Lakers Lose at the Finish

The Lakers and San Antonio Spurs won’t meet in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, making Saturday the last chance at a rivalry that once had Shaquille O’Neal trying to push past David Robinson, and Tony Parker effortlessly slipping by Gary Payton, and Derek Fisher carving out a spot in Laker lore with 0.4 of a second to play.

The Spurs probably will go into the playoffs as the Western Conference’s No. 2 team, but memories of past trophies are all that’s left for the Lakers to ponder this season.

Kobe Bryant had one of his worst shooting nights of the season and missed the potential game-winning jumper at the buzzer as the Spurs swept the four-game season series, 95-94, Saturday in front of 18,797 at SBC Center.

The Lakers fell 7 1/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the West’s eighth and last playoff spot. They have 10 games left, including tonight’s road game against Memphis.

Caron Butler had 27 points with little scoring help from anybody else. Bryant had 15 points on six-for-19 shooting and Brian Grant had 10 points as the third and final Laker in double figures on the night.

Bryant’s postgame session with the media lasted 90 seconds. There’s not much to say at this point.

Despite his off night, Bryant had a chance to beat the Spurs with an 18-footer after getting Robert Horry to bite on a pump fake. The ball hit the back of the rim and bounced away at the buzzer.

“Ten times I’ll take that shot and make nine of them,” Bryant said.

Based on that math, given the slump the Lakers are experiencing -- 10 losses in 11 games and seven in a row on the road -- it’s almost expected this would be the one that bounced out.

Laker Coach Frank Hamblen, one of the team’s harshest critics as the losses have continued to mount, wasn’t completely satisfied with Bryant’s shot at the buzzer.

“I wanted Kobe to drive to the basket and then when Robert switched over to him, to drive to the hoop,” he said. “When you put the ball in a great player’s hands like Kobe, it is their decision to make.”

The Spurs were coming off their worst shooting night of the season in a 102-84 loss Friday to the Denver Nuggets, but they shot better than the Lakers and might have had a few more breaks.

The Spurs took the lead on Brent Barry’s driving layup with 6.9 seconds left. Barry appeared to push Butler to the floor with his left forearm.

“I thought that it was a charge,” Hamblen said. “All of [Manu] Ginobili’s flops early in the game become important at the end of the game when that happens.”

Butler, one of the few Lakers playing well down the stretch, said it was a questionable call.

“It’s heartbreaking to fall a little short,” he said.

Bryant had two points in the first half and made only one of six shots, but Butler’s 13 points in the half helped the Lakers to a 48-46 edge at halftime.

Butler continued to carry the Lakers through three quarters, scoring 23 points. The Lakers held a 76-75 lead going into the fourth.

Bryant came into the game with his right ankle feeling the fatigue of a sprain almost three months ago -- “He won’t be totally recuperated from that until this summer,” Hamblen said -- and then he got kicked in the calf during the game.

It would be a tough chore to find a fully healthy Laker.

Lamar Odom sat out a seventh game because of a strained left shoulder and Chris Mihm left the game with 1:36 left in the second quarter after sustaining a moderate sprain in his right ankle. He could sit out tonight’s game against the Grizzlies.

“I rolled the heck out of it,” he said.

But the Spurs were also shorthanded, playing without Tim Duncan for a sixth game because of a severely sprained right ankle.

The Lakers were left with little comfort.

“We’ve talked in regards to [how] we’re still mathematically alive,” Hamblen said. “But it’s kind of dwindling.”