The Los Angeles Lakers succumbed to their third consecutive loss, as Kobe Bryant and company fell short once again to the red-hot Memphis Grizzlies, 99-93, on Wednesday at Staples Center.
After giving the Lakers an early beating on their home court, the Grizzlies rubbed more salt on the bleeding wounds of the purple-and-gold franchise. Marc Gasol recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds and Mike Conley added 19 markers and 7 assists to improve the Grizzlies record to a league-best 13-2.
Bryant led the way for the Lakers with a game-high 22 points on 5-for-15 shooting and 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, while Jeremy Lin recorded 14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in 30 minutes of playing time.
After the game, the 36-year old Bryant expressed his frustration for losing another hard-fought loss at the hands of Western Conference elite like the Grizzlies.
"It's just as frustrating no matter how many times we lost by seven points or less," Bryant told reporters after absorbing their 12th loss of the season via ESPN.
"I mean, it's not like we have levels of frustration. It's either all or nothing. We've had some opportunities against some of the top teams in the West to win, and we just let it get away from us."
With another loss at the hands of the Grizzlies, the Lakers found their selves in the cellar of the Western Conference and just three games better than the still winless Philadelphia 76ers.
Although analysts predicted the Lakers to miss the playoffs primarily because of a very loaded Western Conference, nobody expected them to play as bad as they are right now.
Communication problem and trust issues are viewed as the culprits of the Lakers' current woes. And as expected, all the blame is directed towards Bryant, who is averaging a league best 26.4 points but on 36 percent shooting from the field.
After 15 games, the relationship between Bryant and Lin has remained at odds with the Lakers superstar snubbing offensive sets called by Lin in most occasions. In Sunday's loss against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers backcourt partner had another head-on collision during a time-out aimed to draw plays for a crucial ball possession, and this time Lin received a mouthful from a seemingly angry Bryant.
Like what Bryant texted to Lin hours after the Asian-American star was acquired by the Lakers in a trade with the Houston Rockets last summer, it appears there's really lots of work to do for them to be relevant this season.
