LAKERS CAN'T GET OUT OF THIRD POOR QUARTER, DISPUTABLE FOUL DOOM L.A. BOSTON 112, LAKERS 111.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

There were so many subjects to address afterward, it was hard to find a place to start.

The Lakers could talk about how the final minute played out in their 112-111 loss to the Boston Celtics, whether Kobe Bryant really should have been called for that foul on Paul Pierce and what their return to .500 means almost 60 games into the season.

They could talk about all the missed free throws in the fourth quarter, why they have lost eight games in which they were leading or tied in the final minute of regulation or the 21-foot fadeaway that Bryant had at the buzzer to salvage the evening at Staples Center.

But the Lakers had to start with the third quarter they played against the Celtics, when they came out of the locker room and went from four points ahead to 14 points down, the stretch in which Sunday's game was lost, even if it still had yet to be decided.

If you add up every quarter the Lakers have played this season, the only one in which they have been outscored in aggregate is the third. They were crushed 37-24 in the quarter Sunday, with coach Phil Jackson describing his team's play as ``despondent.''

``It just seemed like I was going to keep stopping the game until we got it right because it was slipping away from us,'' said Jackson, who called two timeouts.

The Lakers did recover to tie the score in the final minute as Lamar Odom drove the lane and dunked as part of a three-point play with 15.3 seconds remaining. It atoned for the five free throws Odom missed in the game, three in the fourth quarter.

Out of a timeout, Boston put the ball in Pierce's hands and watched as he started to drive with the clock ticking inside of 6 seconds. Bryant reached from behind trying to poke the ball free and was called for a foul by referee Violet Palmer.

``The NBA's known for referees allowing teams to decide games,'' Jackson said, ``especially when they're tied.''

Pierce, who finished with 39 points, sank the first of two free throws with 3.2 seconds left. He missed the second, though, and Luke Walton chased down the rebound for the Lakers - a play in which Boston's Ryan Gomes could have been called for a loose-ball foul.

That gave the Lakers one last shot with 1.7 seconds left. Walton lobbed a pass to Bryant on an inbounds play but Bryant couldn't connect on a tough fadeaway over Pierce and Orien Greene.

``I had two guys on me,'' Bryant said. ``Somebody else should have been open, but it was a tough shot that just didn't fall.''

Bryant (40 points) also missed a 6-footer in the lane with 25.9 seconds left that could have tied the score after Ronny Turiaf blocked Wally Szczerbiak on a drive.

The Lakers additionally gave up a crucial basket with 56.7 seconds left as Brian Cook slid over to try and stop Greene on a drive. When Greene missed his shot, Gomes was all alone to put back the miss and make it 111-106.

``We waited until the fourth quarter to really turn it up and play with some sort of urgency,'' said Bryant, who described himself as ``very frustrated'' afterward.

The Lakers fell back to .500, a season-long theme, and lead Utah by 1 1/2 games for the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. They are now 8-7 in games decided in the final minute and 13-14 in games decided by six points or less.

``Looks like that's the character of what we have now,'' Jackson said.

It all traced back to the start of the third quarter, which might have been the worst the Lakers have played all season. Cook threw a crosscourt pass out of bounds nine seconds in and Jackson had that sinking feeling once again.

Pierce drove the lane, threw down a monster dunk on Chris Mihm and carved up the Lakers all quarter on his way to 15 points.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Boston's Paul Pierce, right, is forced to pass while being defended by Kobe Bryant.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer