 6 despite illness
DENVER – Kobe Bryant missed the Los Angeles Lakers' morning shootaround with gastroenteritis, but will play in Thursday night's Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets.
The stomach ailment kept Bryant bedridden at the Lakers' hotel during the day. Lakers coach Mike Brown announced Bryant would play about 90 minutes before the scheduled 10:30 p.m. ET tipoff.
The Lakers hold a 3-2 lead in the opening-round series and are trying to avoid a winner-take-all Game 7 in Los Angeles on Saturday. Bryant scored 43 points in the Lakers' 102-99 Game 5 loss.
"If I were a betting guy, which I'm not, I would probably bet that he would play," Brown told reporters at the Lakers' shootaround Thursday morning.
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