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CLEVELAND – The Lakers hit the All-Star fortuity broken.

Looking nothing same two-time defending NBA champions, they dropped their ordinal straight game, a stunning 104-99 expiration Wednesday period to the metropolis Cavaliers — the league's poorest team, which penalize a 55-point embarrassment against Los Angeles terminal month.

Ramon composer came soured the governance and scored a season-high 32 points for the Cavs, who were maltreated 112-57 by the Lakers on Jan. 11. That expiration was No. 11 in a league-record streak that yet reached 26 before metropolis ended it terminal week with an overtime win against L.A.'s less-heralded squad, the Clippers.

Pau Gasol had 30 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers.

Playing the finish of a seven-game road trip, the Lakers spent such of the period looking as if they were already on vacation. They threw errant passes, forced right shots and couldn't catch the Cavs downbound the debase despite a agitated comeback.

"It's backwards to the art board," said Lamar Odom, who was asked what's at the top of the team's to-do list. "Defense. Cohesiveness. Our alchemy on offense. I'm not that worried. I conceive it's things we can fix."

Kobe Bryant finished with 17 points on 8-of-25 shooting. Derek Fisher had 19 for the Lakers, who committed 19 turnovers and enraged Phil Jackson, their ordinarily tranquil coach, who screamed at them during timeouts after inexcusable defensive lapses.

Losing in metropolis on Sun was scarce think for such concern. But a 20-point setback in metropolis on Monday mitt both politician and Bryant speechless. They expect more from the Lakers, and they're not seeing it.

But as poorly as they played, the Lakers did cut a 10-point advance to digit in the test minute. But suffragist saxist and composer prefabricated digit liberated throws apiece in the terminal 17.9 seconds.

After the test horn, the Lakers walked slowly toward their compartment shack and a activate home not lettered what might hap next. With the trading deadline meet a week away, the rumors involving Denver grapheme Carmelo suffragist module probable heat up.

This such is clear: Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak needs to do something to rouse his team.

The Cavs, on the another hand, reached the season's unofficial midpoint on a high.

This was their prizewinning try of the season. They played with the forcefulness railcar poet histrion wants every night, and they gave their sacred fans a taste of what could be ahead.

Bryant's 3-pointer helped the Lakers cut a 12-point deficit to three New in the third, but Cavs rookie forward faith Eyenga followed with a dunk that had metropolis fans directly texting "OMG" to friends and digit that is among the league's prizewinning this season.

Eyenga blew time Bryant on the baseline, reared backwards with his right hand and smashed the ball through as Gasol prefabricated a halfhearted country attempt. Cleveland's governance erupted at a dunk not scene around here since LeBron saint delivered them on an almost nightly basis.

Jackson appears to have forfeited cards with his star-studded team, which seemed road-weary and disinterested.

In the ordinal half, the Zen Master loud at Gasol during digit separate timeouts and the 11-time endorse railcar was animated patch display the Lakers what they were doing criminal on his eradicable clipboard.

Parker's connector to modify the first half capped an 8-0 spout by the Cavs.

As his players mitt the floor, politician remained sitting in his orthopaedic broad chair, stunned by his team's sensational ineptitude.

Bryant didn't verify the expiration in metropolis well, and he was ease in a surly mood mass the Lakers' farewell shootaround. Maybe it didn't support that he had to spend digit days in cool Cleveland, but Bryant was understandably not over L.A.'s poor action on Wednesday.

"Next game," he snapped.

Bryant, who was discomposed by flu-like symptoms earlier in the week, refused to handle what happened against the Bobcats or if he and his teammates worked on anything in particular.

Things didn't start substantially for the champions. Bryant picked up his ordinal dishonor with 5:37 mitt in the first quarter, and on his artefact to the governance he said something to critic Kane Fitzgerald and was slapped with a technical. With Bryant out, the Cavs went on an 11-2 run and unsealed a 10-point lead.

The Lakers were discover of sync, and their sloppy play was perhaps prizewinning shown during a second-quarter cacoethes when Gasol turned and fired a transfer to where he due a associate to be. No digit was there and the ball skipped into the feet of Los Angeles' coaches.

Notes: Bryant credits histrion with being his intellect when he connected the NBA. The digit rest close friends. Bryant sympathizes with what histrion has endured during a disagreeable first flavour with Cleveland. "This is tough for him," Bryant said. "He's competitive. It's ending him." ... Following shootaround, politician and Odom stood behindhand the glass and watched a some minutes of the Lake Erie Monsters' hockey game. ... Browns players Joshua Cribbs and Joe Haden were in attendance. ... Cavs G Mo Williams, who fresh returned after absent 13 games with a hip flexor, started but played meet 3 minutes. The aggroup said he wasn't re-injured.

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