NO DOUBT, AND NO VICTORY LAKERS' CONFIDENCE REMAINS DESPITE SEASON SWEEP BY SPURS SAN ANTONIO 98, LAKERS 89.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

SAN ANTONIO - In a four-day stretch that was supposed to reinforce their resolve and restore their luster, the Lakers stumbled twice, stumbled badly, offered no proof of any sort they are fit to knock out the Sacramento Kings or the San Antonio Spurs when the postseason arrives.

And when it was over, they walked away sounding more certain than ever they will do just that.

Another late comeback fell short Sunday in a 98-89 loss to the Spurs at the SBC Center, and now the Lakers have lost road games against their two greatest rivals in a matter of days.

Shaquille O'Neal's dominance has been insufficient, Kobe Bryant's jump shot has been missing. All that's left of the three-time defending champions, really, is the unwavering belief in their own enduring superiority.

What has emerged is a confounding credibility gap, with the Lakers' self-confidence appearing much sturdier than anything they're actually doing on the court.

With Sunday's victory, keyed by Tim Duncan's 27 points and 17 rebounds, the Spurs swept the regular-season series. The Lakers were unmoved.

``I honestly don't think it bothers this team at all,'' coach Phil Jackson said. ``I think they feel totally confident they can beat the Spurs whenever they put their mind to it. I think it's an unrealistic feeling, (as) a coach I'm not happy about it. But they're very confident about what they can do.''

O'Neal scored 32 points against the Spurs and Bryant scored 31, but no other Laker finished with more than eight points and they played from behind the entire second half, by as much as 19 points.

The end was nearly identical to Thursday's loss at Sacramento. Bryant started firing away, the Lakers knocked the deficit down to five points with 2:50 to play and then unraveled with a series of bad shots and turnovers.

Tony Parker, who finished with 18 points, hit six key free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

``We've only beaten them twice,'' said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, pointing to O'Neal's absence in the first two meetings. ``They are still the best team on the planet until proved different in the playoffs.''

So the Lakers will tell you.

``Last year they beat us three games to one (in the regular season), this year they beat us four games to zero. But we still beat them in the playoffs (last year), so why shouldn't we feel the same way?'' Brian Shaw said.

Bryant went 11 for 30 from the field, a line identical to his shooting performance at Sacramento, and for the first time this season failed to get an assist.

The Lakers' 12 assists were a season low. They barely avoided their worst first half of the season, with 36 points. And they lost for the fourth time in eight games, turning a drive for better playoff seeding into a struggle just to stay put.

Where they once eyed the fourth or fifth seed, the Lakers are again slotted at No. 7, a full game behind the Utah Jazz and just two games ahead of the Houston Rockets, whom they play Wednesday.

The two-week slump means the Lakers are almost certain to face the Kings or Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. And they are strangely unmoved by losing to both in a matter of four days.

``Other than the fact that we slipped from sixth to really, really in seventh, I don't think there's an impact to be had,'' Derek Fisher said.

Bryant allowed the recent losses were ``warning signs, challenging signs,'' but cut off a question about the concerns, saying, ``If you're looking for shaken-up confidence, you've come to the wrong place.''

Samaki Walker, cast aside by San Antonio two years ago, proudly wore his 2002 championship ring to the arena, a right he earned after the Lakers rolled his old team 4-1 in the Western Conference semifinals.

Now they've gone winless against San Antonio in the regular season for the first time since 1993-94.

``Maybe they got it out of their system,'' Bryant said with a smile. ``Now we can move on to the playoffs and sweep them. Then we'll balance things out.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Mark Madsen shoots around the Spurs' Tim Duncan (21) and David Robinson (50) on Sunday. With the loss, the Lakers fell to seventh place in the West, a full game behind Utah.

Doug Sehres/Associated Press

Box:

GAME RECAP