ANOTHER BAD STREAK FORMER COACH SEES LAKERS LOSE 5TH IN A ROW HOUSTON 114, LAKERS 100.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

Maybe Phil Jackson saw something different than everyone else from high above in Jerry Buss' luxury suite Thursday night. Maybe he saw something other than a Lakers team that has lost 13 of 14 games playing out the final two weeks of the regular season.

Maybe he didn't see Kobe Bryant shoot 4 for 19 with his right leg heavily wrapped. Maybe he didn't see the Lakers surrender more than 100 points once again. Maybe he didn't see a game in which the Lakers trailed for the final 3 1/2 quarters.

Or maybe Jackson just crossed his first team off the list of those he will consider this summer. He sat impassively through the Lakers' 114-100 loss to the Houston Rockets at Staples Center, the fifth consecutive defeat in what is becoming another dismal streak.

It wasn't just Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady who dispatched the Lakers in Game 75 of the season. Scott Padgett had 16 points for the Rockets, part of a group of six players in double figures that included Bob Sura, David Wesley and Mike James.

Jackson was not available to reporters at the game and has said little publicly about his prospects for returning to coaching since he got back from a six-week vacation to Australia and New Zealand in February.

He sat next to girlfriend Jeanie Buss, the owner's daughter, and two seats away from Buss himself. The two men were not there to talk business, everyone said beforehand; in fact, they said barely a word to each other during the game.

The crowd did not acknowledge Jackson, who was shown sitting in Buss' suite on the television broadcast but not the video board. Former Laker Derek Fisher, in something of a surprise, also was a guest of Buss' at the game.

The Lakers, now playing for nothing more than pingpong balls, would have the No. 10 pick if the NBA Draft lottery holds to form. They fell to 33-42 and will play their next five games against likely playoff teams.

Interim coach Frank Hamblen, Jackson's assistant for seven seasons with the Lakers and Chicago Bulls, had only one wish for him Thursday.

``I hope he enjoys the game,'' Hamblen said. ``I hope we play well for him.''

The Lakers had perhaps their best chance yet to play spoiler, with the Rockets clinging to sixth place in the Western Conference standings by a half-game and learning Wednesday that forward Juwan Howard will be lost for the season with a viral infection.

Caron Butler finished with 24 points but had four shots blocked in the first half alone. The first three were by Yao, the fourth by 38-year-old Dikembe Mutombo, who wagged his finger afterward in a throwback to old days.

After sitting out Tuesday's loss to Memphis with a bruised shin, Bryant found his way onto the floor against the Rockets. His rig bandaged from above his knee to the middle of his calf, though, and he couldn't guard McGrady on defense.

Bryant wasn't afraid to test the leg, driving hard on two early possessions. He couldn't get hit a shot, though, whether it was a reverse layup or a 3-pointer, and endured his second-worst shooting night of the season.

Bryant did finish with a triple-double: 19 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

McGrady came out firing, hitting five of his first six shots on the way to a game-high 27 points. He curled around a screen, knocked down a 18-foot and ended up with a three-point play as Devean George fouled him from behind.

The Lakers had a chance to cut the Rockets' lead to a basket with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter but disintegrated, and Houston closed the quarter on a 9-2 run instead. McGrady faked out Jumaine Jones on a fastbreak, James hit a 3-pointer and Mutombo dunked home a miss.

With Brian Grant in foul trouble early, Vlade Divac played a season-high 17 minutes and finished with five points and two assists. Rookie guard Sasha Vujacic played only seven minutes.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Phil Jackson, right, watches Thursday's game alongside Lakers owner Jerry Buss, left.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) LAKERS at SEATTLE

- Ross Siler

(2) GAME RECAP