No Last Stand for the Lakers

The last Laker game at Staples Center in an ever-deteriorating season came and went like many of the rest, with an intriguing moment or two followed by an inexorable slide toward a loss.

There were Laker highlights sprinkled here and there -- Kobe Bryant, back after a one-game absence, made a turnaround three-pointer with his left hand and Sasha Vujacic rifled a perfect scoring pass to Luke Walton through the legs of Dallas Maverick guard Devin Harris -- but there were too many turnovers and too few defensive stops for any chance at a Laker victory.

The Lakers had not lost their last regular-season home game since 1995, but they fell to the Mavericks, 114-112, in front of 18,237 Sunday.

It used to be that regular-season home finales were the first part of a two-month march that took the Lakers through San Antonio or Sacramento or Portland and, finally, whomever came out of the Eastern Conference.

But the Lakers won’t be playing in May, much less June, undone by the inconsistencies of a spongy defense and oft-unidentifiable offense.

“Very strange,” Bryant said. “Hopefully this will be the last time it happens.”

Bryant had 33 points on nine-for-15 shooting, returning from a one-game absence spent with his wife, Vanessa, as she experienced complications related to an ectopic pregnancy.

He came close to a quadruple-double of sorts, compiling nine assists, seven rebounds and eight turnovers, and he added the game’s top shot, beating Maverick guard Jason Terry to a loose ball in the corner and heaving a fadeaway three-pointer as the shot clock wound down with 3:59 left to play.

“My left wrist has been sore for a while,” said Bryant, who had the wrist taped Sunday. “But it’s not anything that’s going to stop me from getting left-handed threes.”

Bryant’s shot wasn’t enough to keep the Lakers from losing for the 17th time in 19 games, well on their way to the worst record of any Laker team over a 20-game period.

After the Lakers completed a 22-19 home record, their worst since going 21-20 in 1993-94, Coach Frank Hamblen scooped up the stat sheet and offered some final words at the end of his media session.

“The dog’s barking and the caravan moves on,” he said.

The Laker caravan might not even pass the Clippers. With two games left, the Lakers are in 11th in the Western Conference, two games behind the Clippers.

“A lot of us really aren’t used to this,” forward Devean George said. “This is something new to all of us. The whole season we stayed unbalanced, whether it was coaching, lineups, chemistry of players, what offense we were running. We never really got into a groove.”

The Lakers had a chance to end the Mavericks’ six-game win streak but faltered after a late rally.

Down, 100-84, with 5:27 left to play, the Lakers didn’t go away quietly, closing the game on a 28-14 run.

The Mavericks, who are fourth in the Western Conference, made eight of 10 free throws in the final minute to finish the game.

The Lakers fell to 7-40 when allowing an opponent to score 100 or more points. The Mavericks got a lift with a 34-point first quarter in which they shot 63.2%.

“We have to be able to hold teams down and have consistency all year long,” Bryant said.

The Lakers’ 20 turnovers led to 32 points for the Mavericks.