LAKERS SNAPPED BACK TO REALITY DISTRACTED L.A. CAN'T CLOSE OUT PHOENIX.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

PHOENIX - There were enough issues facing the Lakers on Tuesday night at US Airways Center before Phoenix's Raja Bell tried out a move that Kobe Bryant thought came straight from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

That was the only comparison for Bryant - something from the UFC's ``Octagon'' - after Bell clotheslined him on a drive, spun him to the floor, drew a flagrant foul and was ejected in the fourth quarter.

The play overshadowed the Lakers' 114-97 loss in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series and could lead to a suspension for Phoenix's defensive specialist from the league office.

The Lakers still lead 3-2 and will have the chance to close out the series with a victory in Game 6 on Thursday night at Staples Center. If necessary, Game 7 will be back in Phoenix on Saturday.

``It was a bad play on my part,'' Bell said. ``I overreacted. I've been hit in the face multiple times in this series and it was a bad play on my part.''

It came on a night full of distractions for the Lakers, from the announcement of an LAPD investigation into Kwame Brown and a reported alleged sexual assault to all the talk about a second-round Hallway Series with the Clippers.

Then Bell decided to snap Bryant's neck, and snap everyone back to reality in the process.

What started with Bryant and Bell swatting at each other and exchanging words in the first half turned ugly with 7:33 left in the game. As Bryant tried to drive, Bell wrapped his left arm around Bryant's neck.

Bell spun Bryant to the floor like a corkscrew, reigniting what has been a heated series. 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 penalty and ejected from the game.

Bryant had caught Bell with an elbow in the mouth earlier in the quarter, a play in which Bell was called for the foul.

``It's a physical game,'' Bryant said. ``I'm not out there trying to elbow somebody. That's not what I do. That's not how I play. If you get elbowed, you still have to keep your cool. I get elbowed all the time and I don't go out there and lose my head.

``I don't get disturbed by it. It actually excites me. I enjoy it. I grew up playing basketball that way. It's just part of the game.''

Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said he hoped the league would take into consideration the elbow Bell took in meting out punishment. D'Antoni also said he thought the Lakers bench was jawing at Bell during the game.

``We want him out there,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson added. ``We want their full team out there to play. It's the only way you can do it. You want to earn what you win.''

Bryant was ejected later in the fourth quarter, arguing for Brown to get a flagrant foul call and getting tossed by referee Leon Wood. Bryant and Bell were part of a double technical in the first half.

The Lakers, meanwhile, can take comfort in the fact that only seven teams in NBA history have come back from 3-1 down in a series to win, as the Suns are trying to do.

But the pressure will be on the Lakers to avoid a return trip here.

Bryant led the Lakers with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Lamar Odom had 18 points and 15 rebounds. The Suns' Boris Diaw totaled 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists on the night he was presented with the award for Most Improved Player.

Jackson thought the game turned at the end of the second quarter, when Diaw got to the line for seven free throws, all of which he made. Three came after a hard foul from rookie forward Ronny Turiaf, who also received a technical foul.

The Lakers, never a third-quarter team during the regular season, also let the game slip again after halftime Tuesday.

Two of the biggest plays came as Bell beat Bryant on a drive as part of a three-point play. Steve Nash then broke down the defense and flipped a pass in the lane to Diaw, who found Shawn Marion for a 3-pointer.

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. Nash drained the free throw to put the Suns ahead 84-62. Phoenix led by as many as 26 points in the second half.

Brown finished with 14 points and hit all six shots he took but picked up three fouls in the first quarter. The third foul came as he tried to draw a charge, with Brian Cook waiting at the scorer's table to check in for him.

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.

After their overtime victory in Game 4, a letdown was understandable, if not acceptable, for the Lakers.

``That's what happens when teams play with some desperation,'' Jackson said, ``and another team comes out at not quite the same level. We just got beat to the ball too many times.''

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 7 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) THEY SAID IT

(4) KEY STAT

(5) QUARTER BY QUARTER

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

(7) SUNS 114, LAKERS 97