Early slumber

Lakers' late rally can't counteract poor start vs. Kings

Kobe Bryant scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- From Kobe Bryant's game-opening airball to Shaquille O'Neal's 1-for-7 shooting and three turnovers in the third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers turned in a stomach-churning performance Friday night.

O'Neal had 20 points and 19 rebounds, but was not a factor in the second half as the Sacramento Kings won 103-90 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals. Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center.

"We didn't play well at all," O'Neal said. "Now we have a fight on our hands."

After staggering through the first three quarters, the Lakers put on a furious rally in the fourth. They cut their deficit from 27 points to 11, but got no closer.

"I don't think we woke up in time to realize a game was going on," said Lindsay Hunter, who had 14 points in a reserve role.

Until Bryant scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth, it appeared he might still be bothered by the food poisoning that had him vomiting as recently as Wednesday.

"There were points where I was fighting myself, especially early, to try to get my rhythm back," he said. "My energy felt pretty good. I was happy my legs finally came around."

A star-studded crowd, including Muhammad Ali, Sidney Poitier, Wayne Gretzky and a heavily bearded Brad Pitt, knew it was going to be a tough night for the home team the way things started.

Bryant tossed up an airball, then Derek Fisher missed. A few minutes later, O'Neal and Bryant each missed, and Fisher put up his own airball.

"He was maybe trying too hard," O'Neal said of Bryant. "Shots he usually makes weren't falling for him or me."

It was that kind of opening quarter. The Lakers shot 27 percent (6-of-22) and had five turnovers. The Kings sizzled on 54 percent shooting and five steals en route to a 32-15 lead.

The Lakers played catch-up all night, rallying to get within 12 points at halftime.

But Sacramento dominated the third quarter to open its largest lead of 24 points. The Kings went on a 13-2 run, including Chris Webber and Vlade Divac hitting open shots, for a 65-42 lead.

"We have to play with reckless abandon like they did," guard Brian Shaw said.

The third period was a nightmarish rerun of the opening quarter. Fisher missed, then O'Neal shot an airball, Rick Fox missed and O'Neal lost the ball out of bounds for one of his three turnovers in the period.

The Kings outscored the Lakers 23-12 in the third, when shots by Fox and Shaw each clanged off the rim. The Staples Center crowd booed as the quarter ended.

"They just played harder than we did," Shaw said. "If they're going to come out and play harder, they're going to win the series."

The crowd was on its feet in the fourth, only to see the Lakers lose a playoff home game to the Kings for the first time ever. Los Angeles was 7-0 against Sacramento at home in its three previous postseason meetings.

"We've never been down in this series before, so we'll see what we're made of," Shaw said.

 

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