Lakers can’t outrun Bulls

Until further notice, if Kobe Bryant is not hitting while Lamar Odom is sidelined, the Lakers will find themselves in these troublesome spots.

They controlled the Chicago Bulls for 2 1/2 quarters but couldn’t ignite beyond that, falling, 94-89, after it became obvious Bryant wouldn’t be able to save them Tuesday at United Center.

Bryant had 19 points on six-for-19 shooting and fouled out with 52.4 seconds to play and the Lakers down by five points. He then wagged his finger in the general direction of the referees as the crowd, enjoying itself immensely by that time, began derisively chanting, “Ko-be, Ko-be.”

A little later, Coach Phil Jackson wondered if consecutive overtime games leading up to Tuesday took too much out of the Lakers, Bryant in particular.

Definitely not the way they wanted to start a six-game trip.

“We’ve got to do something or else we’re going to go downhill fast,” said forward Luke Walton, who had nine points and seven assists in 43 minutes.

The Lakers looked as if they were up to the challenge, taking a 62-51 lead on Walton’s three-point basket with 8 minutes 16 seconds to play in the third quarter. But Kwame Brown (18 points) and Smush Parker (16 points) emerged as the only consistent players on offense as the Lakers scored only 41 points in the second half.

“If I had my druthers, I’d probably say it was probably the two overtime games that we had last weekend,” Jackson said. “It looked like Kobe was just dragging out there. Even his free throws were short.”

Bryant was seven for eight from the free-throw line, getting some to bounce around before falling, and missed all five of his three-point shots. His shot was flat, and Jackson suggested he would try to limit his minutes tonight against Minnesota. Bryant, averaging 39.5 minutes a game, logged 38 against Chicago.

“Those two overtimes last week could have taken a lot out of us,” Bryant said. “But that is what this season is all about. You have to work through things like that. We just let one slip away.”

The Lakers still stand at a respectable 16-9, although their defense has collapsed at inopportune moments since Odom was sidelined last week because of a sprained ligament in his right knee. He is not expected to return until mid-January, at best.

Washington punctured the Lakers for 147 points in Sunday’s loss, the most they had surrendered since 1981, and they tumbled five spots overnight to 24th in the league in points given up.

Against Chicago, they were scraped up badly in screen-and-roll situations, with portly center Michael Sweetney scoring eight points in the fourth quarter -- on a dunk, two layups and two free throws -- as Andrew Bynum guarded him.

The end wasn’t quite as dramatic as an early-game hi-tech scoreboard cartoon -- of scads of bulls running rampant through the streets of Chicago and ripping through a Lakers’ team bus in front of United Center -- but the Lakers weren’t thrilled either way.

“That fourth quarter was bad,” Brown said. “We scored enough points to win the game. We just couldn’t stop them.”

The Lakers made only three of 19 three-point attempts (15.8%), which was “ragged and poor,” from Jackson’s point of view. They made only 14 of 22 free throws (63.6%). Vladimir Radmanovic scored only five points in 26 minutes after having his best game of the season with 27 points against Washington.

The Lakers looked fine up to the halfway point of the third quarter, Brown and Parker carrying them to what appeared to be a safe lead. It was one of those games that probably would have been tucked away with Odom and his output -- 17.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists per game -- in the lineup.

Instead, there was a collapse. The running of the Bulls ultimately took place.

“This is a ball game that I felt this team should have won tonight,” Jackson said.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com