Loss Is Pinned on Free Throws

Kobe Bryant ended up with a nickel-sized knot on his forehead, the first sign the Phoenix Suns weren’t just a run-and-fun team.

A look at the box score revealed more Laker pain: A few days after setting a league record for the fewest free throws in a season, the Suns made 32 of 35 on Sunday in a 107-102 victory.

“The big thing that’s probably the biggest story ... they have 35 free throws tonight,” said Laker Coach Phil Jackson, a frequent foil of referees throughout the season.

“This is a team we told guys not to foul and they ended up giving them 35 foul shots. I think that’s probably one of the things we didn’t expect to have happen.”

Jackson and Bryant also were irritated by a non-call with 22.8 seconds to play. Bryant was rapped in the head by Sun forward Tim Thomas on a drive to the basket and the Lakers down, 101-97.

Sun forward Shawn Marion was immediately fouled after taking the rebound and the Suns built a 103-97 lead.

“No comment necessary,” Bryant said. “You can see the knot on my head.”

Primarily a jump-shooting team without Amare Stoudemire, the Suns averaged only 18 free-throw attempts a game, an NBA record-low.

The Lakers made 21 of 27 free throws Sunday.

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The origin of the feud between Bryant and Sun guard Raja Bell was explained by Bell, who was a rookie on the Philadelphia 76ers when that team played the Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals.

Bryant recently said he wasn’t concerned about Bell because he “had bigger fish to fry.”

Bell remembers being the small fish in a very large pond, trying to guard Bryant five years ago.

“At that point, the only way I was going to play in the playoffs was to get out there and get in somebody’s” face, Bell told the East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune. “I don’t think I was on his radar. Since then, we’ve had some pretty heated physicals ... so I would tend to think he knows me now.”

Bryant elbowed Bell in a game last November and “woke me up a little,” Bell said.

Bell also mentioned an altercation on the sideline in Los Angeles a few years ago in which he let Bryant know what he thought of him.

“Basically, I said, ‘Don’t be mistaken that because you can put a ball in a basket that you’re a bigger man,’ ” Bell said. “I really think that in his mind, I’m inferior to him. Not talking basketball -- as a man. And for me, basketball is basketball. But you’re not going to walk on me as a man, or we can take it right to the parking lot.”

There were no visible problems Sunday between Bell and Bryant.

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Rookie center Andrew Bynum was put on the inactive list for Sunday’s game. “More of a matchup than anything else,” Jackson said. “Of course, inexperience is a part of that.” ... Center Chris Mihm, who had felt soreness in his right ankle, did not play.