Lakers focus on rebounding

They set sights on bouncing back

Kobe Bryant was down but not out after the loss. "We let a huge opportunity slip away, so I'm upset, hurt," he said. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

LOS ANGELES - The Lakers' locker room was a somber place filled with hushed tones after last night's 97-91 loss to the Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Some players snapped at questions about the second-half collapse at Staples Center. Some players preached optimism, believing they could bounce back from the loss. Some players were at a loss as to what happened as the Celtics rallied from a 24-point deficit.

"It's probably one of the worst losses I've ever had in my career," said Vladimir Radmanovic. "We almost had a win and then everything we built in the first, second, and third quarter fell apart. I don't have an explanation. We have to see what went wrong and try to avoid it. They made a huge comeback and you have to give them credit for that."

No team had ever overcome more than a 15-point deficit after the first quarter. The Lakers were faced with the flip side, a collapse of embarrassing proportions. They could have and should have tied the series last night, but now stand one game away from elimination.

"Our back is against the wall, but it's just a game at a time, and that's one thing we have to understand," said coach Phil Jackson. "We have to keep forcing the action because anything can happen in these situations. You just keep playing through it and you'll find a way to keep succeeding as you go along. We lost that third quarter and left that energy out there on the floor."

Jackson wondered if he made a mistake with the topic of his Game 4 halftime speech. With his team holding an 18-point lead, Jackson thought it wise to remind the Lakers of past struggles in the third quarter. He believed that would be the best way to avoid another weak start to the second half.

"Maybe I shouldn't have talked about it at halftime," said Jackson. "But I mentioned it to them at halftime, that we had to come out and win that third quarter. We talked about the disparity."

The Lakers were outscored, 31-15, in the third. The Celtics shot 61 percent from the floor, while the Lakers shot 28 percent (5 for 18).

"The played great in the third quarter and we played like crap," said Kobe Bryant, who connected on just 6 of 19 field goals and finished with 17 points.

Lamar Odom faulted execution, noting the Lakers went away from what worked so well early in the game. They will review the tape and, as Bryant said, "get back to work" today.

"It's frustrating," said Sasha Vujacic. "We're down, 3-1, but we're not done yet. We've got to stay mentally strong, so this should be a good test for us. We wanted to win the game and I know we were aggressive [in the second half]."

Not only do the Lakers have to review what to do on the court, they have to get back on track mentally. Jackson is confident his team can find its way back into the series.

"They're very depressed about it," said Jackson. "With the kind of momentum they carried into the locker room at halftime, having a 20-point lead . . . It's very difficult right now . . . These guys are resilient. They have disappointment, they come back. It's about team effort now. We have to make sure that we have a good collective energy again, come out and play that first half like we did before."

To do that, the Lakers are not looking past Game 5.

"I don't think about beating them three straight," said Bryant. "I think about beating them Sunday. You take one swing at a time chopping down a tree."

When asked how he would bounce back from the loss, Bryant said, "Whine about it, a lot of wine, a lot of beer, a couple of shots, maybe like 20 of them, digest it, get back to work [today]. Nothing you can do . . . We let a huge opportunity slip away, so I'm upset, hurt, disappointed. It's a huge loss, no doubt about it."