Back to Back, Out of Whack

Darrell Armstrong heaved the basketball into the air joyfully and the four young ladies in gold sweatshirts, a letter apiece -- K-O-B-E -- across their chests, looked on glumly from behind the Laker bench.

Yes, the Lakers of the historic lineup and the agonizing interpersonal relations lost for the first time Friday, on a night their legs beat them to Bourbon Street by a couple of hours, a defeat self-inflicted by their casual defense, afflicted by the schedule-maker and happenstance.

Before the second-largest crowd in New Orleans Sports Arena history, the New Orleans Hornets made most of their dozens of open shots and defeated the weary Lakers, 114-95. The Lakers are 5-1 and, predictably with a 40-year-old, a 35-year-old and a 25-year-old with a bad knee in their starting lineup, ever vulnerable to two games in less than a day.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take something out of me,” said Kobe Bryant, whose four-for-14, 37-minute run was his first regression after four strong games.

In the recent guard tradition of Milwaukee’s Michael Redd (36 points) and San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili (33 points), Baron Davis (23 points, 12 assists) drove the Hornet offense and had five teammates score in double figures.

The Hornets were behind by a point three minutes into the third quarter and ahead by 17 nine minutes later and Coach Phil Jackson said he “almost” apologized to Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal for having them play in the fourth quarter, when the Hornet lead was never less than 12.

Having lost some of the energy of their early games, when the inspiration of putting their potential Hall of Famers on the floor led to hard defense and baseline-to-baseline sprints, the Lakers now are straining to integrate their games. The Hornets made 57.3% of their field-goal attempts, including 12 of 23 three-pointers, and became the first opponent to have more fastbreak points than the Lakers.

“We needed more pressure defensively, especially in the first half, and we didn’t get it,” Jackson said. “There was a breakdown in the perimeter.”

Not 19 hours after their double-overtime victory in San Antonio, the Lakers were slow on their feet, slow to find O’Neal in the post, slow to find the Hornets’ perimeter shooters. They flew Friday morning, arrived at their hotel at 4 a.m., then met at 1 for a film session. At game time, in an arena throbbing with anticipation, the Lakers shook their legs and summoned what they could, and in the end were a step behind.

O’Neal had 21 points on 11 shots, Karl Malone scored 10 points and Gary Payton, the first of the Lakers’ Fab Four to fail to score in double-digits, had seven. Payton and Malone each played 28 minutes and each mentioned the short playing time afterward, disappointed but granting Jackson’s perspective on the season.

“I don’t know how we can be tired,” Payton said. “We only played [28] minutes. That excuse [stuff] is for the birds. We just should have played basketball.

“What’s the problem now, we’re not running and we’re not getting any easy baskets right now.”

O’Neal, he said, is the only one among them in a mid-season rhythm and he had only five first-half field goals.

“The rest of us aren’t taking or getting the shots we got in the first three games,” Payton said.

Malone said he “didn’t play enough to feel the mileage.”

Afterward, the Laker locker room was a pile of ice bags and long faces. P.J. Brown had scored 20 points against them and David Wesley had 17. Opponents have shot 40.4% from the three-point arc, even with Payton on the perimeter.

“It’s just about making improvements as the season goes on,” Bryant said. “That’ll come. That’ll come with time.”

The Lakers were given today off; the rest will come a day late. They conclude their four-game trip Monday night in Memphis.

“I’m going to blame it on one-of-those-nights,” O’Neal said. “I know my guys are going to be looking for me. We just have to pick it up and try to get a win in Memphis.”

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Ring Measurements

Looking at the starts of the nine L.A. Laker championship teams:

*--* After Six After 10 Final Record Win Pct. Conf. Finish 1972 5-1 7-3 69-13 841 1st 1980 4-2 7-3 60-22 732 1st 1982 2-4 6-4 57-25 695 1st 1985 3-3 5-5 62-20 756 1st 1987 5-1 9-1 65-17 793 1st 1988 5-1 8-2 62-20 756 1st 2000 5-1 7-3 67-15 817 1st 2001 3-3 6-4 56-26 683 2nd 2002 6-0 9-1 58-24 707 3rd

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