INDIANAPOLIS -- Kobe Bryant played just 12 minutes, all in the first quarter, in the Lakers' 99-93 win over the Pacers on Friday.

It was all his severely sprained left ankle could take.

Bryant went 0-for-4 from the field for zero points along with two assists and one turnover before asking out of the game.

"It was really stiff," Bryant said. "It just continued to swell. I couldn't put any weight on it so I had to call it a night."

Kobe Bryant tweeted this photo of his ankle, claiming it is "still very swollen." Courtesy of Kobe Bryant

Bryant said his ankle "improved a lot" since injuring it during Wednesday's loss at Atlanta, but he was able to perform with limited movement.

"I couldn't put any pressure on it," Bryant said. "I couldn't post, I couldn't back a guy down, I couldn't move defensively. I just couldn't put any pressure on it ... I could shoot standing still. I could shoot, but once I started getting up and down at a pretty good pace, it just continued to get worse. It didn't loosen up at all."

Bryant knew going into the game that he would be limited.

"What I told them is, 'I don't know how much I have, but whatever I have, I'm going to give you,'" Bryant said. "That's all my message was to them."

Bryant would not say whether he thought he would be able to play Sunday when the Lakers host the Kings, but Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni is certainly open to the possibility of Bryant resting.

"It just depends on how (his ankle) reacts to the plane flight home," D'Antoni said. "I wouldn't bet against him, but Sunday I'm sure they'll come and tell me whether he can play or not."

The Lakers have the day off Saturday and D'Antoni would not mind if Bryant extended his rest.

"He could take a day off or two and that might help him, but that's on him," D'Antoni said.

If Bryant takes off from playing, he will not take off from coaching as he was seen several times grabbing the dry erase board on the bench and mapping out a play for a teammate or yelling out sets to look for while the game was in progress.

"(I'll) keep coaching," Bryant said. "You put guys in positions to be successful, man. I watch a boatload of film so I know, I'm very well prepared. I'm going to continue to try to put guys in positions to be successful, as simple as that."

Bryant spent two days trying to fight his way back after landing on the foot of Atlanta's Dahntay Jones. Throughout the day, he looked better and after going through warm-ups, the Lakers put Bryant in the starting lineup.

Bryant went through a workout with Lakers trainer Gary Vitti that lasted about 25 minutes three hours prior to tip-off determined to play.

D'Antoni said he would be watchful of how Bryant performed.

"We don't want to injure it anymore, and we'll see how it goes," D'Antoni said before the game. "He's going to be productive. He'll find a way to be productive. That won't be the question. I just hope that he's got to make sure that he won't make it worse than what it is."

Just five previous times in his 17-year career with the Lakers has Bryant played in every regular-season game.

"He is 34 years old and he's played 17 years. He has to know whether he can play or not," D'Antoni said. "There's no way you can look inside of it and if he can, then it's the right thing to do. Especially if he wants to do it and obviously he does."