Lakers get no traction despite additions

Lamar Odom’s shoulder held up and Luke Walton’s ankle was fine, but there was no cure for the Lakers’ losing streak.

They got back two of their wounded and had a revamped starting lineup, all to no avail, the result looking a lot like the rest in a long string of losses, a 113-86 defeat Thursday against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center.

Sixth place in the Western Conference was no longer theirs alone -- the Nuggets joined them in the standings -- and a seven-game losing streak became official, their longest of the season.

Both Odom and Walton showed spurts of lively play despite the altitude and the Nuggets’ push-the-ball pace, but they couldn’t put a happy face on an otherwise expensive day for the franchise.

Coach Phil Jackson and the Lakers organization were each fined $50,000 by the NBA earlier in the day because Jackson publicly suggested the league was conducting a “vendetta” and “witch hunt” toward Kobe Bryant.

It only worsened for Jackson, who had never experienced a seven-game losing streak in his 16-year NBA coaching career.

The Lakers looked sharp in the first quarter and even led by 11 in the second, but were caught at halftime, 51-51, and slumped badly in the third quarter, giving up 36 points on the way to an 87-72 deficit.

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony won the battle of the league’s top two scorers, outscoring Bryant, 26-25, a mere footnote to a game dominated by Nuggets reserve forward Linas Kleiza, who hit the Lakers for a career-high 29 points.

Defense remains an obvious Lakers problem. They were 24th in the league before Thursday’s game and their friendly per-game average of 102.6 points allowed obviously won’t decrease after their effort against the Nuggets.

“We didn’t sustain it,” Bryant said. “We did OK the first half. The third quarter, it just caved in on us.”

The third quarter was a killer for them: The Nuggets made 11 of 16 shots (68.8%) and had 10 assists, splitting open the game and giving the Lakers company in the sixth spot.

It also pushed the Lakers (33-32) closer to a lasting remnant of the 2004-05 season. They haven’t lost eight consecutive games since that forgettable chapter in franchise history.

The Lakers now need to go 12-5 the rest of the way to match last season’s 45-37 record.

Other than a decent game by Bryant, the lone bright spots to be unearthed by the Lakers were the returns of Odom and Walton.

Walton, who sat out 21 games because of a sprained right ankle and ankle tendinitis, had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes.

Odom, who decided five games was long enough to sit out because of a torn labrum in his left shoulder, had nine points, seven rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes.

“I felt all right,” Odom said. “I don’t think it made a difference, though. I think we need soul-searching as a team. We don’t understand how to take advantage of things we need to take advantage of. It’s March.”

Said Jackson: “Luke ran out of gas, and Lamar just wasn’t ready to play. We just have to get our legs underneath us and we’ll be fine.”

Lost amid the return of the injured was the reappearance of Kwame Brown in the Lakers’ starting lineup. In the sixth game back from his injury, Brown had no on-time arrival issues Thursday morning and scored 11 points against the Nuggets.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com