LAKERS NOTEBOOK: STAPLES CROWD RATTLED BROWN.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - On the Lakers' first possession in Monday night's game, Kwame Brown found himself with the ball and an open shot from the elbow. He passed up the shot, however, and slid the ball to Brian Cook, who knocked down a 13-footer.

It turned out to be the highlight of the game for Brown, who went on to miss five shots in the first quarter and finish scoreless, with Lakers coach Phil Jackson lamenting afterward that he wished he could expect any consistency out of the fifth-year forward.

Back at practice Tuesday, Jackson said Brown's night started going south as soon as he sensed the Staples Center crowd turning on him.

``It was the fact the crowd booed him,'' Jackson said. ``I think that affected him. Once the crowd got irritated, he stopped wanting to have the ball. You've got to want to have the ball in this game. That's something that we have to go back to again and revisit.''

Brown twice was blocked in the quarter by Utah's Andrei Kirilenko and fumbled out-of-bounds a pass from Lamar Odom that should have been a dunk. He went to the bench with 3:54 left in the quarter, Jackson getting him out of the game before things got ugly.

The Lakers went on a 10-1 run without Brown and never trailed again. Brown finished 0 for 5 from the field and 0 for 2 from the foul line - all the more remarkable considering he hit every shot he took and totaled 18 points Saturday against Memphis.

So far this season, Brown has put up double-double numbers in only three of the 41 games in which he has played.

Jackson, meanwhile, was asked if the boos were a concern considering Brown was relentlessly booed by the home crowd during his final season in Washington.

``Players have to understand that the crowds come to see a performance and they come to see expertise,'' Jackson said. ``That's part of the package that you have to live with.''

--Performance review: Jackson has spent time recently going one-on-one with his players, albeit away from the court, working his way through the Lakers' roster during his annual midseason meetings.

And Jackson said he has heard a common theme that the team has underachieved, especially when it comes to winning close games. The Lakers are two games out of sixth in the Western Conference standings and are 7-7 in games decided in the final minute.

``With those handful of games,'' Kobe Bryant said, ``we're in a different situation right now.''

Said Odom: ``Our record is kind of deceiving. I feel like we're a much better team. ... If the playoffs started today, I don't think teams would say, `I want to play the Lakers,' especially the way Kobe is scoring the ball.''

--Also: With a victory tonight, the Lakers would reach the All-Star break with a 27-25 record. They were 26-24 at the break last season and 24-23 back in 2003, their worst record at the break with Jackson as coach.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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- Ross Siler