Lakers, Sub-.500 in Indy, Don’t Look Like an Elite Eight Team

Not all that long ago, there was talk of dynasties and domination as confetti dropped and corks popped, a stark contrast to the hushed words that came out as a season slipped further away, all but irretrievably, from a franchise unaccustomed to such reality.

The Lakers, staggering in the opposite direction of playing beyond April 20, unraveled on the road for a fourth consecutive game, after another quiet effort from Kobe Bryant and another submissive night of team defense in a 103-97 loss to the Indiana Pacers in front of 18,345 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Already bad, things quickly downgraded to worse for the Lakers when Lamar Odom left the game early in the third quarter because of a strained left shoulder. Team officials said he would be out indefinitely and undergo an MRI exam today or Sunday.

It was one final blow to add to the sting of a road trip that started out well enough for the Lakers but ended with a 2-4 record.

Bryant had 12 points, the Lakers fell to 6-29 when an opponent scores 100 or more, and the probability of missing the playoffs for only the fourth time in 45 seasons seemed stronger than at any time since the Lakers re-emerged last November without Shaquille O’Neal, Phil Jackson, Gary Payton, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher and, ultimately, Karl Malone.

Pacer guard Reggie Miller had a season-high 39 points, matching his age, and the Lakers fell 2 1/2 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Lakers are 32-33, below .500 for the first time since they were 1-2, with 17 games left and have one of the NBA’s toughest remaining schedules, their opponents having combined for a .542 winning percentage.

Odom, standing in a dimly lighted hallway outside the Laker locker room, tried to sound optimistic about his shoulder, saying “any game is possible next week.”

He was less buoyant in sizing up what faces the Lakers.

“It’s do or die. I’m tired of talking Xs and O’s or what we need to do. We’re either going to do it or we’re not going to do it.”

They didn’t do much of anything against the Pacers, who were without leading scorer Jermaine O’Neal and starting point guard Jamaal Tinsley, leaving the Lakers to try to stop Miller a month or two from his retirement. They couldn’t do it.

“Most teams who are trying to make a playoff run right now are at least putting together little runs,” said Laker forward Brian Grant, an 11-year veteran who has been on six playoff teams. “We’re on a four-game losing streak. We still have opportunity ... but we’ve got to start playing like a team who’s desperate. Too many more losses and we can forget about it.”

Bryant, plagued by foul trouble most of the game, made five of 14 shots in only 29 minutes. Optimistic to the end, he preached against panic.

“It’s not that good, but it’s not like, ‘Let’s just pack it in. We’ve got no shot of making it right now,’ ” Bryant said. “We’ve got to win. I don’t care who we play. I don’t care if we play San Antonio the last 17 games. We’ve got to figure out a way to get it done.”

Bryant sat out most of the fourth quarter not only because of foul trouble but because of the effectiveness of a lineup of Grant, Caron Butler, Jumaine Jones, Tierre Brown and Luke Walton.

Bryant went to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 2:01 left in the third quarter. Coach Frank Hamblen finally looked down in Bryant’s direction with 4:25 left in the fourth quarter ... and inserted Chucky Atkins instead.

Bryant re-entered with 3:39 left to play, with a 15-point lead cut to 88-82.

“I think if guys get you back into games, they deserve an opportunity to play,” Hamblen said. “That’s just the way I believe. I had to go with those guys.”

Atkins’ three-pointer with 1:47 left tied the score, 90-90, but Miller hit a three-pointer with 59 seconds left to give the Pacers a 95-90 advantage as the crowd chanted his name.

From there, Bryant made one of two free throws with 51.7 seconds left and missed a three-pointer with 27.9 seconds left.