BRYANT CAN'T PUT FOURTH COMEBACK BID BULLS FINISH STRONG, STOP LAKERS CHICAGO 92, LAKERS 84.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

CHICAGO - If Jerry Buss' stated rationale for the Shaquille O'Neal trade was to avoid a fate similar to the Chicago Bulls - now 121-351 in six-plus seasons since Michael Jordan retired - perhaps a good first step for his new-look Lakers would have been actually beating those same Bulls.

Even that proved too much for Kobe Bryant and company on Wednesday night as the Bulls took control in the fourth quarter and put away the Lakers 92-84 in front of 18,524 at United Center, ending the Lakers' hopes of a three-game winning streak in embarrassing fashion.

So the Lakers returned to Los Angeles on a late-night charter flight, still a game behind the Clippers in the Pacific Division standings, still searching for an identity in the second month of the season.

With his teammates unable to get going, Bryant took 10 of the Lakers' 16 shots in the final quarter and scored 14 of their 19 points. He also had three turnovers, including an over-and-back violation, missed five 3-pointers and almost certainly was guilty of trying to do too much.

``If a guy can create shots or score, if the game turned out a different way everybody would say, 'Whoa, that was fantastic, way to take over the game,' '' Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. ``If you don't do it, it's like, 'What was that all about?' ''

At the same time, the Lakers' post players did far too little. The Bulls outrebounded the Lakers 51-37 and won a game in which they shot 39.5 percent. Chicago's Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, not so affectionately nicknamed the Twin Toddlers, combined for 28 points and 28 rebounds.

The Lakers, by comparison, turned to four big men Wednesday: Chris Mihm, Lamar Odom, Brian Cook and Vlade Divac. They combined for 19 points and 23 rebounds, with Mihm playing only 16 minutes and struggling to hold on to the ball when he was on the floor.

``We couldn't use our height or our physicality at all,'' Odom said. ``We couldn't impose anything on them.''

But the Lakers (9-7) didn't pin the blame either on Bryant or the big men. They lost because they took the Bulls - a team that brought a 1-10 record into Wednesday's game, a team they had beaten 102-93 on Nov. 21 at Staples Center - far too lightly.

``Every team in this league is professional,'' Lakers point guard Chucky Atkins said. ``But when you don't approach the game like you're supposed to, you're going to lose.''

To add insult to injury, the first ``We want Shaq'' chant of the season started with 9:50 remaining from the fans in Section 115. And somewhere Buss should have been glad he wasn't in attendance.

It was Buss who told reporters Sunday that by trading O'Neal, the Lakers sought to avoid the bottoming out that the Bulls have suffered through for more than a half-decade. Chicago matched its worst start in franchise history this season as well.

Bryant momentarily pushed the Lakers into a 76-74 lead with 8:30 to play with a fastbreak layup.

But rookie Luol Deng, one of four first-year players the Bulls trotted out Wednesday, came back with a reverse layup and 3-pointer to put Chicago in front 79-76.

Ben Gordon went hard into the lane on the next possession, hit a driving layup and drew a blocking foul from Cook.

The three-point play put the Bulls ahead 82-76, a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Deng (18 points) added a clutch jumper in transition with 1:48 left to keep the Lakers out of reach. Gordon scored 17 points off the bench and Kirk Hinrich finished with 17 points and seven assists for Chicago.

Bryant led all scorers with 28 points on 9-of-21 shooting and totaled 10 assists in 44 minutes. But he played two games wrapped in one. With four minutes left in the third quarter, Bryant had as many shots (nine) as assists and had attempted only one free throw.

He tried to take over in the second half, however, at his teammates' behest, helping the Lakers fight back from a 14-point deficit. After the game, Bryant said he would accept whatever criticism came his way.

``That's part of my job here,'' Bryant said. ``I want my teammates to be relaxed and just play freely. Let me take all the pressure and responsibility for the losses. That's fine with me.''

Odom said: ``It wasn't (Bryant). We just didn't make enough plays as a team to win. Period.''

The loss dropped the Lakers to 1-3 in the second of back-to-back games and ended a road trip that seemed filled with promise after the Lakers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.

The search for an identity will continue Friday against Golden State.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Lakers' Chucky Atkins can't bear to look as the Bulls' Eddy Curry celebrates a basket by Tyson Chandler.

(2) Lakers guard Kobe Bryant drives to the basketball in front of four Chicago defenders for two of his 28 points Wednesday.

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

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