Kobe Bryant suffered an ankle sprain against Dallas
The Lakers guard was back in action on Monday. Reuters

Kobe Bryant's injury scare appears to be only that: a scare.

After struggling in the first half against Orlando on Monday night, Bryant didn't look himself.

It affected my balance just from the trust factor, to trust the ankle, in the first half, Bryant said, according to ESPN.com. Then at halftime I just kind of had to give myself a little pep talk, stop acting like a wuss and go out there and play and shoot my shots.

Bryant was much improved in the third quarter, scoring 12 points. In fourth, Bryant was used minimally, and was rather ineffective.

Head coach Phil Jackson had earlier called Bryant a game-time decision.

After saying his ankle swelled to the size of a baseball, the star guard said decreased 60 to 70 percent each day.

Bryant will have plenty of time to rest his ankle. The Lakers next game is Friday at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves.