Dahntay Jones Defends Kobe Bryant Foul on Twitter; Video Shows Injured Lakers Star Vowing Revenge

It didn't take long for things to get heated between L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Atlanta Hawks player Dahntay Jones after Bryant was injured against Jones Wednesday night.

Bryant has been listed as out indefinitely by the Lakers after his left foot landed on the right foot of Jones while Bryant attempted a failed last-second jumper with Jones guarding him in the Lakers' 96-92 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Aside from the injury to Bryant, who has been the Lakers' top scorer as they've won 9 of their last 11 games to turn their struggling season around, what made headlines is what Bryant said after the game.

"Officials really need to protect shooters," Bryant said in a terse interview after the game regarding the play. "As defensive players, you can contest shots but you can't walk underneath players. That's dangerous for the shooter."

Bryant implied that Jones placed his foot underneath Bryant's own on purpose, saying that Jones "Jalen Rose'd him."

That refers to the 2000 Finals, where Rose had also placed his foot underneath Bryant in a similar move, one that Rose more or less admitted was intentional at that time Wednesday in the ESPN studios.

While Rose admitted that the move was intentional, however, Jones made no such admission, denying that he deliberately tried to hurt Bryant on the play on his Twitter account.

"Tape doesn't lie. Ankle was turned on the floor after the leg kick out that knocked him off balance. I would never try to hurt the man," Rose tweeted.

Jones added that Bryant actually fouled him on the play by kicking his leg out in the air and hitting Jones as Bryant tried the fadeaway jumper.

"Leg kick that makes contact with a defensive player is an offense foul. Period. The nba changed that rule 2 yrs ago. Stop it!," he posted.

"I have the utmost respect for @kobebryant I would never try to intentionally hurt him. Just wanted to contest the fadeaway #thatsall," he added.

Bryant was less than sympathetic on Twitter. "#dangerousplay that should have been called. Period," he posted after the game.

Jones also took some heat regarding two flagrant fouls he had against Bryant during the Western Conference Finals in 2009, when Jones was a member of the Denver Nuggets squad that Bryant and the Lakers bounced in six games en route to the NBA championship.

"Now what happened in 09' I am not proud of but it was a heated playoff series with a championship on the line," Jones tweeted.

Bryant, however, gave an ominous warning to Jones and the Hawks during his post-game interview.

"I can't get my mind past the fact that I've got to wait a year to get revenge," Bryant said.

The Lakers aren't scheduled to play the Hawks again this season. However, when a healthy Bryant faces off against Jones next season in their first game, one of the game's greatest scorers will undoubtedly have Jones in his crosshairs as he will seek to drop a monster game against Atlanta.

Even Rose admitted that while he had hoped Bryant would have been taken out of the 2000 Finals, "The problem is: he returned. And he put the smackdown on us, and the Lakers won the 2000 Finals."

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but a motivated Bryant could end up torching Jones and the Hawks next time around.