Lakers loss doesn’t sit well with Kobe

The Memphis Grizzlies put a dent in the Lakers’ giddiness since acquiring Ramon Sessions, but there was a bigger story Sunday — the curious case of Kobe Bryant.

He sat for four of the last six minutes in the Lakers’ 102-96 loss, his chin tucked under his left hand at the end of the bench for most of it.

During a late timeout, he walked out of the Lakers’ huddle while coaches were diagraming a play. He has done that in past games, sometimes even sitting on the padded part of the scorer’s table, though this time he stood near the top of the key.

PHOTOS: Lakers vs. Grizzlies

He never seemed to find a rhythm after scoring only 18 points on seven-for-15 shooting. He had seven points in the first half.

He was taken out of the game with 5:45 to play and the Lakers down, 93-79. He re-entered with 1:51 to play and the Lakers still trailing, 98-89.

In between, a lot happened at Staples Center.

“Where’s Kobe?!� a fan yelled. Then came a “Ko-be, Ko-be� chant from some fans.

Bryant got up and headed to the scorer’s table at one point but returned to the bench after realizing there would be a timeout with the next whistle.

“I felt I wanted to make a sub at the time so I did,� Lakers Coach Mike Brown said. “Not one particular thing. Went with Metta [World Peace] for a couple minutes and then tried to go back to him. Obviously it didn’t work.�

Bryant was relatively quiet after the game, neither smoldering nor smiling as he spoke about Brown.

“It’s his decision to make,� Bryant said. “If you guys are looking for a story, I’m not going to contribute to it. I can’t sit here and criticize the decision. As leader of this ball club, it’s something I can’t afford to do. I’ve got to have his back. I’ve had his back the whole season. I can’t start doing something crazy now. It doesn’t make any sense.�

Brown said he “probably won’t� discuss it with Bryant.

“I treat him the same as everybody most of the time,� Brown said. “Obviously he’s a superstar. And when you have superstars, you try to give them some leeway because they’ve been there and done that. But if I make a sub for somebody I don’t feel like I always have to go explain to them why I made a sub.�

Said center Andrew Bynum: “I have no idea what was going on. Obviously, it was something [coaches] wanted to prove. You should ask those guys about it.�

The Grizzlies (26-21) weren’t exactly the NBA’s hottest team, having lost six of eight and gotten walloped by the Clippers the previous day, 101-85.

They averaged 95.1 points before Sunday but shot 52.1%, led by Rudy Gay (18 points) and O.J. Mayo (16 points).

Bynum had 30 points, though frontcourt mate Pau Gasol wasn’t as sharp, scoring 16 points on four-for-15 shooting.

Earlier in the day, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak told a group of about 1,000 season-ticket holders that the team had a good enough bench to help win a championship. He added, however, that one of the reserves might need to have a “special� performance at some point in the playoffs.

There wasn’t anything special about the Lakers’ reserves Sunday. Not even close. They were outscored by the Grizzlies’ backups, 41-9, but it looked like the least of the Lakers’ problems.

[email protected]

twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan