Kobe and Lakers Hit Dead End

The end of the trip came slowly, gradually, then with decisive finality as the Lakers were pulled ever closer to a losing record.

Kobe Bryant played for the first time in 15 games, but LeBron James was the one making baby hook shots and a finger roll off an alley-oop pass in the final minutes as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Lakers, 103-89, in front of 20,562 Sunday at Gund Arena.

The Lakers, now 25-24, would need a win Tuesday against Utah to guarantee a winning record going into the All-Star break. They went 1-4 on a trip that included double-digit deficits in every game and, above all else, a loss to the lifeless Atlanta Hawks.

The usual problem spots -- defense and rebounding -- presented themselves again, leaving Coach Frank Hamblen wondering when, or if, they would disappear.

Cleveland had 45 rebounds to the Lakers’ 35, and the Lakers fell to 4-21 when their opponent scores 100 or more points.

“In order to be a playoff team you must defend and you must rebound,” Hamblen said. “We didn’t do [either]. Maybe these players can’t do that. That’s the only thing I can say.”

Bryant had 26 points on seven-for-22 shooting in 41 minutes and Lamar Odom had 19 points. James had 25 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 30 on 11-for-13 shooting for the Cavaliers.

“I think [Hamblen] is a little frustrated,” Odom said. “I think we are athletic enough and coached well enough we can do it. I try to hold [rebounding] as my campaign. You talk about this team and rebounding, I always take that as my challenge.”

The day started off with a challenge for the Lakers, some of whom were stranded at the hotel when the bus driver neglected to go back and pick up a second group of players.

“The driver said he was related to [Cleveland Coach] Paul Silas,” Odom said, only half-jokingly.

The mood improved when Bryant’s availability for the game filtered out from trainers to coaches to players.

Bryant, sidelined since Jan. 13 because of a sprained right ankle, had been averaging 27.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists before Sunday. The Lakers went 6-8 in games he missed.

He missed his first attempt, an awkward jump shot that ricocheted off the backboard and hard off the rim, but he slowly worked his way into the flow of the game.

His three-point play cut the Laker deficit to 47-43 with 1.4 seconds left until halftime. He had 14 points on six-for-12 shooting in the first half.

Bryant wasn’t as deft at the end of the third quarter, air-balling a short hook shot in the final seconds with the Lakers trailing, 76-70. He had two points in the fourth quarter.

“It’s just timing,” Bryant said. “I haven’t played in a long, long, long time. I didn’t have the timing to convert on some of those.”

Bryant said his ankle felt OK but acknowledged he was “wheezing” on a couple of plays. His appearance in Sunday’s game ensures he will play in the All-Star game next Sunday unless he aggravates the ankle injury before then.

Despite Bryant’s low-scoring fourth quarter, the Lakers hung around and trailed, 91-86, after a dunk by Odom with 3:32 to play. But Ilgauskas answered with a tip-in and James delivered a deft finger roll off Jeff McInnis’ lob pass to put the Cavaliers up by nine. The Lakers scored three points the rest of the way.

Ilgauskas had 12 points in the fourth quarter.

“Couldn’t stop Dr. Ilgauskas,” said Hamblen, who had to be corrected on the proper nickname. “Dr. Z? Just ‘Z’? He was too much.”

The revamped version of the Laker triangle offense made more appearances, and there were fewer isolation plays. Chucky Atkins, who averaged 18.6 points in Bryant’s absence, wasn’t as sharp -- only 11 points -- but Odom had one more point than he had averaged while Bryant was out.

“Hopefully they gained a lot of confidence when Kobe was gone,” Hamblen said. “Some guys emerged, found their roles on this team. Hopefully they’ll stay that way.”

With or without Bryant, the Laker trip didn’t do much except help balance a schedule that had many more road than home games remaining. Still, the Lakers have 19 of their final 33 games on the road.

“It’s a tough [33],” Hamblen said. “Most of our games are on the road. Our games at home are against contenders. We’re in a tough part of our season.”

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Bryant’s Return

Comparing the statistics of Cleveland’s LeBron James and the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who had not played since injuring his ankle against the Cavaliers on Jan. 13. The Lakers went 6-8 without Bryant:

*--* Bryant James MINUTES 41 46 FIELD GOALS 7-22 8-20 FREE THROWS 11-11 9-10 3-POINTERS 1-4 0-0 POINTS 26 25 REBOUNDS 4 8 ASSISTS 6 9

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