LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant slipped on the ring in the locker room, his finger weighed down by the 14 brilliant white diamonds set in yellow and white gold.

Then he took it off and returned it to the custom box that would soon end up stored for years to come in a vault at home.

"I never wear them except for the night that I get them," he said last night after the Lakers opened defense of their NBA championship with a 99-92 victory over the Clippers. "It's on to the next one."

Bryant scored 33 points and Andrew Bynum added 26 on his 22nd birthday for the Lakers, who began the evening with a ceremony unveiling the franchise's 15th gold-and-purple championship banner, earned four months ago after defeating Orlando in the finals.

Commissioner David Stern handed out rings to almost everyone except for Ron Artest, who joined the Lakers in the offseason from Houston with the sole purpose of winning a gaudy bauble for himself.

"It's always tough to play games after those kind of ceremonies," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who added a record-breaking 10th ring to his collection. "Some of the energy is always difficult to maintain because there is a lot of energy that's kind of dissipated when you go out and have that kind of ceremony. You're not ready to step up and march to the tune of this season right yet."

Hoping to erase the memories of last season's 19-63 record, the Clippers got a jolt of bad news a day before the season began when they learned No. 1 overall draft pick Blake Griffin will be out for up to six weeks with a broken left kneecap. Dressed in a suit and tie, he watched from a seat behind the bench.

WIZARDS 102, MAVERICKS 91

Gilbert Arenas had 29 points and nine assists, and Fabricio Oberto's three-point play broke a 25-all tie early in the second quarter and visiting Washington never trailed again in beating Dallas.

TRAIL BLAZERS 96, ROCKETS 87

Reserve Travis Outlaw scored 23 points, Brandon Roy added 20 points and the Portland made 20 of 22 free throws to turn back Houston in the season opener for both.