Frenetic for the Moment

The Lakers played lifeless basketball for three and a half quarters Friday at Staples Center, beaten down by the more energetic Sacramento Kings. When the Lakers rallied impressively midway through the fourth quarter, it was still too late to make a difference in a 103-90 loss in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

What will it mean for Game 4?

“There’s not too much we can take from this game other than the energy we had in that situation,” said guard Brian Shaw, one of three reserves to play 11 minutes or more in leading the fourth-quarter charge. “We have to play the next game with reckless abandon. Like they play.”

The Kings built an 83-56 lead by playing with energy, passion and precision. The Lakers trimmed Sacramento’s advantage to 87-75 in a little more than two minutes by playing a frenetic game that goes against Coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offense.

Jackson, searching for a spark, ditched his customary method of operation after the Lakers trailed, 75-52, after three quarters. Jackson opened the fourth with Shaw, Devean George, Lindsey Hunter and Kobe Bryant--four guards--playing with power forward Samaki Walker.

Starters Shaquille O’Neal, Rick Fox and Robert Horry were on the bench. O’Neal played eight minutes in the last quarter. Horry played one minute and Fox didn’t play at all.

“We mixed it up a lot,” Hunter said. “We had all guards on the floor [except for Walker and later O’Neal]. We were pressing, trying to play a helter-skelter game. It was a little too late.... I don’t think we woke up in time to know there was a game going on.”

In other words, don’t expect the Lakers to play the same scrambling style as they did in the last quarter Friday when they face the Kings in a must-win Game 4 on Sunday at Staples Center.

It’s not their style. It was a one-time thing.

“We wanted to cut it to 10 points with six minutes to go,” Bryant said. “If we had cut it to 10 with six to go, it’s a whole new ballgame.”

The Lakers got as close as 98-87 by forcing turnovers with full-court pressure deployed by Bryant, Hunter, George and Shaw. They also got within striking distance on the outside shooting of Bryant, who scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Hunter (10 of 14 in the fourth) and Shaw (five of 10).

The Lakers made 23 of 70 shots (32.9%) through three quarters, but improved only slightly, to 13 for 31 (41.9%) in the fourth.

“We had to expend so much energy trying to get back in the game, we had nothing left,” Shaw said. “It’s not a matter of their Xs and O’s are better than our Xs and O’s. They played harder. If they continue to play harder, they’re going to win the series.”