He was relieved his three-for-21 shooting effort didn't cost his team a victory.
The Lakers beat an NBA franchise Saturday, allegedly, their 88-85 victory reflected in the standings as such, though the Hornets were closer to Development League material.
It made Bryant's woes much more obvious.
He set a slew of personal marks with his inaccuracy but made the go-ahead three-pointer with 20.2 seconds left, surprising almost nobody at Staples Center.
He finished with 11 points against a team that had only eight healthy players and owned the worst record in the Western Conference.
"Fatigue might have something to do with it …" Bryant said.
Uh-oh, the dreaded F-word.
Bryant, 33, leads the league in scoring but is third in minutes per game. The compressed lockout schedule isn't helping him or the Lakers, who have played 52 games in 98 days as part of the wild dash to play 66 in 121 days.
Saturday marked Bryant's worst accuracy (14.3%) in 575 career games with at least 20 shots. He was almost as bad two weeks ago, making only three of 20 against Utah.
It got so bad in the third quarter Saturday that the crowd stood whenever Bryant shot … and sighed after he missed.
He shook his head in frustration after missing a three-point attempt as time expired in the third quarter. He was 0 for 15 at the time.
His late three-pointer Saturday, his only successful one in eight tries, came in the 50,332nd minute of his career, including playoffs.
So, uh, what's his plan to get through this fatigue?
"You figure out ways to work through it," he said. "I have a great team here and a lot of support.
"The schedule's a little crazy. But I'm fine. It's going to be OK. I'm going to figure it out. I always have."
The Lakers (32-20) can't offer much relief.
Their starters rarely sit the entire fourth quarter because the Lakers can't hold large leads, watching another one melt away Saturday as a 14-point first-quarter edge eventually turned into a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Another problem: The Lakers haven't had a true backup shooting guard since Shannon Brown left as a free agent for Phoenix before the season.
