LAKERS NOTEBOOK: LAKERS KEEP ON MISSING POINT.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND 

Staff Writer

The Lakers have no shortage of woes these days, but point-guard play might top the list.

Jordan Farmar remained in the starting lineup but did little to show that he should retain the spot, as he missed all three of his shots and had one assist, oneturnover and two fouls in 12-plus minutes. For the second consecutive game, Farmar sat out the entire fourth quarter in favor of Smush Parker and Shammond Williams, each of whom played fairly well and could be the starting point guard in Game 5.

Parker and Williams each played almost 20 minutes off the bench. Parker had ninepoints and Williams had seven, and all but two of those combined 16 points were scored in the fourth quarter.

"Smush, I thought, played good and gave us some points off the bench, and Shammond gave us some points," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "There are things they have to do to improve but I thought there was some improvement in their offensive games. Jordan didn't have a good game."

Helping hands: Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire had the big games, but the Suns also had balance. Five players scored in double-figures.

Shawn Marion had a particularly efficient game as he made 10 of 15 shots from the field and finished with 22 points and 11rebounds.

Leandro Barbosa scored 16points.

"(Phoenix) is a team that passes the ball so well as a team," Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. "All five guys. You never have a play off. You can play against some teams and if your man has the ball, he might not shoot. But this team, you're always on defense."

Walking wounded: Kwame Brown, already hobbled by two sprained ankles, returned to the locker room after the first quarter when he experienced tightness in his back.

Brown, who had a breakout 19-point effort in Game 3, returned midway through the second quarter but proved ineffective against Stoudemire as the Lakers lacked an inside game.

"(Stoudemire) is so athletic," Odom said. "We need Kwame to attack him as much as possible."

Points in the paint, a key stat in favor of the Lakers in Game3, went the Suns' way Sunday as Phoenix scored 54points inside compared with the Lakers' 44.

"That's been a problem for us all series," Kobe Bryant said.

Close it out: The Suns are mindful of history heading into Wednesday's Game 5. Only 11 of 193 teams have rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series, which are the odds the Lakers face, but last year the Suns rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Lakers in the first round.

"We were the wounded animal last year," Suns guard Raja Bell said. "When we had our backs against the wall, we played our best ball. Understanding that, we're going to have to try to take advantage of that home court situation and the energy that's in that building. We can't give them any life early."

Long memories: One of the biggest cheers came in the first quarter, when the Staples Center crowd learned, via video board, that Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat had been swept by Chicago.