Lakers take a turn for worse

The words had been tossed around with exuberance over the last week or so -- momentum, energy and, of course, Kobe Bryant.

But they all came crashing down at once, the Lakers looking less like the team that had won five consecutive games than the one that had slid downhill since mid-January with six- and seven-game losing streaks.

The events that took place Tuesday night were nothing short of unpardonable for the Lakers.

A 15-point lead was lost, at home, against the worst team in the league, which happened to be playing without three key players.

The result was a staggering 88-86 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center.

There were no alibis, no excuses, no could-haves or should-haves.

“There’s not much to say about that game,” Coach Phil Jackson said.

The Grizzlies came in with a 17-54 record, were allowing a pliant 106.6 points a game and were a sordid 1-18 in the second night of back-to-back situations. (They were beaten by Phoenix, 105-87, Monday night.)

They were also playing without Mike Miller (18.5 points a game), Chucky Atkins (13 points a game) and Damon Stoudamire (7.5 points, 4.8 assists). All three were injured.

But the Grizzlies’ zone defense sent the Lakers into a 34.4% shooting funk. The Lakers took 96 shots, made only 33 and the rest was easy to predict.

Bryant had electrified the league with four consecutive games of 50 or more points -- a streak that ended Sunday with 43 points against Golden State -- but he couldn’t do much of anything against Memphis.

He had 23 points on seven-for-26 shooting. He was also six for nine from the free-throw line.

The last shot wasn’t even diagramed for him. It went to Smush Parker, who was open in the corner for a three-point attempt with four seconds left. Parker’s shot fell short and Bryant took the rebound but had a medium-range jump shot from the baseline blocked by Pau Gasol.

Game over, momentum done, winning streak terminated.

“Kobe’s due to have a game where shots don’t go down,” Jackson said. “Those odds are going to function a little bit in that regard. Nothing was easy for him tonight.”

The energy that consumed Staples Center while Bryant chased Wilt Chamberlain’s 50-point streak was nowhere to be found, even as the Lakers methodically put together a 32-17 lead.

It dissipated just as gradually, the Grizzlies taking advantage of a third quarter in which the Lakers made five of 23 shots (21.7%) and scored only 14 points.

The regular season ends three weeks from today, with San Antonio or Phoenix as a first-round opponent, assuming the Lakers make the playoffs.

Much work will have to be done between now and then.

“We can set ourselves up either to play a seven-game series or get swept,” Lamar Odom said. “Go out there and play like that, it’s easy to get swept by good teams. Go out there and play the way we know we can play, we can push any team to seven games.”

Bryant’s string of 40 or more points ended at five consecutive games, four shy of his personal best set in 2002-03 and nine shy of the 14 strung together by Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62.

It might not be a bad thing, Jackson theorized beforehand.

“It’s what [it] is right now, but I don’t think it’s going to be enough to take us through the playoffs and win games,” he said. Sharing “was how we got into the situation where we did get to the last game against Phoenix last year ... distributing the ball and playing a team game. We can do this, but teams in the NBA can screw up a defense that will be tough enough for one individual player to have that kind of a game.”

A more modest streak, Odom’s string of double-doubles, ended at three games. He had three points but also 16 rebounds and 11 assists against the Grizzlies. He made one of seven shots in 39 minutes.

On top of it all, the Lakers’ lead over the slumping Denver Nuggets shrunk to two games for sixth place in the Western Conference.

Bryant tried to put the loss in perspective.

“You just flush it down the toilet,” Bryant said. “Move on [Friday] to Houston.”

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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Low point

The Lakers split their season series with the Memphis Grizzlies after Tuesday’s 88-86 loss to the NBA’s worst team, which played at Phoenix the night before. The Lakers are 4-6 against teams with the worst won-loss records in the league (records in parentheses):

*--* MEMPHIS (18-54) Date Site Result 11-12 at Staples Center W 91-81 1-9 at Memphis L 128-118 3-22 at Memphis W 121-119 3-27 at Staples Center L 88-86 BOSTON (21-49) Date Site Result 1-31 at Boston W 111-98 2-23 at Staples Center W 122-96 MILWAUKEE (25-44) Date Site Result 11-28 at Staples Center L 109-105 3-7 at Milwaukee L 110-90 CHARLOTTE (26-45) Date Site Result 12-29 at Charlotte L 133-124 1-26 at Staples Center L 106-97

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Source: NBA