How could Phil Jackson let this happen?

Incomprehensible. Disgusting. Deflating. Ridiculous. Sickening.

Impossible to fathom. A total meltdown. Appalling. Revolting. Depressing.

Talk about a choke job. Historical and horrifying. Alarming. Shocking.

The Lakers have the game's best coach, the game's best player and a 24-point lead almost halfway into a game they really must win, and they fall apart, disappear, take the rest of the night off.

Unexplainable. Laughable, if everyone isn't crying, and Boston doesn't have to win but one more game to win a championship that was still there in the Lakers' clutches.

The Lakers get the quarter of all quarters from Lamar Odom, and one quarter from Lamar Odom in this series is a gift from beyond, and it's not enough.

The Celtics are limping, their center going to the locker room holding his shoulder, and no way, no how can this happen.

"I mentioned at halftime we had to come out and win the third quarter," Phil Jackson said, and so the Lakers came out and were outscored, 31-15, in the third quarter.

Sasha Vujacic is the hero in Game 3, and one for nine in Game 4, playing without his athletic supporter after Ray Allen left him behind to secure the victory.

"Can you describe what happened," a reporter began, and while he continued to be more specific about the play of Vujacic, it should've stood as the only question of the night for Jackson, who is not supposed to let something like this happen.

Inexcusable.

I RECEIVED several hundred e-mails from folks in Boston who wanted to know if I was some kind of idiot. Imagine that.

I had written an article the other day about Curt Schilling's blog and had mentioned the fact he was picking on Kobe Bryant, "our consummate team player," and every one of these people e-mailed to say Bryant is not the consummate team player. Imagine my surprise.

They also directed me to another blogger, Bill somebody-or-other, who writes for ESPN.

"It has been hysterical to watch the city of Los Angeles rush to Kobe's defense by ripping Schilling, as evidenced by [Simers'] column," wrote somebody-or-other, "instead of coming to grips with the fact the last five months of hunky-dory, 'Good Ship Lollipop' Lakers stories was Hollywood's biggest (bogus) story of the year. . . . Kobe is a wonderful basketball player. We all concede this point. Just don't keep trying to sell us on the fact he's a good teammate."

If even the really knowledgeable, astute bloggers in this business are tired of my trying to defend Kobe, then maybe I should just stop.

NBA COMMISSIONER David Stern called the media together 30 minutes before the game, everybody figuring he was going to tip them on who might win Game 4.

Instead, Stern wanted to make it clear the NBA is on the up and up. He said every official in the league has been asked if he ever fixed a game, and gee-whiz, golly-gee, you know what -- none of them said they have ever cheated.

That takes care of that, as far as Stern is concerned.

If they want to begin clearing the refereeing cloud hanging over the NBA, they should start tagging players with technical fouls every time they so much as make a face or say anything about a call or non-call -- throwing players out of the game until they get the message that such histrionics won't be tolerated.