ON THE FENCE LAKERS HURT BY DEFENSE, NOW AT .500 BOSTON 104, LAKERS 101.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

BOSTON - After everything was said and done, the Lakers couldn't even take comfort in the charter flight home. Not with a refueling stop scheduled for somewhere in the Midwest in the wee hours of the morning, the perfect end to a road trip that was anything but.

The Lakers' three-game tour of the Atlantic Division ended Wednesday night with another agonizing loss, this time 104-101 to the Boston Celtics at Fleet Center as Kobe Bryant's tying 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim and harmlessly away.

It sent the Lakers to a fourth consecutive loss and dropped them to .500 for the first time since November. At 28-28, the Lakers are .500 this late in a season for the first time since 1994, coincidentally the last time the franchise missed the playoffs.

That was a possibility they refused to consider, however, after their defense failed them once again and they couldn't close out yet another game. To make matters worse, Bryant's right ankle tightened up and he missed all six shots he took late.

For the first time all season, Bryant was asked if he thought the Lakers would make the playoffs. He answered yes, then added, ``It's just makes for a good Hollywood story,'' even if the remaining schedule and Western Conference standings scream otherwise.

``We've been through a lot the first half of the season with the coaching change and my injury and missing 14 games,'' Bryant said. ``It could be worse. We're in playoff contention. We're just going to battle back.''

The only saving grace Wednesday came as Minnesota lost 99-93 at home to Golden State, keeping the Lakers in the eighth and final playoff spot. Denver is only a half-game back, though, with a game tonight against Indiana.

``That's how it's going to be from now on,'' Lamar Odom said. ``Every game is a playoff game. We've got to finish strong.''

Just like they did against Toronto and New York, the Lakers could not close out Wednesday's game in the final minutes.

Their undoing against the Celtics started with Odom committing a charge on his way to the basket with 2 minutes, 10 seconds left.

Odom split his lip when he was hit earlier in the play without a foul being called.

He pleaded his case to referee Leroy Richardson to no avail, then pitched a towel and smacked the scorer's table in disgust during the subsequent timeout.

The second major mistake came from Caron Butler with 28.0 seconds remaining and the Lakers trailing 102-99. Needing a stop, Butler instead reached in and was called for a foul against Paul Pierce near midcourt.

``I just know I was playing good defense, trying to put a little pressure on him,'' Butler said. ``It wasn't no foul intentionally. Somehow, some way a foul was called.''

Pierce's two free throws put Boston ahead by five and gave the Celtics enough of a cushion to survive when Ricky Davis (29 points) bricked two free throws with 17.7 seconds left and a chance to seal the game.

Instead, the Lakers had a last chance to salvage something on this trip. Bryant ended up with the same 3-pointer he took and made at the end of regulation against the Knicks. This time, however, Bryant missed off the back rim.

Chucky Atkins took advantage of his matchup with Boston rookie Delonte West and finished with 29 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Pierce also had 29 points and hit a tough twisting bank shot with 46.1 seconds remaining over Butler.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Lakers forward Lamar Odom, left, shoots over Celtics forward Antoine Walker during Wednesday night's game at Boston's Fleet Center.

Brian Babineau/Getty Images

(2) Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored 26 points in 41 minutes but missed a late 3-pointer that would have tied the game.

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Box:

(1) STORY LINES

(2) OFF THE MARK

(3) GAME RECAP