Lakers G Kobe Bryant missed Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz with a sprained left ankle. After playing through a multitude of injuries, Kobe has finally succumbed to them. If he skips the All-Star game he’ll have 10 days of rest under his belt and should be able to start the second half of the season strong, pushing for home court advantage in the playoffs. Of course, this logically means that he will suit up for the All-Start game and probably log big minutes.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

New Jersey: Devin Harris returned from a shoulder injury Wednesday and had 27 points, nine assists and a 3-pointer in another loss.

Philadelphia: Sam Dalembert tweaked his back at the end of the first half on Wednesday night and ended up sitting out the majority of the second half. Dalembert tried to go in the second half, but came out of the game quickly and never went back in. The good news is that he didn’t go to the locker room and didn’t seem to be in pain. He simply watched the second half from the bench. We’d expect that he’ll be fine after the All-Star break.

Chicago: Derrick Rose left Wednesday’s game in the first quarter with a right hip injury and will not return.
X-rays were negative, but this will leave his status for the All-Star Game in doubt. He finished with just three points in two minutes, and Kirk Hinrich will take over at point guard, while John Salmons should also see the ball a lot tonight.

Atlanta: Jamal Crawford was a late scratch for Wednesday’s game due to a sore shoulder. Expect Crawford to be back at 100 percent after the All-Star break.

Oakland: Monta Ellis (knee) will not play Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. An MRI on Tuesday revealed that Ellis’ knee injury is only a mild sprain.

Utah: Jazz PF Carlos Boozer poured in 34 points (13-of-17 FGs, 8-of-9 FTs), 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals in Tuesday’s win over the Clippers, Utah’s ninth consecutive victory. The Jazz are red-hot going into the All-Star break, and Boozer hasn’t missed a beat since returning from his calf injury. His name is no longer appearing in many trade rumors and it seems like Utah hopes to keep this chemistry going into the postseason.

Orlando: Vince Carter came back to earth on Wednesday with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The Magic were up 41-17 after one quarter, so Carter and the rest of the Orlando Magic starters played limited minutes. Still, this type of game is more in line with what we’d expect from Carter going forward.

Charlotte: Peja Stojakovic hit 7-of-16 shots and four more 3-pointers on his way to 20 points, four boards, an assist, two steals and a block in Wednesday’s win over the Celtics.

1. Lakers (37-12): Clearly the best team in the NBA right now.
2. Cavaliers (38-11): One player away from winning it all.
3. Nuggets (33-15): Still rolling even with Melo hurting.
4. Spurs (27-19): Does anyone want to play this team in the playoffs?
5. Celtics (30-16): Starting to get healthy again.
6. Hawks (30-16): A legitimate top-five team now.
7. Magic (32-16): Nobody has an answer for Howard!
8. Mavericks (30-18): Hanging around the top ten, but nothing special.
9. Jazz (29-18): This team could sneak up on some people.
10. Suns (29-21): Nash is aging, but still playing great.
11. Grizzlies (26-21): One of the best young teams in the league.
12. Thunder (26-21): See above.
13. Trail Blazers (29-21): Amazingly still way over .500 with all the injuries.
14. Rockets (25-22): How good would this team be healthy?
15. Hornets (26-22): Losing Paul really hurt.
16. Raptors (26-22): Bosh is still gone in the offseason.
17. Bulls (23-22): Del Negro might be saving his job at the moment.
18. Heat (24-24): Should be playing better than their record.
19. Bobcats (24-23): Always in the bottom third.
20. Bucks (21-25): Some good young pieces.
21. Clippers (20-27): The Clippers will be the Clippers.
22. Kings (16-31): This team is experiencing grown paints.
23. Knicks (18-29): Will top free-agents go to New York?
24. Pistons (15-31): I though this team would be better than a bottom feeder.
25. Wizards (16-31): How much worse can this season get?
26. Pacers (16-32): At least Granger is good.
27. 76ers (16-31): Iverson an all-star? Come on…
28. Warriors (13-33): Curry is the lone bright spot.
29. Timberwolves (11-38): This team has been bad for a long time.
30. Nets (4-42): I truly hope the Nets don’t have the worst record in NBA history at the end of the year.

Lakers G Kobe Bryant tied his season-high with 44 points on Monday (making 16-of-28 FGs, 4-of-7 threes, and 8-of-13 FTs) and in the process he passed Jerry West as the all-time leading scorer in Lakers’ history. Kobe now has 25,208 points for his career, incredible by any standard. His competitive fire continues to elevate his game even when nagging injuries (ankle, finger, elbow) are conspiring to bring him down. Bryant has proven himself to be one of the best players in NBA history.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Washington: Antawn Jamison was bothered by a sore left knee during warmups on Monday, but played 40 minutes but shot just 2-of-17 from the field. Jamison was frustrated all night and thought he deserved more foul calls than the referees gave him.

Utah: As expected, Paul Millsap exploded for 25 points, nine rebounds and four blocks on Monday, while starting in place of injured Carlos Boozer (calf). There’s a reason money-conscious Utah Jazz lavished a four-year, $32+ million contract on Millsap this summer. Boozer could return this week but coach Jerry Sloan has already said he’ll find more minutes for Millsap in the rotation.

