LAKERS HAVE A SMALL PROBLEM MINOR MISTAKES, BOYKINS ADD UP TO DEFEAT GOLDEN STATE 106, LAKERS 102.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

OAKLAND - After all their recent progress, it's still the little things that cause the Lakers fits. Untimely turnovers. Defensive lapses. And 5- foot-5 guards.

Earl Boykins, the onetime Clipper and NBA vagabond with the tiniest frame in the game, got loose late Tuesday night, got in the Lakers' way and got through their step-slow defense.

Boykins scored 14 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, helping the Warriors stem a late charge and send the Lakers to a 106-102 defeat at the Arena in Oakland.

The little things, indeed.

The loss prevented the Lakers from getting their first three-game winning streak of the season and washed away whatever confidence was gained in consecutive victories against Dallas and Utah.

Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers with 36 points, making 12 of 17 field goals. Kobe Bryant scored 19 points.

It was another fabulous night of playmaking for Bryant, who dished out 14 assists, but he left the scoring mostly to O'Neal. Bryant, who banged his right funny bone in the second quarter and wore a sleeve on it the rest of the night, scored just nine points in the second half.

Down a point, the Lakers lost a chance to go ahead when Derek Fisher ran over tiny Boykins on the fast break and was called for an offensive foul with 10.7 seconds left. Gilbert Arenas made a pair of free throws to extend the Warriors' lead to 104-100.

O'Neal made two free throws to cut the lead to two. Boykins answered with two free throws to give the Warriors the final cushion.

Adonal Foyle's 15-foot baseline jumper gave the Warriors a 10-point lead with 7:30 left to play, bringing the Warriors' bench to its feet. They would bump it to 11 points on a Jason Richardson 3-pointer before the Lakers began to rally back.

The Lakers got plenty of help from the Warriors. Arenas missed a pair of free throws, Boykins missed another and Boykins fouled Fisher behind the 3-point line with less than two minutes to play. Fisher made all three free throws to cut the lead to 101-100.

The Lakers came in search of their first three-game winning streak, and with an acknowledgment nothing they've done in the past few days can dispel the panicky feeling created by a poor six weeks.

``I don't think so,'' coach Phil Jackson said. ``Not until we win a few games and get back to .500. There's still a question about settling into the season, starting to play at a level where we were expected to, and to put some pressure on somebody out here to get back in a playoff slot.''

Still, consecutive victories over Dallas and Utah put the Lakers back in a good frame of mind and spurred the belief they were ready to emerge from the darkness. But life away from Staples Center has been uncommonly difficult this season. The Lakers were just 1-9 outside of Los Angeles before Tuesday.

``We've definitely been unsuccessful on the road early on this year,'' Fisher said, ``but it probably wouldn't have mattered much (where the games were played). We've won games everywhere there is to win. It doesn't really matter where we play, but that we're playing the way we're supposed to play. Until that time comes, we can lose a game anywhere. What we're moving toward is a point that we know every night we're going to win this game.''

The Lakers arrived here as a sub-.500 team, more resembling the local outfit than the defending champions. But enough luster remained to bring the Warriors their first sellout crowd of the season, including Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield.

And though this game was played a good 75 miles from Sacramento, there was sympathy here for their Northern California brothers to the east. A courtside season-ticket holder proudly displayed a yellow Lakers jersey with the No. 6 and ``Dick Bavetta'' spelled out across the shoulders - a reference to the lead referee in the Lakers' controversial Game 6 victory over the Kings last spring.

The Lakers built an early 10-point lead Tuesday but found the Warriors wouldn't fade away easily. Arenas, the former Grant High of Van Nuys standout, scorched Fisher and Brian Shaw for 17 points in the first quarter. Arenas made all seven of his field goals and accounted for all but six of the Warriors' points in the period.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Kobe Bryant moves past Golden State's Gilbert Arenas in the first half Tuesday. Bryant had 19 points and 14 assists.

(2) The Lakers' Rick Fox (17) ducks around Golden State's Erick Dampier during L.A.'s loss Tuesday.

Justin Sullivan/Associated Press

Box:

GAME RECAP