Lakers end bummer of a trip
The trip ended amid a fireball of tension instead of a blaze of glory, the Lakers falling again, badly, in a month that finally ended, perhaps the best thing they could have said about it.
It’s becoming redundant to note, but the Lakers lacked inspiration, among other things, in a 109-92 loss Wednesday to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena.
It’s also becoming routine for Kobe Bryant to look at it all with disdain, the latest chapter ready to be edited after the Lakers finished 2-3 on their five-game trip and 9-6 in March, their most losses in any month this season.
Late in the game, his team down 16, Bryant spiked the ball after Jordan Farmar was called for a backcourt violation.
Then he stood alone at the end of the bench during a timeout, hands on his hips. With a swipe of his hand, he angrily knocked what appeared to be a water bottle off a chair at the end of the bench.
LA Times
Lakers/Hawks: No Effort, No Fundamentals
The Lakers began this road trip winners of six straight, looking to close out the regular season on a high note as they have in the past during championship runs. They went into San Antonio and began the trip with a great win without Andrew Bynum – and the second half of that game was seemingly the last time the Lakers have played with any kind of rhythm. Tonight, the Lakers will be heading back to Los Angeles with a losing record from their five-game road trip after they lost their second straight game of the trip 109-92.
Forum Blue And Gold
No redemption for Lakers’ trip
The Lakers head home now, no surer of their championship standing than when they left.
A disappointing 2-3 trip ended with a 109-91 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. Lakers coach Phil Jackson had told the team before: “You can redeem this trip by winning this game.”
The Lakers came out with effort, but they too often settled for jumpers and couldn’t get it together on defense.
“Our defense failed us,” Jackson said after the Hawks shot 54.2 percent from the field in the Lakers’ worst loss to Atlanta since 1974.
The Lakers’ lead over Orlando for home-court advantage in a possible NBA Finals rematch dropped to 11/2 games, but the way the Lakers are playing makes them no lock to even win the Western Conference.
OC Register
Lakers Dine on Another Slice of FAILcake
What’s the opposite of “peaking at the right time”? Whatever it’s called, that’s what the Lakers are doing. This five-game road trip, when they were supposed to find their swag and sharpen themselves into playoff form, is now over, and it was a straight-up calamity. They lost three of the five games. Two of them – including tonight’s brutal 92 to 109 slapdown by the Atlanta Hawks – were embarrassing routs. Monday’s loss to the New Orleans Hornets would’ve fallen into that category as well but for a face-saving fourth quarter rally. I’d propose that the Laker season has hit its low point, but that might be wishful thinking.
Silver Screen And Roll
