Kobe Bryant's shot was off on Tuesday night and he took the blame for the Lakers' loss to the Spurs.

"I couldn't put the ball in the basket and it snowballed from there," Bryant said. "It's my responsibility to make them."

He was 8-for-27 from the field, including a stretch of 13 straight missed field goals.

"I just have to put the ball in the damn hole," Bryant said. "It's my responsibility, it's my job."

Before Tuesday's game between Los Angeles and San Antonio, Bryant said he was ready for the showdown but that he wasn't sure if the "rest of the guys" were up for it.

Kobe Bryant is ready for Tuesday night's showdown with the Spurs, but he isn't certain if his Los Angeles teammates are ready.

On Saturday, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said the coaching staff had been pointing to the Spurs game on the calendar for quite some time.

"We haven't really been pointing at anything, that's been one of the problems," Bryant said, disagreeing. "We don't really get too excited about anything anymore. I'm excited about this game. I'm excited about the challenge of it and hopefully the rest of the guys are too."

The Lakers have been mired in mediocrity of late, going 8-7 over their last 15 games. Bryant said he would like to see "more effort" on Tuesday in "everything" the team does on the court.

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that forward Andray Blatche and center JaVale McGee have both been suspended one game for conduct detrimental to the team.

“After further investigation into an incident on Thursday night, we concluded that Andray and JaVale conducted themselves in an unprofessional manner,” said Grunfeld.  “As a result, both players will be suspended for tomorrow’s game at San Antonio.”

The Celtics' Paul Pierce and the Spurs' Tony Parker Monday were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 13, through Sunday, Dec. 19.

Pierce recorded a triple-double and two double-doubles on the week, averaging 21.7 points, 8.7 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals, as Boston went 3-0 to extend their winning streak to 13 games. On Dec. 15, Pierce scored 32 points and hit the game-winning shot against New York with 0.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.  

Parker averaged 25.7 points on .564 shooting to go along with 8.7 assists. He was third in the conference in scoring and fourth in assists. On Dec. 18, Parker scored a season-high 37 points on .714 shooting versus Memphis. It was the most points scored by a Spur this season. He has scored 20 or more points in 11 games this year, helping the Spurs to the best record in the NBA at 23-3.

The Spurs watched a number of teams make drastic changes this past summer, but after standing pat they sit at the top of the NBA with a 20-3 record.

"We decided we're better off sticking with who we have," coach Gregg Popovich said, "rather than change things."

Tony Parker's name was mentioned in a number of trade rumors prior to the season, but the point guard convinced San Antonio that he was committed to the franchise.

The contracts of both Popovich and Tim Duncan will expire after next season, but they are expected to return with Manu Ginobili and Parker locked up.

"I kind of feel I have to commit to those guys," Popovich said.

The coach is in his fifteenth season with the team and Duncan will turn 35 years old in April.

"I would love to play until the wheels come off, but that's not how it goes," Duncan said. "I want to play at a high level and I want to be able to play well. If that's not the case, then it might be better for me to walk away."