`BAD' LAKERS SHOW UP AGAIN BRYANT RIPS TEAM AFTER 17-POINT LOSS TO SIXERS PHILA. 108, LAKERS 91.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

PHILADELPHIA - The difference between the ninth-place team in the Eastern Conference and the ninth-place team in the Western Conference couldn't have seemed any larger Tuesday night at Wachovia Center if the Lakers tried.

Every piece of the Lakers' 108-91 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers felt predictable, from the 36-point, nine-assist game turned in by Allen Iverson to the poor shooting and lackluster defense that has plagued them the last two games on this road trip.

The Lakers saw Lamar Odom fall victim to foul trouble yet again, Chucky Atkins get ejected in the third quarter and Kobe Bryant sum it up with these words in the locker room afterward:

``We played horrible the last two games,'' Bryant said. ``The one positive is we've been inconsistent all season long, so being that we sucked really bad these last two games, maybe we'll play like world-championship caliber basketball the next three.''

One night after they lost 95-81 to the Washington Wizards, the Lakers were outplayed once again. Bryant finished with 20 points but Slava Medvedenko might have been their best player with 12 points in 28 minutes off the bench.

They trailed by 28 points in the third quarter and will head to Miami for Thursday's nationally televised rematch against Shaquille O'Neal and the Heat - who have won 10 consecutive games and have clinched a playoff spot in the East - on a decidedly down note.

All interim coach Frank Hamblen could do afterward was talk about the last month of the season and where the Lakers stand. After back-to-back losses, the Lakers (32-31) trail Denver by a half-game for the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot and are tied with Minnesota in ninth place.

``Our goal is to give it a heck of a run as far as making the playoffs and all the individual stuff has to be set aside,'' Hamblen said. ``Don't hang your head if you miss a shot. Get your tail back if you turn the ball over.''

The Lakers failed to get back on defense and Philadelphia burned them for it, totaling 21 fastbreak points to the Lakers' 4. Hamblen said the real number for the 76ers might have been somewhere closer to 34.

Even suffering a chipped fracture in his left thumb, Iverson encountered little resistance from Atkins and Tierre Brown, the Lakers' two point guards. By halftime, Iverson had 19 points compared to four combined points for Atkins and Brown.

Everything fell apart for the Lakers during a two-minute stretch of the third quarter. Odom was called for his third foul inside against Samuel Dalembert and Atkins was ejected with 8:26 left in the quarter after Iverson beat him with a crossover dribble on the break and drew contact as he banked in a shot.

Hamblen tried to get Atkins back to the bench after the guard was assessed a technical but could not keep him from getting a second technical and being tossed.

Atkins missed all six shots he took and finished with one point, his worst night in a month.

``I knew that he was about ready to go,'' Hamblen said of Atkins. ``I got him and tried to get him off the floor but I couldn't close his mouth.''

Less than a minute later, Odom was headed to the bench after he was whistled for his fourth foul on an Iverson drive. It was nearly identical to Monday night, when Odom was called for his fourth personal early in the third quarter against the Wizards.

Odom, who flung his wristband to the floor as he checked out of Tuesday's game, played only eight minutes in the second half and said afterward: ``How I look out there is how I feel.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Sixers guard Allen Iverson gets past the Lakers' Lamar Odom for two of his 36 points during Philadelphia's 108-91 win Tuesday.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

(2) The Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala tumble to the floor while going after a loose ball in the first half of the Sixers' victory.

George Widman/Associated Press

Box:

(1) STANDINGS

(2) GAME RECAP