It’s Too Grisly for L.A. to Bear

The countdown to the Miami Heat took another unexpected detour, one that led to quick-exiting fans and a round of boos, never encouraging signs for a team within a few days of a globally hyped get-together.

In what could be called a serious case of ill timing, the Lakers have suffered consecutive losses to teams they had dominated at home in recent years, the latest an 82-72 defeat against the Memphis Grizzlies in front of 18,997 Monday at Staples Center.

The Lakers had only 24 points in the second half, the fewest in a half for the team since it moved from Minneapolis. They scored only nine in the fourth quarter.

Kobe Bryant had 11 points on two-for-16 shooting, and the Lakers, living or losing with three-pointers most of the season, made only five of 28 from beyond the arc.

“Everybody goes through storms,” Laker Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “I haven’t been in a year where there hasn’t been some negativity. How are we going to respond?”

The Lakers lost at home against Washington for the first time in 12 years Friday, and they had been 18-0 at home against the Grizzlies since the franchise began play in Vancouver in 1995.

Tomjanovich often refers to the importance of “holding serve” at home, but the Lakers are now 8-5 at Staples Center, the basketball equivalent of too many service breaks.

The Lakers came into the game with the league’s fifth-best three-point percentage, but they missed many more than they hit from three-point range Friday.

Bryant missed all six of his attempts. Jumaine Jones was one for seven. Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins were each one for four.

“Just completely went cold the second half,” Tomjanovich said. “We had open shots, and sometimes that just snowballs. That happened to us earlier in the year in Utah where you just can’t make anything.

“When somebody doesn’t make it, the next guy’s like, ‘This is a big shot.’ I know all our guys would like to get some of those shots back.”

The Lakers were neither outstanding nor outdistanced in the first half. Bryant had a quiet start with four points and no free throws by halftime, but he had five assists.

“Sometimes you’ve got to take a couple steps back to take a step forward,” Bryant said. “Tonight’s probably that.”

The Grizzlies weren’t without their struggles. Their starting lineup combined for four points in the second quarter, and Pau Gasol, the only Grizzly among the league’s top 50 scorers, was held to two first-half points.

And yet the Laker lead at halftime was only 48-44, mainly because Memphis reserve forward Shane Battier had 14 points.

Lamar Odom picked up his fourth foul with 7:23 left in the third quarter, and the Grizzlies took their first lead, 58-57, a little more than a minute later on a tip-in by Gasol.

Bryant had been averaging 11.5 free throws, but he had only one Monday until getting fouled by Lorenzen Wright with 4:49 left in the third quarter. He finished seven for nine from the free-throw line.

Battier hit an off-balance three-pointer at the end of the third quarter to give the Grizzlies a 69-63 lead.

From there, it was the Lakers who were off-kilter.

“They were bound to win one,” Bryant said of the Grizzlies’ cold road streak against the Lakers.

Battier finished with 17 points, and Gasol had 14.

The Grizzlies had started slowly after making the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons of existence. But they are 12-15 after beating the Clippers and Lakers on consecutive nights in Staples Center.

“They came into L.A. and won two big games to get back into the playoff race,” Tomjanovich said.

Bryant answered a few questions about Memphis after the game before being peppered with queries about Saturday’s game against Miami. He said he tried to call Shaquille O’Neal, but got his voice mail and did not leave a message.

“He didn’t pick up,” Bryant said. “It went right to voice mail.”