AT A LOSS FOR WORDS LAKERS FALL, LEAVING RUDY T SPEECHLESS PHOENIX 107, LAKERS 102.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

PHOENIX - The locker-room door swung open Friday night at America West Arena and Rudy Tomjanovich, the Lakers coach who preaches every day on the importance of turning negatives into positives, didn't even bother to try.

``I have no comment on this (expletive),'' Tomjanovich said after the Lakers lost 107-102 to the Phoenix Suns. ``I have no comment about the game. I'd be wasting my time.''

At the end of a night in which the Lakers (5-5) blew a 17-point lead in the first half and Kobe Bryant missed his first 11 shots of the game, Tomjanovich didn't even make it two steps out the door to speak with reporters, perhaps the most stunning development this season.

There wasn't even the mirage of positive feelings to be found in the desert. The Lakers lost a game they thought they should have won, to a Phoenix team that now leads the Pacific Division, handicapped by a crew of officials that they believed did little right.

Point guard Chucky Atkins walked to the bus muttering about how the Suns could be called for only 17 fouls despite playing a small lineup of Amare Stoudemire at center and Shawn Marion at power forward.

An assistant said the Lakers came too far to lose to the Suns in a taut game. The bad feelings even extended to Chris Mihm, who sat out Friday with flu-like symptoms and wasn't even well enough to watch from the bench.

``We feel like we could have won that game easily,'' Lamar Odom said, ``if we would have done the little things down the stretch to complete 48 minutes.''

The two teams dueled throughout the fourth quarter,. but the Lakers ultimately suffered their first close loss of the season. With Phoenix leading 98-97, Caron Butler appeared to get hit on the arm by Quentin Richardson as he went up for a 3-pointer.

The shot was good, but the referees ruled that Butler was fouled before he took off. Tomjanovich disputed the call to no avail.

``Right when I heard the whistle, I went up for the shot,'' said Butler, who scored 21 points. ``So I definitely thought it was a four-point play. But that's how the game goes sometimes.''

Butler made two free throws, the last of seven points he scored in the final four minutes, and put the Lakers in front 99-98. But Steve Nash made the play of the game at the other end for the Suns.

Nash (18 points, 16 assists) pulled up on a drive to sucker in two defenders, then passed to Stoudemire underneath. Stoudemire went for the layup and Butler grabbed him by the arm, picking up his sixth foul in the process.

Stoudemire converted the subsequent free throw, and the three-point play put Phoenix ahead 101-99.

The calls against Butler and Walton had Tomjanovich jumping up and down on the sideline in protest. Jacobsen made only one of two free throws, but Bryant missed another 3-pointer and Marion dunked at the other end to finish things.

Bryant endured a miserable night. He missed a 12-foot bank shot on the Lakers' second possession of the game and failed to hit any of his 10 shots in the first half, though he did score 3 points from the foul line.

Bryant's first basket came 21 seconds into the third quarter as he followed up his own miss. He went on to score 26 points in the second half but missed his final six shots of the game, including four in the final minute.

Even so, Bryant finished with the Lakers' first triple-double of the season, scoring 29 points with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Lamar Odom goes for a shot, but the Suns' Steve Nash draws a charging foul.

Matt York/Associated Press

Box:

GAME RECAP