LAKERS CAN'T EXTINGUISH SUNS DISTRACTED L.A. CAN'T CLOSE OUT PHOENIX PHOENIX 114, LAKERS 97.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

PHOENIX - There were so many distractions facing the Lakers as they took the court Tuesday night for Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series against the Suns, it was hard to figure out where to start.

Kwame Brown was being investigated by LAPD in connection with a reported alleged sexual assault. Kobe Bryant was coming off a dizzying 48 hours in which he played overtime hero in Game 4 and celebrated the birth of his second daughter.

There was talk of a second-round series with the Clippers and its ramification for a city of basketball fans. And the Lakers also had to regroup after an emotional victory Sunday, the likes of which few of them had every experienced.

It was all too much for the Lakers. They weren't right from the start of the game, lost 114-97 and only can hope the complexion of this series didn't change overnight.

The Lakers still hold a 3-2 lead.

While the Clippers wait and wonder about a Hallway Series, the Lakers will play Game 6 on Thursday night at Staples Center. If necessary, Game 7 would be in Phoenix on Saturday.

The Suns might have to play Thursday without guard Raja Bell, who clotheslined Bryant on a vicious play in the fourth quarter and was ejected from the game with 7:33 left.

Bell could face a suspension from the league office.

Bryant was ejected four minutes after Bell in the fourth quarter by referee Leon Wood after not getting a call. Bryant and Bell were part of a double technical call in the first half.

The Lakers can take comfort in the fact that only seven teams in NBA history ever have come back from 3-1 down in a series to win, as the Suns are trying to do. But the pressure will be squarely on the Lakers to close out on their home court.

Bryant led the Lakers with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Lamar Odom had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Boris Diaw totaled 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while Steve Nash finished with 22 points and four assists for the Suns.

The Lakers, never a third-quarter team during the regular season, let the game slip away after halftime Tuesday. They missed shots around the basket, watched Brown pick up his fourth foul, threw away passes and let Nash run wild.

Two of the biggest plays came as Bell beat Bryant into the lane and drew a foul as part of a three-point play. Nash then broke down the defense and flipped a pass in the lane to Diaw, who found Shawn Marion for a 3-pointer. Marion had 21 points Tuesday.

If there was a final indignity, it came with 1:22 left in the third as Nash spun around second-year guard Sasha Vujacic for another layup. Vujacic slammed the ball against the base of the basket in frustration.

That drew a delay of game warning, the second of the quarter for the Lakers, and a technical foul. Nash drained the free throw to put the Suns ahead 84-62. Phoenix led by as many as 26 points in the game.

What started with Bryant and Bell swatting at each other and exchanging words in the first half turned ugly in the fourth quarter. As Bryant tried to drive on the right side, Bell swung and clotheslined him with his left arm.

With his arm around Bryant's neck, Bell spun Bryant to the floor like a corkscrew - - the hardest foul Bryant has received all year. Bryant got up, brushed off his shoulders and wagged his finger at the crowd as he walked around the court.

Bell was assessed the most severe flagrant foul and ejected from the game. Bryant had caught Bell with an elbow in the face earlier in the quarter, a play in which Bell was called for the foul.

The Suns led by 14 at the time but Bryant's free throw and a 3-pointer brought the Lakers to 93-83. At the other end, Nash rattled in a jumper and Leandro Barbosa followed with a 3-pointer to keep the Suns in control.

Brown (14 points) started the game and traveled the first time he touched the ball. He went on to pound in three baskets in the quarter but picked up three fouls as well and went to the bench for the rest of the first half.

The third foul came with 1:57 left in the first quarter, as Brian Cook was waiting at the scorer's table to check in for him. Brown made a feeble attempt at drawing a charge against Tim Thomas and was whistled for the personal.

The Lakers looked listless at the start as the Suns raced to a 7-0 lead and Jackson had to call timeout not even three minutes in. They trailed 15-5 midway through the quarter with their only points having come from Luke Walton.

With the Lakers lacking energy and down a big man in Brown, Jackson sent out rookie forward Ronny Turiaf for the first time in these playoffs. Turiaf had eight points in seven minutes but his two fouls at the end of the half proved costly.

Turiaf committed a hard foul against Diaw - his close friend since they played together in France as kids - and was called for a technical. Diaw hit all three free throws and the Suns took a 56-47 lead into the second half.

Guard Smush Parker, the Game 5 hero for the Lakers, missed the first six shots he took and finished with five points.

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 4 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Phil Jackson looks up at Kwame Brown, who walks to the bench after picking up his third foul in the first half, in the Lakers' loss to Phoenix on Tuesday.

(2) The Lakers' Luke Walton, left, Kobe Bryant, center, and Devean George complain about a call to the officials while Phoenix's Tim Thomas looks on as the Suns forced a Game 6 by winning Tuesday's game.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(3) no caption (Suns' player)

Noah Graham/Getty Images

Box:

(1) HERO

(2) GOAT

(3) QUARTER BY QUARTER

(4) WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND, BEST-OF-7 LAKERS LEAD SERIES 3-1