Lakers Get Caught in Last Tangle

You keep digging yourself a hole, eventually you are going to get buried.

For the third consecutive time Friday, the Lakers stumbled through the first half of a game, awoke as time was running out and put on a spirited comeback.

But this time, their wake-up call came too late, the Atlanta Hawks holding them off for a 93-90 victory Friday night at Staples Center.

It was the seventh loss for the Lakers against a team in the lower depths of the league standings since Dec. 21.

The Lakers cut a 19-point deficit to three with just over five seconds to play.

But their slim hopes of pulling this one out faded when they fouled a man who had made eight consecutive free throws in the game, 24 in succession overall.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim smoothly sank the free throws that gave the Hawks their first victory in Los Angeles in 12 years.

Abdur-Rahim finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

It was bound to happen the way the Lakers have been dribbling on the edge of danger lately.

With Shaquille O’Neal missing from the middle, they already lose valuable ground. Inexplicably, they choose to make their task even more difficult in O’Neal’s absence by putting themselves in that all-too-familiar hole.

Tuesday night, the Lakers went down by 20 points before pulling out a victory over the Washington Wizards. Thursday night, they struggled into the final two minutes before salvaging a victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.

And Friday night, they were at it again.

Maybe it was the weariness of games on consecutive nights in in different cities.

Maybe it was mood of the crowd, which couldn’t seem to get interested in an opposing team with only a few recognizable names. It was so quiet at Staples Center in the first half, you could hear Coach Phil Jackson groan.

And he had plenty to groan about.

O’Neal may not have been in the middle for the Lakers, but neither, it appeared, was anybody else.

Or in the backcourt.

Offensively, the Lakers were able to score only 35 points against one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

Defensively, the Lakers were unable to protect the middle against Abdur-Rahim, Nazr Mohammed, or Ira Newble.

Ira Newble?

Last month, he was playing for the Flint Fuze of the CBA.

The way the Lakers were playing in the first half, they might not have been able to beat the Fuze.

“They played better than we did tonight,” Jackson said. “They got to loose balls and created situations for themselves.

“You can’t discredit your opponent. Atlanta is not a team that is feared around the league, but they’re still playing good basketball. They won three out of four before tonight.”

The Lakers were trailing, 85-70, when Slava Medvedenko scored two quick baskets underneath. Then, the Lakers outside shooting kicked in. Derek Fisher hit two big three-pointers, one of which turned into a four-point play. Devean George, getting his first start of the season, added two more three-pointers.

George’s second three-pointer cut the deficit to just two points with 25.5 seconds remaining.

But the Lakers got no closer.

Kobe Bryant, attempting to involve his teammates with O’Neal sitting out his third consecutive game because of his chronic toe injury, had 10 assists, along with 21 points, his third straight game with double figures in assists.

Fisher added 18 points.

“We did not play a high, intense game until the end,” said Lindsey Hunter.

“You cannot come out and coast through a game and then try to turn it up that late in the game. I think it just caught up with us tonight.”

No argument from Bryant.

“The first two or three quarters,” he said, “we just didn’t play hard and there is no excuse for that.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Keeping Score

(text of infobox not included)