ONE COSTLY VICTORY BRYANT HURT IN LAKERS' WIN AGAINST CAVS LAKERS 98, CLEVELAND 94.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

The sight of Ashton Kutcher seated next to the Lakers' bench offered hope the whole thing would end up like an episode of ``Punk'd,'' with Kobe Bryant emerging from the locker room to a standing ovation in the fourth quarter Thursday night.

But there was no joking for the Staples Center crowd, Kutcher included, not after Bryant suffered a severely sprained right ankle trying to secure a rebound with 5 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He grabbed the ball with two hands but came down on the right foot of Cleveland's Ira Newble and lay on the floor grimacing in pain. Just like that, the Lakers lost their franchise guard for at least one night, if not substantially longer.

Bryant had to be helped off the floor by forward Brian Grant and trainer Gary Vitti, then carried into the locker room by Grant and Devean George. The Lakers pulled together and went on to win 98-94 behind Lamar Odom's 24 points.

X-rays on the ankle were negative but ligament damage was feared. Bryant rolled the ankle in two directions as he landed and will have an MRI today, with his condition updated afterward.

``They're going to do a test (today),'' Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich said in a halftime interview with TNT. ``Of course, we're very concerned.''

It was the second time in two games against LeBron James in Los Angeles that Bryant suffered a significant injury. He sprained his right shoulder in a collision with Kedrick Brown last January and had to miss six games as a result.

James ventured into the Lakers locker room at halftime to check on Bryant. Bryant also sat out their game in Cleveland last February with a lacerated finger.

The Lakers got big baskets down the stretch from Odom, who drove the lane and into Zydrunas Ilgauskas as part of a three-point play. Chris Mihm also connected on a jump hook to put the Lakers in front 86-84 with 3:09 left.

Chucky Atkins hit four free throws in the final 1:38 to keep the Lakers in front. Ilgauskas threw a return pass to James out-of-bounds with 23 seconds left to end the Cavaliers hopes.

The injury robbed the NBA of a proper showdown for two of its leading stars. Bryant and James are the two youngest players to score 2,000 points in league history, with James reaching the milestone before even his 20th birthday.

James finished with a team-high 28 points and was spectacular at times. He skied over Odom to slam home a missed shot one-handed in the second quarter and beat Odom with a crossover dribble for a basket just before the first half horn.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo: (1 -- color) Lakers guard Kobe Bryant writhes in pain after severely spraining his ankle Thursday night against the Cavaliers.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) no caption (Kobe Bryant)

Box:

(1) COUNTING HIM OUT

(2) GAME RECAP