By Mike Bresnahan
May 2, 2011, 11:55 p.m.
If it's not obvious already, it should be by now.
Nothing will be easy for the Lakers in the playoffs, their margin of error perilously slender and their learning curve equally fragile.
Kobe Bryant's 26-footer at the buzzer hit the far side of the rim and bounced away, sentencing the Lakers to a repeat offense of the last round — a loss in a series opener.
They were up 16 early in the third quarter Monday night but somehow ended up yielding to the Dallas Mavericks, 96-94, in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals at Staples Center.
Bryant had 36 points on 14-for-29 shooting, though he had no assists and took a disproportionate nine three-point attempts, making four of them.
The perennial All-Star on the other team, Dirk Nowitzki, had 28 points and 14 rebounds, making 11 of 22 shots.
Of great importance, the Lakers' reserves were heavily outscored by the Mavericks' backups, 40-25. Jason Terry had 15 points, Peja Stojakovic had 10 and Jose Barea had eight.
Not the way the Lakers wanted to start another playoff series. But here they are, down a game, just like two weeks ago against New Orleans.
They're not pleased about it, either.
"We went in the locker room and felt like we gave a game away," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.
Said Bryant: "I'm concerned. This team can beat us. It's clear. We've just got to come in ready to play Game 2."
The Lakers didn't pound the ball down low very often, Andrew Bynum scoring eight points on three-for-eight shooting and Pau Gasol scoring 15 on five-for-10 shooting.
Bryant repeatedly said it wasn't his fault, pointing instead to the Lakers' reserves.
"It had nothing to do with me," he said. "I'm going to do what I do. I think the second unit, we've got to make a conscious effort to get the ball in to Pau and get the ball in to Andrew."
The Lakers relaxed after taking a 60-44 lead on Bryant's three-pointer with 10:39 left in the third quarter. They settled for too many outside shots and no longer seemed to care if the Mavericks scored.
Or as Jackson said, the Lakers "stopped playing defense and stopped playing offense."
Those are nonstarters for a playoff victory.
It shouldn't be surprising that Bryant scored a lot against the Mavericks. After all, he once outscored them through three quarters, 62-61, in December 2005.
Then there was this prediction by Magic Johnson via Twitter a few hours before tipoff: "There is nobody on Dallas that can guard Kobe. Expecting a monster series from him!"
Bryant had a solid third quarter, scoring 15 points on six-for-10 shooting. He bared his teeth after hitting a three-pointer over Corey Brewer. Then he blocked Shawn Marion's shot with his left hand. Then he held out his arms, fists balled, after making another three.
"He had the hot hand," Jackson said. "We were just going to go to him."
He wasn't infallible, especially late in the fourth quarter.
He got caught in the air on a drive against Jason Kidd and turned the ball over to Terry, giving the Mavericks possession with 20.3 seconds to play.
Gasol was then called for a foul on Nowitzki after Dallas inbounded the ball. Nowitzki made both free throws for a 95-94 Dallas lead.
Then came the gaffe of the game.
Gasol held the ball and waited for Bryant to curl around him near the three-point line, but the ball slipped away after Bryant accidentally hit it with his shoulder.
Kidd made only one of two free-throw attempts at the other end with 3.1 seconds left. The Lakers had a chance.
Bryant's three-point attempt was off, and so was their night.
Another series deficit faces the Lakers, this one seemingly stronger than the last.
Wade made Allen fall over, wow.
