Trip puts the ‘L’ back in Lakers

The Lakers’ road trip has ended, which might be the only kind thing to say about it.

Thirteen days after leaving Los Angeles with optimism and anticipation cruising along with them at 30,000 feet, the Lakers bottomed out Sunday with a forgettable fourth quarter in a 99-90 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

Kobe Bryant significantly outplayed LeBron James, but the Lakers couldn’t handle the final 12 minutes, surrendering a 35-point fourth quarter on the way to their third consecutive loss.

It’s difficult to ignore the facts, all of which point to the Lakers heading north in the “L” column since beginning their 9,600-mile journey.

Coach Phil Jackson hoped they would go 6-2 on their longest trip since 1989, but 3-5 is what was delivered. They have fallen to 30-22, the first time they’ve been so few games above .500 since Dec. 29. Going back a bit before their trip, they are 4-9 since winning Jan. 17 at San Antonio.

The Lakers have two home games left -- New York on Tuesday and Cleveland on Thursday -- before the All-Star break.

The road has ended, for now.

“The only positive thing,” Bryant said, “is that it’s over.”

Bryant had 36 points on 12-for-24 shooting and James had 18 points on five-for-16 shooting, and all that mattered in the end was a meek fourth quarter for the Lakers, their trip coming to rest with ellipses instead of an exclamation point.

Bryant’s free throws gave them a 79-76 lead with 4:43 to play, but the Cavaliers began lining up for free throws from there on out, making 12 of 14 without any complaint from the Lakers ... other than to decry their own porous defense.

“No one could get in position to stop the ball,” Jackson said.

And yet, the Lakers still had a chance, trailing, 88-85, when Bryant was double-teamed at the three-point line. Larry Hughes poked the ball free and Sasha Pavlovic scooped it up, made a layup at the other end and hit a free throw after Smush Parker fouled him with 1:24 to play.

“It was a great defensive play,” Bryant said. “I was looking to read some of my cutters, try to get other players involved in that particular situation and he made a great defensive play.”

The trip started weakly for the Lakers, a loss in New York after Bryant was suspended for a game. Bryant returned to hear his name chanted cheerfully in Boston, a stunner in itself, but then the Lakers stumbled in Indiana as Lamar Odom seethed on the bench.

The Lakers rebounded with a decisive victory over Washington -- Bryant trumped Gilbert Arenas easily -- and they finally swept a season series against the pesky Atlanta Hawks.

Then, however, came a blowout and an angry Brian Cook in Detroit, followed by winnable games that slipped away in Toronto and Cleveland.

“It’s time to get home and feel better when we get back to L.A.,” Odom said.

Odom had another poor time Sunday, scoring 11 points on five-for-13 shooting. He had only one assist in 41 minutes. Parker and Maurice Evans each had six points and combined to make four of 19 shots.

Perhaps that’s why Bryant scored the Lakers’ first 14 points of the fourth quarter to supply the short-lived lead.

“According to Kobe, nobody else wanted to step up in that sequence,” Jackson said. “That was one of the things we were looking for, was somebody else to try and get going. Lamar looked like he wasn’t stepping into the vacuum.”

Said Bryant: “We just have to be aggressive, we have to be assertive. Sometimes when you’re struggling from the field, if you’re one of four or one of five going into the fourth quarter, you still have to be aggressive. Still shoot the ball.”

The Cavaliers had no such problems finding sources of energy as James struggled. Pavlovic had 21 points, scoring 13 in the fourth quarter, and Anderson Varejao had 12 as the Cavaliers’ reserves outscored those of the Lakers, 46-15.

And with that, the Lakers’ longest foray from L.A. in 18 years came to an inglorious end.

“We have to take it for what it is, just re-establish ourselves, get back home and try to build some momentum again,” Jackson said.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com