Lakers just let everything go

Except this time the Lakers were on the short side of things in a pairing with those pesky northerly neighbors.

The Lakers grappled in another end-to-end affair with the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, when an early turnstile defense led to a 114-113 loss at Staples Center in a game marked by its physicality and untidiness.

And, fittingly in such a game, it was ultimately settled at the free-throw line.

Beno Udrih capped off his team-high 25 points by making two free throws with 4.6 seconds to play to give Sacramento its slim winning margin.

The foul? On Sasha Vujacic, committed as he lay on the court.

"I reached, but I don't know if I fouled," Vujacic said. "I got pushed down. Probably, they didn't see it. I ended up on the floor and I was called for the foul."

The Lakers had a chance to win it, but Kobe Bryant, who attempted only two shots in the fourth quarter, was blanketed by John Salmons and Mikki Moore and missed a difficult fall-away jumper as time expired.

He ended with 26 points, shooting seven for 18 with five assists, but made only one of seven shots in the second half.

It prompted postgame questions about whether he was physically fit -- pinkie finger and all.

"I'm OK," he said. "The team just doubled me and got the ball out of my hands, and you know, I'm moving on."

The Lakers (44-19) moved on to their first home loss in seven games, in part by allowing Sacramento to shoot 55%. More significant was a missed opportunity to create separation atop the Western Conference, with the San Antonio Spurs having lost earlier Sunday.

"Well, they got us back for the win we took away from them up there in Sacramento" last Tuesday, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "They played a more physical game than we did [Sunday] and got us into turning the ball over early in the ballgame."

Beforehand, Jackson wondered if the Kings (28-35) could maintain their intensity from five days earlier, when the Lakers erased a late seven-point deficit to win.

"The last time we played them, there was still a possibility of the playoff hunt for them," Jackson said. "Now that window's kind of closed off a little bit with the [two] losses they've had since we played them and you wonder if they can bring the same intensity to the game."

He was not left wondering long. They matched it and then some.