Lakers Lose ‘House Keys

It was not an uninteresting three-game trip, simply a winless one.

At the very end of it, the Lakers stood on a floor that shook beneath them, Jerry Stackhouse having just flown past for a winning dunk, a town starved for decent basketball stomping deliriously around them.

The Washington Wizards defeated the Lakers, 100-99, Friday night at MCI Center, and while the victors dashed off the floor in each other’s arms, the Lakers were still awaiting the return of Shaquille O’Neal, a grim 2-5 in the meantime.

They hadn’t started as poorly in 12 years, and they hadn’t had an 0-3 trip in seven. Blown out in Cleveland and beaten in overtime in Boston, the Lakers took their only lead against the Wizards with 2.9 seconds left, on a signature three-point basket from the left corner by a gimpy Robert Horry.

Back from a 17-point deficit for the second time in two nights, the Lakers flew from the floor, pounded each other’s chests and then peered at the clock. Two-point-nine seconds remained.

“I was like, ‘Oh, no,’ ” Horry said. “A lot can happen in three seconds.”

He paused.

“And a lot happened.”

At the end of three road games in four nights, of five games in eight, , of too many minutes and too many air miles and not enough familiar faces, the Lakers had neither the strength nor the fortitude to stop the final play, to defend a 99-98 lead.

Kobe Bryant, who had scaled back from 47 shots in Boston to 21 here and scored 27 points, followed Michael Jordan across the floor. Jordan, who scored a season-high 25 points, took him there purposely.

Horry, who limped around on a sore left heel and sore right foot, defended Bryon Russell, but did not front him, as Coach Phil Jackson instructed, shrilly. Russell took the inbounds pass from Stackhouse, who entered the floor near the Laker bench.

“Maybe I should have switched,” Horry said.

Devean George, on two achy ankles, had been told to stay with Stackhouse, who already had 27 points and was en route to 29.

“He cut right, I kept up with him,” George said. “He cut left, I didn’t have enough to push off. He went by me.”

Asked if he should have been in the game, then, George shrugged. “I had to. Everybody fouled out.”

That would be Rick Fox, who returned from his six-game suspension and played well with 10 points, though the secondary scoring had been carried by Brian Shaw, who scored 20 points in 20 minutes, 16 of the points in the fourth quarter, when he made four of six three-pointers. Fox, a sage defender, fouled out with 23.9 seconds left.

That put George on Stackhouse, the crowd frantic, the game on the line, one short defensive stand between a horrible trip and a palatable one. After a lob inbounds pass to Russell, Stackhouse took the ball back about 15 feet from the basket and charged uncontested to the rim. No Laker met him there.

When the horn sounded, four Lakers stared at George, the fourth-year player who’d become a starter in Fox’s absence, and started again against the Wizards while Fox found his legs.

“I thought I could do it,” George said. “I thought I had enough to get it done. Rob, he’s banged up, too. So when I see [Stackhouse] going toward Rob, I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ ”

And then Bryant and others put their hands on their hips.

“Yeah, I saw that too,” George said. “It is my fault. Tough situation, though.”

Bryant would have none of it. It had been a curious game for him, isolated as he was several times against Jordan. The crowd roared when Jordan got the ball on the wing with Bryant on his hip, and cheered wildly when his fade-away jumper was true. Averaging 13.2 points in five games, all of them as a reserve, Jordan made nine of 14 field-goal attempts. That is why Bryant followed Jordan, why he made it clear it was every man for himself.

“You’ve got to stay between your man and the basket at that crucial point in time in the game,” Bryant said, seething. “You can’t let your man back-cut you to the basket and get a layup to win the game. That’s just basic basketball. That shouldn’t happen.”

Asked why none of George’s teammates reacted to meet Stackhouse at the rim, Bryant’s eyes narrowed.

“He’s got to stay between his man and the ball. Period.”

Told George suggested he was physically unable to stay with Stackhouse, Bryant snapped, “He didn’t say that. I’m not going to say nothing to that. I’ll deal with him in practice.”

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Bad Trip

The Lakers finished a stretch of five games in eight nights in four cities:

*--* Game Date Result at Clippers Nov. 1 W, 108-93 Portland Nov. 3 W, 98-95, OT at Cleveland Nov. 5 L, 89-70 at Boston Nov. 7 L, 98-95, OT at Washington Nov. 8 L, 100-99

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The Kobe Factor

In Friday’s 100-99 loss to Washington, Kobe Bryant scored a team-high 27 points, had six rebounds and four assists. When Bryant has shot less and picked up more assists this season, not only are his overall statistics up, but the Lakers have a better record.

*--* In 2 Wins In 5 Losses Differential FGA 18.5 25.6 -7.1 FGM 11.5 9.6 +1.9 FG% 622 375 +.247 FTA 9.5 7.6 +1.9 FTM 8.5 6.8 +1.7 REBOUNDS 14.5 9.6 +4.9 ASSISTS 12.0 4.0 +8.0 POINTS 33.0 27.0 +6.0

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