Kobe Bryant wants Jeremy Lin, teammates to play ‘relentlessly’

The Lakers haven’t won a game in five tries, falling most recently to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, 112-106.

The game was competitive, coming down to the final minute, but All-Star guard Kobe Bryant wasn’t impressed.

“Big wow,” said Bryant after the loss. “We’ve got to win these games. Games that we have that are close, that could go either way, we need to figure a way to get these done. It’s a learning process but it’s very, very frustrating. It’s upsetting, but we have to be determined. I have to stay determined. Guys have to stay determined and try to turn things around.”

Bryant scored 39 points against the Suns, but shot just 37.8% from the field (14-37). The 36-year-old veteran said he wants his teammates to approach the game with a similar ferocity.

Point guard Jeremy Lin took a step in that direction, scoring 18 points including six straight free throws in the fourth quarter that kept the Lakers close.

“Lin was being more aggressive and taking shots. I think the biggest thing for him to learn is to play relentlessly,” said Bryant. “The most important thing [for my teammates] is that they understand the relentlessness they have to play with.

“I’ll go out there and I’ll leave on the floor everything, and compete and not be fearful of criticism or fearful of not playing well or missing shots. That’s the same way I want the guys to play, Jeremy in particular, because he’s a really good player. He’s just getting used to playing with that kind of effort and attitude.”

The Lakers are off until Sunday, hosting the Charlotte Hornets (1-3), but the competition doesn’t let up anytime soon. Next week the Lakers visit the Memphis Grizzlies (4-0) and New Orleans Pelicans (2-2) and host the San Antonio Spurs (1-1) and Golden State Warriors (3-0).

“We can’t worry about what happened the first five games. Just as easily as we lost five in a row, we can win five in a row,” said Bryant.

Looking at the level of competition ahead on the schedule, maybe not the next five in a row.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.