Kings Have Capital, for Now

Their 19th defeat came three months early, wrong saint, Nicholas rather than Patrick, the Lakers now playing against the calendars of their seasons as well as their careers, not to mention the Sacramento Kings and whatever else strolls into their gym.

The Kings were 105-99 winners in the Christmas game at Staples Center, Wednesday night showing new uniforms and the same old shooting percentage -- 36.7 -- and an occasional disinterest in defense. They lost a 12-point lead in a mess of pick-and-rolls and, overall, in Chris Webber’s 26 points and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s combined shooting of 15 for 43.

So, the first regular-season meeting since Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, a game won by the Lakers in overtime on their way to their third consecutive title, concluded with the Kings stifling smiles and Webber holding his forefinger to his lips to shush the crowd.

“I think we needed this,” Webber said.

The rivalry, so tense in May and June, trash talk bouncing up and down the state for most of the summer, was played without incident. Rick Fox and Doug Christie let their feelings toward each other be, though Fox did not touch hands with anyone before the game, and neither did any of the other players.

Just a game, as it turned out, and another loss for the Lakers, who afterward spoke of progress but not success.

The Lakers are 11-19, half a game out of last place in the Pacific Division, 11 1/2 games behind the first-place Kings, with 52 games to play. In an arena whose fans poured out their hearts before the game, whose emotions rose and fell like the loosened white feathers from the fringes of the Laker Girl uniforms, the Lakers had leads of seven points in the first quarter, seven points in the second and 12 points in the third. Then, they had neither the legs nor the composure on offense to carry their lead another 15 minutes.

“We haven’t had enough positive things happen collectively to go to that well as a unit,” Fox said.

The Kings’ run was 24-6, from a 65-53 deficit to a 77-71 lead. Peja Stojakovic had 12 points in the third quarter, Webber had 10 in the fourth, and then it was done, most of the crowd rising to depart with still a minute to play.

Bryant and O’Neal each scored 27 points. O’Neal had 17 rebounds, Bryant 15, matching his career best. But, neither shot well, the Kings scored 52 of their points from around the rim, and O’Neal, more than three months from surgery, played most of the game below the rim.

“Floor bound,” Phil Jackson called it.

O’Neal left without comment.

“He’s not as explosive as he was at one point in his career, obviously,” Jackson said. “But, he’s still capable of doing the things that are going to create defensive overplays, constant double teams, all types of things that give other people great opportunities to play basketball around him, regardless of whether he can be explosive and dunk the ball through the series of four ... arms.

“I don’t expect it’s due to age. I think it’s due to an operation and whatever he has tying him down in his tennis shoes and all the other stuff that’s going on. I don’t expect to see him as active or as mobile, as physically dominating, as he was four years ago. I don’t think he has as great flexibility in his foot.”

By the fourth quarter, the Laker offense was basically Bryant shooting over two defenders or O’Neal shooting over three, three others watching.

“For a team as qualified,” Jackson said, “we’re not doing the things that make basketball sense .... This is just a matter of players playing with some insecurities right now. Right now they’re not confident they can do the job.”

The Kings wore them out with their high pick and roll, Webber and Bibby, or Bobby Jackson and Vlade Divac, open jumper or open layup. They are more athletic, and deeper, though their guard, Bobby Jackson, suffered a broken finger.

This could have been it, and it seemed Los Angeles knew it, or at least the part of Los Angeles that crowded into Staples Center.

O’Neal was introduced and he pointed to his family along the first line of chairs, on the floor. The people howled for Bryant and pleaded for defense and shouted derogatory things at Divac, who couldn’t be a nicer man.

Late in the third quarter, Robert Horry fouled Webber hard across the hands and Webber glowered at Horry, which brought the referees and a few players, but nothing more.

“I think the biggest difference is they are not making shots,” Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman said. “Kobe and Shaq are making plays, but I just think it’s tough to put a finger on it. I think lately they just grind things out, they stay in the game; they [used to] kind of wear you out. They are not doing that right now.”

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Inside the Box

*--* Comparing Laker and Sacramento forwards Wednesday: Laker forwards (Horry, Fox, Walker and George): 28 points (11-31, .355) King forwards (Stojakovic, Webber, Clark and J. Jackson): 66 points (25-48, .521)

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*--* Breakdown A look at Phil Jackson’s Lakers against Sacramento (with Laker scoring averages listed first): 1999-2000 Reg. Season: 3-1 Scoring: 102.8-103.0 Playoffs: 3-2 Scoring: 104.4-96.4 Overall: Lakers, 6-3 Scoring: 103.7-99.3 2000-01 Reg. Season: 3-1 Scoring: 95.0-96.0 Playoffs: 4-0 Scoring: 105.5-97.3 Overall: 7-1 Scoring: 100.3-96.7 2001-2002 Reg. Season: 3-1 Scoring: 97.5-93.3 Playoffs: 4-3 Scoring: 99.3-99.6 Overall: 7-4 Scoring: 98.6-97.3 TOTALS* Reg. Season: 9-4 Scoring: 98.5-98.0 Playoffs: 11-5 Scoring: 102.4-98.0 Overall: 20-9 Scoring: 100.7-98.0 *Totals include Wednesday’s game

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