Relax, Lakers fans. He’ll be fine. You can come down off of the ledge now. On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the current Western Conference champs made their annual voyage south to San Diego to play a preseason game at the San Diego Sports Arena. And while they squeaked out a 102-98 win over the hapless Charlotte Bobcats, the big news from the game centered on the right knee of 2008 MVP Kobe Bryant. In the second quarter, Bryant came down on the foot of teammate Josh Powell, hyperextending his knee. He immediately motioned to the bench to take him out. After trainers took a look at the knee, he went back to the locker room and didn’t return until the second half, when he was in street clothes. All indications are that Bryant, who averaged 28.3 points per game last season, would be ready for the Oct. 28 season opener. “I didn’t ask him about his injury,” Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said following the game. “I thought he (Bryant) got banged in the shin but the trainer said he hyperextended his knee, so we just took him out for the night.” Though secondary to the news surrounding Bryant, the 9,800 in attendance were treated to a great game. Lakers center Andrew Bynum, coming off of his own season-ending knee surgery last year, showed no ill effects, scoring 16 points, pulling down eight rebounds and adding three blocks in 26 minutes. He will be a key cog in the wheel if Los Angeles is to return to the NBA Finals. The game also marked a return to San Diego for two players. The Lakers’ Luke Walton, who starred at University of San Diego High School, chipped in with five points, four rebounds and two assists. On the other side of the ball, the Bobcats’ Jared Dudley played for the first time in front of his hometown crowd since leading Horizon High School to back-to-back CIF state titles in 2002 and 2003. “I thought that after high school, I’d never play here again,” Dudley said. “But being at the Sports Arena, against the Lakers and Kobe … they’re one of the favorites to win the championship. I also got to play against Luke here. I never got to do that in high school. I’ve got lots of friends and family here; it’s a dream come true.” Dudley was admittedly nervous and didn’t have a great game on the score sheet, scoring only one point and adding two rebounds and two steals. He did, however, have the play of the game. With two minutes left before halftime, he deflected a pass out to half court, dove on top of the scorers’ table and flipped the ball behind him to teammate Raymond Felton, who tossed up an alley-oop that Gerald Wallace hammered down with one hand. It sent ooohs and aaaahs throughout the arena. The key for the Lakers on the night was the play of their bench. Guard Jordan Farmar (17 points, 4 assists, 2 steals) and small forward Trevor Ariza (14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) were particularly impressive. “Jordan Farmar was the spark for us tonight,” Jackson said. “His play has been inspiring.” The NBA’s regular season kicked off on Tuesday and the Lakers are still among the teams to beat in the Western Conference. With Bynum now healthy and Pau Gasol in tow for a full season, there’s no reason to think that come June they can’t bring a title back to Tinseltown. n