A DAY THAT'S TRYING, TELLING.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

Some days blur into others, some leave an indelible mark.

Kobe Bryant had a day on Friday that just might stay with him awhile.

``Long day,'' Bryant said.

A day that began early in the morning, Bryant and attorneys walking up the now-familiar steps outside the courtroom in Eagle, Colo. This time dressed in layers, their warm breath outlined in the crisp Colorado morning air.

A day that ended halfway across the country in Los Angeles, Bryant hurrying to Staples Center to join the Lakers, struggling to find his shot, and then somehow finding more dramatics, hitting the game-winning jumper at the buzzer.

``He has a penchant for showing up in that kind of situation,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

The box score will read a 101-99 Lakers victory, which will tell almost nothing about the stress-filled day Bryant experienced.

It began with Bryant again in a courtroom, facing charges of rape, waiting through motions and deliberations and recesses and uncertainty.

There were lessons to be learned from this day, if of a more subtle nature than in Bryant's previous court appearances.

The sensationalism surrounding him seemed toned down. As a team, the Lakers were able to go about business pretty much as usual. And the court proceedings are likely to take much longer than most anticipated.

Friday had the potential to offer the most significant courtroom decisions yet in Bryant's rape trial. Yet by day's end, little of obvious consequence developed.

What we learned was that District Judge Terry Ruckriegle is going to be very deliberate; only one motion was decided upon. That the veteran Lakers are very capable of taking an occasional Bryant absence, or tardy, in stride. That Bryant has much better airport service than the rest of us, and in the clutch, there are still few like him on the planet.

At the end of the first quarter, Bryant appeared from a Staples Center tunnel and the crowd rose. There were a few boos, but mostly he received a warm standing ovation.

``It's been a long day, a long draining day,'' Bryant said. ``I wanted to get out and play. I just wanted to play the game.''

It certainly had not been a typical day, but it might have been a telling one.

Much of the electricity that had previously surrounded his court appearances seemed reduced Friday.

Maybe it felt like old news now, or Michael Jackson's scandal has more celebrity appeal, or much of the public and media has become suspicious of his accuser.

Certainly, Bryant seems mostly well received at home, if sometimes even misguidedly so.

For now, she'll settle for giving stunned broadcasters chills.

There likely will be several hearings before Bryant's case actually goes to trial. The next is scheduled Jan. 23, an off-day for the Lakers between games at Dallas and Utah. No one expects all the pre-trial motions to be dealt with by then, either.

In Colorado, Ruckriegle was left wrestling with dueling amendments: freedom of the press vs. the right to a fair trail; the right to bring into evidence the accuser's mental state and medical history, vs. inhibiting rape victims from coming forward.

Bryant is trying to take it all in and then fly across half the country to play basketball. He landed at LAX about 7:15 p.m.

``I'm a little tired,'' he said. ``It's life. You kind of just truck on with it. I have a lot of energy, so I can keep going.''

He had five assists in the second quarter, but was just 4 of 13 from the field when he faked Jon Barry into the air and launched a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer.

``It's just greatness,'' Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik said.

A day Bryant will likely remember.

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Photo:

Kobe Bryant began his day in cold Colorado but warmed up at Staples Center.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer