Lakers show their bad side in loss to Nets

The Lakers have a series of solid victories this season.

Now they have their first bad loss.

They had a 14-point lead, and lost it, against a New Jersey team that had not beaten anybody with a winning record.

But the Nets surprised the Lakers, 102-100, Sunday night at Staples Center, never mind the fact they were at the end of a four-game trip.

Not good, not good, not good.

Now the Lakers (7-6) have a three-game losing streak, their first of the season, which they weren’t too excited to discuss.

Coach Phil Jackson gave a quick opening remark after the game and got up and left after a brief pause.

He turned back around after a question was blurted out and, after a few minutes of answers, he left abruptly.

“That’s enough, you guys,” he said.

Lamar Odom played better, as did Andrew Bynum, but Kobe Bryant made only seven of 21 shots and missed a potential score-tying free throw with 6.1 seconds left. He finished with 31 points.

Vladimir Radmanovic was also off the mark, missing all 10 of his shots, including an off-balance three-point attempt that barely hit the rim as time expired.

The Lakers have victories over Houston, Phoenix, Utah and Detroit, but now they have a loss to the Nets (7-7), whose victories before Sunday were against teams with a 23-53 combined record.

“That was a disappointment,” Jackson said in an understatement.

The Lakers led near the end of the second quarter, 47-33, but that was long gone by the end of the third quarter, with Vince Carter tying the score at 72-72 on a last-second three-pointer.

Then the lead really disappeared in the fourth quarter, the Nets pushing to an 84-74 edge on Richard Jefferson’s layup with 8:39 left. Boos from Lakers fans followed soon.

Then the home team made a comeback of its own, Bryant heating up with a three-point play and a pair of three-point baskets in a 55-second span that brought the Lakers to within 94-93 with 2:02 to play. They would actually go ahead twice, the last time at 98-97 on two Derek Fisher free throws with 41.8 seconds left.

With 6.1 seconds left and the Lakers down, 101-98, Bryant was fouled by Jason Kidd above the arc and was awarded three free throws after a brief conference by referees, who ruled he was in the act of shooting. Bryant made the first two, but not the third. He had made all 15 free-throw attempts before the miss.

“Missed it by a millimeter,” he said. “Skimmed the rim, rattled in, came out. I should have made it, though. A Christmas present came early for them. I’m not going to miss too many more of those.”

Bostjan Nachbar made one of two free throws at the other end, and the Lakers trailed, 102-100, with a chance to win or tie.

Fisher inbounded the ball to Radmanovic, who dribbled once and heaved an off-balance shot that grazed the front of the rim and fell short.

“I had to shoot it,” Radmanovic said. “I don’t care how many I missed before. That’s something as a shooter you have to take, especially when there’s three seconds left on the clock.”

Fingers could be pointed at Bryant or Radmanovic, but the main culprit was a defense that allowed 65 second-half points after the Nets scored 37 in the first half.

“Defense, defense, defense, defense,” Odom said. “We let them back in it.”

Odom had 16 points after averaging 7.8 in his previous four games. Bynum bounced back from a four-point effort against Boston with 12 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.

It wasn’t enough to counteract the Nets’ trio: Jefferson had 27 points, Carter had 19 and Kidd had 15 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds.

Bryant made three of 14 shots in the first half, but the Lakers still led comfortably at halftime, 49-37. Kidd had six first-half turnovers, and Carter couldn’t stay out of foul trouble (five points, three fouls in the half).

Afterward, Fisher tried to be a voice of reason.

“We can play smarter, execute better, play harder,” he said. “We are 13 games in and there is a long season still ahead of us.”

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com