Lakers players brush off Phil Jackson's 'killer instinct' remark

Can a 53-13 team really lack a killer instinct?

That's what Coach Phil Jackson suggested Sunday after the Lakers slipped past the Dallas Mavericks, 107-100.

It was another victory in a regular season filled with them, but it was symptomatic of the Lakers' habit of playing down to a competitor.

The Lakers led by 15 points midway through the third quarter, but found themselves down six in the fourth, leading Jackson to observe that they had "perhaps a better killer instinct earlier in the year" and had "played around with teams at times."

A day later, his players brushed aside the notion that they sometimes lack a killer instinct, or even a finishing touch. "Teams are going to go on runs and sometimes you give up a lead," forward Lamar Odom said. "We expect it."

Then, after a pause, he added, "We kill them at the end of the game."

Kobe Bryant also wasn't overly concerned about Jackson's remark. "I think he's using that to motivate us," he said. "When we have an opponent down, we've been able to keep them down."

Good opponents, yes, for the most part. Bad opponents? Not always.

The Mavericks are somewhere in the middle, comfortably wedged into the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They uncorked a 21-2 run that started near the end of the third quarter mainly because their zone defense flummoxed the Lakers, enticing them into firing up a bevy of three-point attempts.

Almost predictably, the Lakers made only three of 14 from long range in the second half and got away from feeding the ball to Pau Gasol, who was a perfect 10-for-10 shooting in the first half. He had three shots in the second half.

"The zone took us out of our rhythm, really," Bryant said. "He wasn't able to get his touches in the post. We worked on it extensively [Monday]. It should be better."

The results could be known as early as tonight. The Lakers' opponent, Philadelphia (33-31), employs numerous zone defenses.

No price hike

The Lakers are not raising ticket prices for next season, a reflection of the struggling economy. The team typically raises ticket prices by about 5% to 7% annually.

Ticket prices for Lakers games will remain at $90, $115, $155, $220 and $260 for lower-bowl seats and $10, $35 and $45 for upper-bowl seats. Courtside seats will still be $2,600.