Lakers Limping to the Finish

The attrition of the Laker roster continued Friday, as did the inevitable move toward the end of a season gone awry.

Three games are left in a season that started with optimism, ran into mediocrity, and is now grounded by reality, the most recent evidence presented in a 115-106 loss to the Sacramento Kings in front of a subdued crowd of 18,997 Friday at Staples Center.

The Lakers played without Kobe Bryant, who missed the game because his wife, Vanessa, is experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, a potentially dangerous condition in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterine wall.

Bryant has been with his wife while she undergoes medical tests, team officials said. It is not known when he will return.

“He’s doing the right thing, being with his wife,” Coach Frank Hamblen said. “The most important thing is his family.”

With Bryant out, the Laker starting lineup consisted of Jumaine Jones, Caron Butler, Chris Mihm, Luke Walton and Chucky Atkins. Walton was the team’s shooting guard. He had 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

The players who took the floor Friday for the Lakers couldn’t have been more different from a preseason projection that had Karl Malone at power forward, Lamar Odom at small forward, Vlade Divac at center, Bryant at shooting guard and Chucky Atkins at point guard.

Only Atkins started against the Kings. He had 10 points on five-of-15 shooting.

Butler, one of the few Lakers to finish strong, had a season-high 34 points. Divac, who might have only three games left in his career, was scoreless in four minutes.

The Lakers, reduced to the role of spoilers after being officially eliminated from all playoff possibilities last week, were in the game until the final minutes, but they ultimately fell to 22-18 at home, one more game than they lost at Staples Center the previous two seasons combined.

They have lost 16 of their last 18 games. Their season ends Wednesday night in Portland.

Last Sunday, the Lakers were outrebounded by the Kings, 62-32, in a 124-105 loss.

They fared better Friday, taking 43 rebounds to the Kings’ 37, but there was still the ever-present problem of the Laker season -- defense.

The Kings shot 51.3% from the field in the first half on the way to a 67-52 lead. The Lakers gave a better effort in the second half but ultimately fell to 7-39 when giving up 100 or more points.

“Gave them 67 points the first half. Way too many points,” Hamblen said. “Gave them 48 the second half. Much better ... acceptable.”

The Lakers closed to within 98-92 on a free throw by Devean George, but Mike Bibby made a three-point basket with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter for a 101-92 King lead.

The Lakers came close again after a Brian Grant free throw, and again Bibby put them away, making a jump shot with 1:34 left to give the Kings a 109-102 lead.

Bibby, one of the few holdovers from a once-fierce rivalry, had 26 points for the Kings. Cuttino Mobley had 23 points.

Walton, a restricted free agent after the season, said he was not doing anything different against the Kings.

“I want to be here [next season],” Walton said. “I’m not trying to play any harder. It’s not something I’m trying to put on at the end.

“That’s just the way I want to play all the time.”

Said Hamblen: “Luke gave us a lot of life out there. Playing him out of position, but he knows how to play.”