Lakers Yield Instead of Stop

SALT LAKE CITY â€”  The Laker season, wrapped up in one game: Kobe Bryant had 43 points on one of his better shooting nights, and the Lakers still lost.

The playoffs tend to reject teams that give up more points than they score, a fact the Lakers are finding out the hard way in another sign of a fading, if not finished, season that materialized Tuesday against the punchless Utah Jazz.

The Jazz had not broken the 100-point barrier in 12 games, but it cruised past the Lakers, 115-107, in front of 18,746 at the Delta Center.

The Lakers surrendered season- or career-best nights to yet another two players -- Mehmet Okur and Gordan Giricek -- and, with 15 games left, fell 4 1/2 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference’s eighth playoff spot.

“We couldn’t contain anybody,� Coach Frank Hamblen said. “It’s terrible. Something happens every night with this group.

“They have to make a decision: Do they want to pack it in or do they want to still try and compete for a playoff spot?�

The Jazz, which was a loss away from being eliminated from playoff contention, decided not to pack it in, putting a halt to a nine-game losing streak.

The Lakers, on the other hand, didn’t provide proof of a team wanting to stick around for the final four weeks of the regular season. They have lost six consecutive games, and their next game is Thursday against Denver, which has won 12 of 13.

Bryant made 16 of 26 shots against the Jazz, including nine of 15 from three-point range, but his effort was dissolved by a shoddy Laker defense that allowed Okur, a reserve forward, to tie a career-high with 27 points, and Giricek, a part-time starter at guard, to get a season-high 22 points.

“The frustrating part is our defense,� Bryant said. “We’re doing a terrible job of team defense. We gave up layups in the fourth quarter at a critical juncture of the game instead of making them work for it.�

Bryant’s assignment on defense was Giricek, who had been averaging 8.3 points before Tuesday. He had 10 in the first quarter.

Hamblen, when asked if Bryant’s defense was a concern, was silent for several seconds before answering.

“We’ve had problems with guards all year long,� he said.

It only worsened for Bryant and the Lakers, who fell to 6-31 when giving up 100 or more points.

Bryant had 25 in the first half and came within three three-point baskets of tying the NBA record he shares with Donyell Marshall, but his effort wasn’t unanimously appreciated.

“It takes you out of some of your stuff when a guy shoots 15 threes,� Hamblen said. “They just keep looking for him and looking for him as the shot clock’s going down. It hurts you also. Plus, on the other end, his man got off to a good start, Giricek.�

Bryant had 39 points on 14-for-17 shooting by the end of the third quarter, and the Lakers led, 88-82. But Bryant had four points on two-for-nine shooting in the fourth quarter, which was won by the Jazz, 33-19.

“He probably just ran out of gas,� Hamblen said.

The Lakers are running low, adding to their longest losing streak since a 10-game skid that ended the 1993-94 season.

They have given up 100 points in 18 of their last 24 games.

Momentum has been absent for almost two weeks.

“You want to always be trying to play your best ball your last 15 or 20 games and we’re not playing our best ball,� said forward Brian Grant, who has played on six playoff teams in the last 10 seasons. “Right now our defense is horrible. It’s horrible. Even if we do make the playoffs, with the way we’re playing defense, you make it to the playoffs and then what?�

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Race in the West

NBA Western Conference standings. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. (*-denotes division leaders):

*--* TEAM W-L PCT GB 1. Phoenix * 50-16 758 -- 2. San Antonio * 50-17 746 1/2 3. Seattle * 46-20 697 4 4. Dallas 44-22 667 6 5. Sacramento 42-27 609 9 1/2 6. Houston 40-27 597 10 1/2 7. Memphis 38-28 576 12 8. Denver 36-30 545 14 9. Minnesota 34-34 500 3 10. Lakers 32-35 478 4 1/2 11. Clippers 30-37 448 6 1/2

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