Home Is No Help to Lakers

Kobe Bryant was cold, and so were the Lakers, as if they were still mired in their eternally long, strange trip that took them to forgettable losses in Detroit, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Dallas and on and on.

But no, they were back home again, finally, perhaps even mercifully, only to accomplish what they had become so accustomed to doing on their 2-5 swing.

They lost. Again.

Chucky Atkins, ejected from the Lakers in the Kwame Brown trade, hit a free throw with three seconds to play to give the Memphis Grizzlies a 100-99 victory Saturday at Staples Center.

Bryant, who had 26 points on 10-for-28 shooting, had a chance at redemption as time expired, but with Eddie Jones up against him, he air-balled a fadeaway three-point attempt from the right side.

And with that, the Lakers officially took their road woes home with them, falling to 12-9 at home, where 20 of their final 32 games will be played.

The Lakers are still clinging to eighth place in the Western Conference, a game ahead of Utah, which will be here Monday.

Bryant had only seven points in the first half but led the Lakers closer to an apparent victory with a 20-footer from the right wing that provided a 99-95 Laker lead with 1:07 to play.

But then Lamar Odom’s layup was blocked by Pau Gasol, and Gasol hit a reverse layup at the other end, and after Brian Cook was way short on a 16-footer with 13.8 seconds left, the Grizzlies had a final crack at it.

Atkins was fouled by Smush Parker while driving to the basket and made the first free throw. He missed the second, but one was all that was needed.

“Same script, really,” Bryant said, alluding to numerous games the Lakers have lost in the final minute this season.

“You’ve got a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation sometimes with this ballclub,” Coach Phil Jackson said after the Lakers fell to 25-25.

Jackson, who called a punchless November loss in Memphis “pathetic,” described a more recent 100-99 overtime loss to the Grizzlies, on Dec. 28, as “misery” before Saturday’s game.

“We do feel like we owe them a ballgame,” he said.

They still do.

The Lakers, who almost set a team record for fewest points in that “pathetic” 85-73 loss to the Grizzlies, had that many points by the end of the third quarter Saturday but couldn’t stop the league’s 28th-ranked offense, which easily slipped past its 90-point average.

The Lakers led, 78-77, and then Bryant took off, hitting a three-pointer, a 17-footer, a 19-footer and a free throw for an 86-77 lead.

But the Grizzlies came back, led by Gasol (31 points) and a pair of former Lakers.

Atkins, a Laker for a season who prospered in Rudy Tomjanovich’s offense, returned to Staples Center with the Grizzlies after forcing Washington to release him because he wasn’t getting enough minutes. He had 18 points.

Jones, an ex-Laker from a little further back, did more damage than Atkins, scoring 25 points.

Atkins, known as a jump shooter, made nine of 12 free throws and the Grizzlies made 30 of 42.

The Lakers shot 11 fewer free throws, making 27 of 31.

“You know that something’s amiss in your defense,” Jackson said, attacking the Laker defense instead of the referees for the discrepancy.

Cook cooled down after scoring 28 and 27 points in successive games, logging only 13 minutes because of foul trouble and scoring five points.

Kwame Brown, admonished by Jackson on Tuesday after a scoreless effort in Dallas, had one of his better efforts as a Laker -- 18 points, eight rebounds and stand-up defense that included blocking Bobby Jackson’s layup attempt at the end of the third quarter to maintain a 78-75 lead. He fouled out with 52.5 seconds to play.

“That’s as good a game as we can expect out of Kwame,” Jackson said.

Jackson was less willing to discuss the Laker woes at home.

“I’m not going to whine and moan about it,” he said, peering over at the group of reporters assembled at his post-game news conference. “You guys can do that if you want to.”