Dallas: Josh Howard played a season-low 11 minutes off the Mavericks bench on Monday, contributing just two points, three rebounds, two turnovers and three personal fouls.

Charlotte: Hornets rookie Marcus Thornton got hot in the second half on Monday, finishing with a team-high 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting (including 5-of-9 from downtown). He added four rebounds, four assists and one steal in 39 minutes. Chris Paul is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury that likely will require surgery, which means Thornton will earn minutes at backup point guard.

Charlotte: Charlotte Hornets rookie Darren Collison racked up 16 points, four rebounds, 14 assists, one steal and four turnovers in another start for injured Chris Paul (knee) on Monday.

Sacramento: Kings center Spencer Hawes scored 23 points on Monday, making 10-of-18 FGs with seven rebounds, three assists and one block in 40 minutes of action. As the saying goes, “What goes up must come down.” He had played sub-20 minutes in four of the past seven games, and his erratic role changes depending upon matchups.

Denver: Kenyon Martin’s uncanny streak of double-doubles continued on Monday — he posted 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 12 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks in a win over the Sacramento Kings. Kenyon looks spry and rejuvenated lately, and this is the healthiest he’s been since missing just five games in 2002-03.

Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy says he refused to make calls to affect games even if it meant he lost money and it angered the mob. In one game where he bet on San Antonio Spurs, Donaghy ejected Coach Gregg Popovich midway through the first quarter and the Spurs eventually lost the game. After Donaghy threw Popovich out of the game and the Spurs subsequently lost the game, the mob was reportedly very upset. “I just told them that I wasn’t making calls in games to influence the outcome,” Donaghy said in an interview on “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday night on CBS. “And I’m not going to be able to obviously predict the winner every night, and they have to accept that’s what’s going to happen.”

Donaghy still contends that he made wagers on NBA games based on his knowledge of other officials’ biases for certain players, teams and that his officiating was not compromised. Even though Donaghy statement sounds ridicules, the FBI has publicly backed this fact. “Watching the tapes, we could see there was never anything outlandish where he called a foul or he omitted a foul because he wanted to see a certain team win” retired FBI special agent Philip Scala told the news show. “We never saw that.” Donaghy made his wagers through a high school friend and used a code to indicate his picks. “If I wanted them to bet the home team, I would discuss his brother Chuck,” he said. “If I wanted him to bet the visiting team, I would mention his brother Johnny.”

Donaghy claims he was winning 75 percent of the time, which drew the attention of the mob, which he said threatened his family to ensure he provided his insider picks to inform betting on games. “They basically told me that I needed to give them the picks and if I didn’t, that it’s a possibility that somebody would go down and visit my wife and kids in Florida,” he said. His connection with the mob caught the attention of the FBI, which overheard something on a wiretap that led them to believe an NBA referee may be involved. After he was caught, Donaghy said he cooperated with investigators because he believed it was in his and his family’s best interests.

After cooperating with authorities, Donaghy claims that his family has received death threats and is still worried about retribution from the mob. “Certainly it’s in the back of my mind, but I’m not going to live my life in fear,” he said. “I was informed by the FBI agents that they certainly had an eye on what they called these wiseguys and that if anything would come up they would inform me immediately.”

Following the airing of the interview, NBA commissioner David Stern released a statement saying any allegations about officials will be referred to Lawrence Pedowitz, a former investigator in the U.S. attorney’s office who led a review of the league’s officiating. “Mr. Pedowitz’s review revealed that the NBA’s core values of neutrality and accountability were not compromised by anyone other than Mr. Donaghy,” Stern said.

It turns out that former NBA player Jayson Williams will not be in a New Jersey courtroom on Friday. State Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman delayed a hearing in Somerville in which Williams was expected to plead guilty, indefinitely. A person with direct Knowledge of the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a gag order imposed by Coleman, told The Associated Press that the delay was partly because of travel problems Williams experienced getting to New Jersey from his home in South Carolina.

Several sources have reported that Williams will plead guilty to an assault charge that would carry a minimum 18-month sentence because a gun was involved. Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in 2004 but convicted of covering up the shooting at his central New Jersey mansion. The jury deadlocked on a reckless manslaughter count and as a result, Williams has been awaiting a second trial for reckless manslaughter, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Williams has been free on bail since the Feb. 14, 2002, shooting of Costas “Gus” Christofi. He paid more than $2 million in 2003 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Christofi’s family. At the 2004 trial, witnesses testified that Williams, who had been drinking, was showing off a shotgun in his bedroom when he snapped it shut and it fired, hitting Christofi in the chest and killing him. They also said Williams put the gun in the dead man’s hands and told them to lie about what happened.

Years of legal sparring followed the trial and came to a head this fall when current and former prosecutors were forced to testify about a former investigator’s use of a racial slur to describe Williams. The slur was made in a law enforcement meeting before the trial but was not divulged to defense attorneys for more than three years after, leading to defense claims that racism had tainted the investigation. But Coleman denied Williams’ lawyers request to throw the case out because of prosecutorial misconduct and racial bias.

The 41-year-old Williams played nine seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets before a leg injury forced him to retire in 2000. He attempted a short-lived comeback in the minor league Continental Basketball Association in 2005.