Kobe Bryant was back Tuesday night and then he was gone again before the first half was over, his strained right Achilles' tendon too sore for him to continue playing.
Brandon Bass was back after missing the previous game with a bruised right eye and lasted into the fourth quarter, when a turned right foot sent him to the locker room next to Bryant.
Though short-handed yet again, the Lakers dug down to pull out a 95-91 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans before an appreciative crowd at Staples Center that cheered until the end.