SERIES REPORT

Abandoned by teammates on the screen-and-roll, by the precepts of the triangle offense and, occasionally, by his own aging body, Gary Payton said Saturday there was only one thing left to do.

“Put it on me,” he said. “Put it on Gary Payton.... So Gary Payton’s supposed to guard five people, huh? Gary Payton against the San Antonio Spurs? Blame me. Go ahead, do what you want to. Whatever. Put it on me. It’s Gary Payton against San Antonio, I’m down, 2-0. So bury me. I don’t care what y’all think.”

At the end of his worst statistical season in more than a decade, apparently on his way to his worst statistical postseason since he was a rookie, Payton sat in the middle of the Lakers’ practice gym and had himself a good, cleansing rant. He took every question at its worst, sneered at the basketball skills of the people he believed judged him all season long and poured sarcasm over all of it.

And a good time was had by all.

Here’s the best of Payton, taking everybody with him.

On organ donations in the postseason: “Everybody’s got a brain now, like you done played basketball for 50 years. You know what I’m saying? So you know what’s going on in this series. You lose two games. So what?”

On his bearing up through the criticism: “Y’all can blame me for everything, man, I don’t care. I mean, I don’t listen to all that. You’re going to put me here for one year and then you’re going to tell me I’m the problem of this situation now, huh? Whatever. Blame me. I could care less, man. I mean, I’m going to go home and play with my kids and play with my wife, anyway. So I don’t care. A year ago, you guys weren’t talking that. You were saying Gary Payton is still this and that and that. Now you come and put me on the Lakers and now I’m not having a good year or a good playoff. Oh, I’m the problem now. So, you know, hey, ain’t no problem.”

On defending -- or not defending -- Tony Parker: “I can’t stop Tony Parker. Yeah. OK. I mean, that’s great. How many pick-and-rolls you going to get into?”

On any of this bothering him: “I don’t care, man. Because I know you guys don’t know how to play basketball. That’s what the problem is. I don’t know nobody who knows how to play basketball. I know, I see that.”

On who’s really to blame for Parker, then: “I don’t know. You tell me. You tell me then.... You get to the basket and score a lot of times, you’re going to keep going to the basket. If you keep seeing somebody jump at you, blocking shots, will you think about hesitating then? Yes, you will. He’s having free rein to get to the basket. That’s just the way it is.”

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Rick Fox cut his lip during Saturday’s practice. Phil Jackson said he thought Fox would need stitches.... Slava Medvedenko (Achilles) is expected to play.... Fans are reminded to use tickets marked “B1” for Game 3 today. Game 4 tickets are marked “B2.”