City Might Not Be Too Laid Back About One Loss, but Fox Is

All of those Laker flags sticking out of the Jeeps, Lexus coupes, Beemers and Benzes around town seemed to be flying at half-mast Thursday.

What happened to the Lakers’ invincibility? Why did they lose Game 1 of the NBA Finals in overtime? What next?

Can Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers keep performing the way they did throughout most of Game 1, when they established air superiority with Iverson bombing away from outside, and battled in the trenches on defense?

“Is it realistic?” Iverson said. “Yeah, it’s realistic, man. It’s real life. Real life.”

Reality took a bite out of the Lakers in the first game of the Finals. No team has gone undefeated in the playoffs before, and now they won’t either. Now they must win Game 2 here tonight or they will have to take two of three in Philadelphia just to get the series back to Staples Center.

Thursday, the Lakers were unshaken. That’s a Phil Jackson thing. He seems to exude more calm as the playoffs become more tense, the situations bleaker.

But it looks as if Rick Fox has surpassed Jackson for the title of Mr. Mellow.

When most Lakers score, a few bars from a hip-hop song boom through the Staples Center loudspeakers. Fox’s baskets are followed by a breezy reggae riff by Bob Marley and the Wailers.

It’s been impossible to erase that maniacal grin from Fox’s face. He had it during a timeout in San Antonio when the Lakers were behind by double digits. He had it for interviews after the Lakers had lost Game 1 to the 76ers. And he wore it once more Thursday, unperturbed that the Lakers find themselves trailing in this series.

“It’s one game,” Fox said. “The way they played, they deserved to win. They really did.

“This is a series now. People will watch this. Individuals will step their games up to another level and it will make winning another championship even sweeter, knowing we’re down 0-1 already.”

Fox’s “Take it easy, mon” approach extends even to how the Lakers should deal with Philadelphia’s tight defense.

“Relax into it and enjoy the pressure they bring,” Fox said.

“For us in our offense, it’s kind of what we welcome. But knowing that we welcome it, there’s a certain relaxation that needs to be there with it.”

The triangle offense should operate through passing instead of dribbling anyway, and the Lakers--especially Kobe Bryant--got too caught up in bringing the ball upcourt one on one.

“Our offense isn’t set up for someone to spend a lot of time dribbling,” Derek Fisher said. “Kobe had too many situations where he had to create shots.”

By spending so much time outside with the ball, Bryant wasn’t able to set up in his favorite spot near the free-throw line. From there he can get the ball with his back to the basket and shoot his turnaround, fall-away jumper.

And the Lakers took so long to get into their offense that they could not always use Shaquille O’Neal to maximum effect. He’s at his best when he can get the ball, survey the situation, pass out, dig himself deeper in the post, then get the ball again a foot from the basket.

The Lakers can’t do all that when the shot clock gets below nine seconds, and they often used up a third of the 24-second clock getting past halfcourt against the 76ers’ pressure.

The Lakers can get some more points from Fisher (two would be a good start) and O’Neal can make more free throws (50% might help) and Bryant can find better spots in the offense.

And the Lakers think the 76ers can’t play much better than they did in Game 1.

Iverson was spectabulous. I know that isn’t a word, but there’s nothing in the dictionary that describes his 48-point outburst in Game 1. Besides, it sounds more like the English language than half of what President Bush says.

The 76ers made 23 of their 25 free throws. They had Bryant on lockdown.

They even got 10 points from Matt Geiger. Matt Geiger. On a 76er team loaded with guys who play with pain in every joint, Geiger has sat out most of the playoffs because of injuries. He had scored 12 points in only 46 postseason minutes, then he goes for double-digits?

Mostly, the 76ers kept coming and coming, whether down 18-5 in the first quarter or by five points in overtime.

“They gave us 1,000% and we only gave them 75% and we still had a couple opportunities to win,” O’Neal said.

Said Laker assistant coach Jim Cleamons: “They did what they had to do. The question is, can they continue to do it, and what adjustments can we make?”

The Lakers might have played their best hand by sending Tyronn Lue in to guard Iverson in the fourth quarter.

Lue’s quickness enabled him to stay close enough to cut off Iverson’s attempts to drive and to harass him on jump shots.

But expect Iverson to adjust and Philadelphia Coach Larry Brown to find some different ways to get shots for Iverson.

The Lakers can’t expect to have too many more quarters in which Lue outscores Iverson (as he did, 5-3, in the fourth Wednesday).

It’s like staying at the poker table after a good run; the longer you’re there, the more likely it is the house will catch up to you.

But as the series progresses, the Lakers should look more like the casino, content to play the odds of their aces--Shaq and Kobe--against these wily card sharks.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com.