Lakers Go Streakless in Seattle

The Lakers asked of themselves one more basketball game, through to the very end of February, a month that could hardly have been better for them.

They lost their coach briefly at the end, but they won 11 games and convinced themselves that a fourth championship wasn’t as impossible as they made it look for two months.

So, Shaquille O’Neal iced his knees and Kobe Bryant drew support sleeves over his and, as it turned out, everybody should have stayed on the bus they drove in on. Bryant got sick and O’Neal got mad and, well, they’d all had better times and been in better moods.

After six consecutive wins, the Lakers were 107-90 losers Friday night to the Seattle SuperSonics at Key Arena. Dispassionate rebounders and defenders for most of the game, the Lakers remained in seventh place in the Western Conference, a game ahead of the Phoenix Suns.

They lost for the first time in seven road games, since Jan. 17 in Houston. And they lost on the eve of four days without a game, so there was a sense of an approaching respite in a season that grinds on and on, and still they were outrebounded, 57-33, and outplayed in all the usual corners.

Asked if the blowout defeat -- the lead was 26 in the fourth quarter and Ray Allen was on his way to his second career triple-double -- had wrecked the momentum they’d gathered, Bryant said, “Not at all. This is one game out of a very tough stretch we needed to get through. We got through it, got the seventh spot.”

It would have to do. Bryant scored 34 points, averaged 40.6 for the month, and did a lot of the lifting for their 11 victories. Only Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor had averaged as many as 40 points in a month before him, and the strain showed on Bryant, who felt it in his knees (tendinitis) and his joints (a flu-ish ache).

“My knees wouldn’t get loose,” he said. “I felt like [Ron] Harper.”

O’Neal, on the other hand, claimed to be angry. He scored 18 points on 13 shots, and said he wanted the ball more.

In a now familiar riff, O’Neal snapped, “Don’t ask me why they don’t throw me the ball. I don’t know. ...

“I need more than 13 ... shots. Write it just like that. Thirteen

If nothing else, O’Neal only really wants the basketball when he’s feeling like he can score, and perhaps his outburst -- he smiled through some of it -- meant he senses the end of the toe and knee ailments that have delayed his effectiveness. The fact was, the Lakers trailed by 11 points in the second quarter and O’Neal appeared to have little of the touch around the basket he had Thursday night, when he scored 35 points against the Detroit Pistons.

So, the Lakers, straining to catch up, shot jump shots. They heaved 27 three-pointers, 13 in the fourth quarter. And they were run over by the fresher, sturdier SuperSonics, for the time being better with Allen (29 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) than with Gary Payton.

“You would hope we were just a little fatigued,” said Jim Cleamons, probably coaching his final game in place of Phil Jackson. “It’s going to get worse than that in the month of March, so we better get used to it.”

Bryant played the first half with a black sleeve on his right knee and at halftime added a sleeve on his left knee.

“Well, I think I’ve been going nonstop since before the All-Star break,” he said from beneath a floppy hat. “It’s finally caught up to me. My immune system kind of broke down. I don’t feel too good right now. Couple days, I’ll be fine.”

He played 44 minutes, more than a few with the game out of reach.

The 40-point months: Chamberlain, last in November 1964. Baylor in December 1961. Bryant in February 2003. And worn out.

He promised to get O’Neal the basketball in the coming week, when Indiana, Minnesota and Philadelphia come to Staples, perhaps as much out of duty as for self-preservation.

“We’re going to pound the ball inside,” Bryant said, “and see how he feels.”

The Lakers are 32-26, grim if you didn’t know where it began. As it is, they’ll believe they lost because they were a tired team, not because they are a poor one that aged over a single summer.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Low Points

Worst losses for the Lakers this season:

*--* Date Margin Opponent Score Dec. 19, 2002 27 at New Jersey 98-71 Nov. 19, 2002 26 at Dallas 98-72 Nov. 5, 2002 19 at Cleveland 89-70 Feb. 28, 2003 17 at Seattle 107-90

*--*

*

Monthly Report

The Lakers ended their most successful month Friday in Seattle with their fourth-worst defeat of the season. Their record by month and their rank in the Western Conference:

*--* Month Record Rk Oct.-Nov 6-11 10th December 7-8 10th January 8-4 9th February 11-3 7th

*--*

Note: The Lakers played two games in October, losing both.

*

The West

Western Conference standings with division leaders 1-2. The eight top teams qualify for postseason:

*--* W-L GB 1. Dallas 44-14 -- 2. Sacramento 41-18 3 1/2 3. San Antonio 39-17 4 4. Portland 38-20 6 5. Minnesota 39-21 6 6. Utah 33-25 11 7. Lakers 32-26 12 8. Phoenix 31-27 13 9. Houston 30-28 1 10. Golden St 28-30 3

*--*