SOMETHING MISSING IN LOSS KOBE-LESS LAKERS HAUNTED BY POOR FREE-THROW SHOOTING, BAD DECISIONS UTAH 98, LAKERS 94.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer Somewhere at home in Newport Beach Newport Beach, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 66,643), Orange co., S Calif., on Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1906. It is a popular seaside resort and yachting center. Manufactures include electrical and medical equipment, computers, boats, and adhesives. , watching the Lakers lose 98-94 to the Utah Jazz on Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. , Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. must have wanted to throw an elbow at the television. With Bryant serving the first of a two-game suspension, the Lakers fell back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 10, losing their fourth straight game amid a hail of missed free throws and bad decisions down the stretch. They will be without Bryant again Tuesday night as they play the Jazz in Salt Lake City, the second game of a home-and-home set. The Lakers have lost their past four games by a combined 13 points. It would have taken a perfect game to win without Bryant. Instead, the Lakers picked a bad night for one of their worst free-throw shooting games (15 for 25) of the season. They missed 5 of 8 foul shots in the fourth quarter as the Jazz converted 12 of 12. And it came one day after Lakers coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. stressed to his team at practice that they weren't going to lose any more games at the line. The Lakers missed 3 of 6 free throws at the end of regulation in Wednesday's overtime loss to Memphis. ``You can get hypnotists to work with guys, and you can get soothsayers or voodoo or something,'' Jackson said. ``But clearly it's a matter of confidence and going out there and just settling in and doing the job you have to do as a professional player.'' The Lakers (15-15) not only must deal with their longest losing streak of the season, but also with a woeful woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: 6-8 record this season at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. . The play of the game came with 25.9 seconds remaining and the Lakers searching for the tying basket. Brian Cook For other persons named Brian Cook, see Brian Cook (disambiguation). Brian Joshua Cook (born December 4, 1980 in Lincoln, Illinois) is a power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. tried to use a back pick and cut to the basket off an inbounds in·bounds adj. 1. Basketball Involving putting the ball into play by passing it from out of bounds to a teammate on the court. 2. Sports Within the designated boundaries. play. Luke Walton Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28 1980 in San Diego, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His position is small forward. , who started in Bryant's place, thought he spotted an opening and rifled the ball inside to Cook. But Utah center Jarron Collins Jarron Collins (born December 2, 1978 in Northridge, California) is a professional American basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. Collins is a notable graduate of Harvard-Westlake School and Stanford University. got a hand in front to knock away the pass and deny the Lakers. On any other night, Bryant almost certainly would have found the ball in his hands. ``Luke, with his instincts, he thought he saw something,'' Cook said. ``We can't really fault one person. We just didn't execute.'' Keith McLeod Keith McLeod (born November 5 1979 in Canton, Ohio) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association at the point guard position. wound up with the ball and sank both free throws to put the Jazz in front 96-92. McLeod also scored a critical basket with 1:17 left as Smush Parker and Devean George lost track of him off a screen inside. It might not have come to that had the Lakers hit their foul shots. Walton missed both free throws during one trip to the line in the fourth quarter. George missed the second of two foul shots twice in the last 3:12. Bryant was suspended for an elbow he delivered to Memphis guard Mike Miller's chin in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's loss. He wasn't allowed to attend Sunday's game, though Odom said he planned on talking to Bryant by phone afterward. The Lakers are now 6-11 playing without Bryant the past two seasons. They were down Sunday to just 11 available players - three of whom are rookies - with Bryant suspended. Without Bryant, the Lakers had 32.7 points and 26.3 shots to account for. Jackson described his starters as ``licking their chops'' at those numbers. The only question was who would step into the void and what kind of shots would be there for the taking. Cook, who was so sick he sat out Wednesday's game, hit his first eight shots and finished with 19 points. Odom totaled 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and George added 15 points as five players finished in double figures. ``It has to do with taking good shots and understanding how to run the offense to get the good shots and the execution part,'' Jackson said. ``Having Kobe around is a bailout. We had a couple of things on and the execution wasn't there.'' Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (shorter version ran in Valley edition) The Lakers' Kwame Brown attempts a shot over Utah's Greg Ostertag and Andrei Kirilenko during Sunday's game at Staples Center. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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