<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">OAKLAND - If the Lakers were going to finish behind the Clippers for only the third time in the 20 years the teams have shared Los Angeles, at least they did it in style Monday night. That would be with the players on the bench burying their heads in their hands in the fourth quarter. That would be in turning a three-point game midway through the third quarter into a 40-point game with four minutes left. That would be with what some are calling the worst Lakers team in history suffering what might have been the worst loss in this horror-story season, a 126-99 mauling by the Golden State Warriors at The Arena in Oakland. "It was embarrassing to me," Jumaine Jones said. "I can't speak for anybody else, but I was embarrassed." The good news? The 47-10 run the Lakers found themselves on the wrong end of in the second half did come to an end. And the Lakers did, at long last, hit a shot after missing 19 of their first 20 in the fourth quarter. Even with the Clippers losing to Houston, the Lakers (34-47) cannot catch them in the standings. The last time the Lakers finished behind the Clippers was the 1992-93 season. "What can I say?" interim coach Frank Hamblen said. "I'm sure they're not feeling very well right now. I'm sure they're disappointed at the season. I'm sure they're disappointed in how things have gone for them. "I wouldn't think, though, it matters who's No. 1 in L.A. if both teams are out of the playoffs." Kobe Bryant, who finished with 22 points but shot 9 of 20 and tried a wild self pass off the backboard in the third quarter, was asked if a summer spent hearing about being Los Angeles' second-best NBA team would sting. "It's going to be tough, but the reason I say no is because it's going to be fuel," Bryant said. "They can talk all they want. We're going to work hard in the offseason and rev up and come back fighting."</div> Source
