One last empty gesture

It happened quietly, the Lakers’ playoff lives drifting further and further into murky territory as a fan base sighed, an arena emptied in silence and the home team moved to within one loss of the end of its 2006-07 season.

There was too much Steve Nash and too little of anything comparable from the Lakers, who fell to the Phoenix Suns, 113-100, in Game 4 Sunday at Staples Center.

It is now the Lakers, not the Suns of a year ago, who trail the best-of-seven series, 3-1. Game 5 is Wednesday in Phoenix.

The images that unfolded told it all in the final minutes Sunday: There was no heartbreak or anger, but more of an air of resignation, if not fate.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss sat in his luxury suite, expressionless, arms folded as the clock ticked down. Kobe Bryant walked off the court with his head down after another stellar effort. Lamar Odom, after playing in enough pain that he was barely able to shoot a free throw, took off his bulky elbow brace and tossed it halfway down the court, watching as it came to rest under the basket support.

Lakers fans, having seen enough, began streaming for the exits during a timeout with 1:39 to play. The only “M-V-P” chant in the final minutes took place when Nash went to the free-throw line, and a handful of Suns fans made themselves heard.

It certainly wasn’t the way the Lakers would have ever envisioned things turning out after their 26-13 start this season. At this point, they’re barely making it out of the month of April.

Only eight teams in NBA history have won a playoff series after trailing, 3-1, including the Suns last year against the Lakers. Now, it’s the Lakers who have to reach out and find some optimism to touch.

“I’m not going to count them out,” Coach Phil Jackson said of his players. “They’re a team that has shown remarkable resilience against all odds this season, injuries or whatnot. They’ve come back many times and found a way to do things. We want to bring this game back home on Friday.”

To do so, the Lakers will have to find a way to control Nash, among other issues.

Bryant had 31 points on 12-for-25 shooting, plus nine assists and seven rebounds, but the statistic that almost stretched history was Nash’s career-high 23 assists, one shy of the NBA playoff record held by Magic Johnson and John Stockton.

“Not a shabby collection of people to learn from,” Nash said. “I grew up watching them and in many ways wanted to emulate them.”

Nash’s 15 assists in the first half tied the NBA record for assists in a half held by Johnson and Doc Rivers.

The buzzing, confounding Lakers defense that held Nash to 10 points and the Suns to 89 in Game 3 was nowhere to be found almost from the start. The Suns had 33 points in the first quarter, and the race was on.

“They have a lot of greyhounds on their team,” Jackson said before the game, and it was hard to argue.

Amare Stoudemire had 27 points and 21 rebounds; Shawn Marion recovered from a quiet Game 3 to post 22 points and 11 rebounds. Nash had 17 points and only three turnovers.

The Lakers bothered the Suns with a defensive trap in Game 3, but now they’re the ones feeling, well, trapped.

“They provided quick outlets for Steve and they moved the ball accordingly and got good penetration off our traps,” Bryant said. “They just had too much firepower for us today.”

Before last season’s playoff collapse, neither Jackson nor Bryant had ever lost a first-round series in their respective positions. Now Jackson is close to falling to 14-2 as a coach and Bryant to 8-2, thanks to the Suns.

Odom did what he could, his hyperextended left elbow being the most painful in a list of injuries -- left shoulder, right knee -- that have plagued him this season. He had 19 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, but made only eight of 19 shots and had trouble connecting from outside. He also made only two of six free throws.

Kwame Brown, the Lakers’ Game 3 hero, had nine points, four rebounds and five fouls. He briefly left the game in the first quarter because of a sore back but returned and played a total of 29 minutes.

“He was pretty exhausted by the end of that third quarter,” Jackson said.

Tired, damaged and apparently overmatched, the Lakers are looking at consecutive first-round playoff exits for the first time since 1992 and 1993.

Bryant put on a brave postgame face and did his best to sound buoyant afterward.

“We’ve just got one to win,” he said. “We’ll worry about that game and then come back here and worry about the next one.”

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Long odds

Eight teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven NBA playoff series, which includes Phoenix’s comeback against the Lakers in last year’s first-round matchup:

*--* YEAR TEAM OPPONENT 2006 Phoenix Lakers 2003 Detroit Orlando 1997 Miami New York 1995 Houston Phoenix 1981 Boston Philadelphia 1979 Washington San Antonio 1970 Lakers Phoenix 1968 Boston Philadelphia

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Los Angeles Times