Phil Jackson, Michael Smith

Referee Michael Smith gets an earful from Lakers Coach Phil Jackson in the fourth quarter of the game against the Cavaliers on Wednesday night in Cleveland. (Amy Sancetta / Associated Press / February 16, 2011)

  • Related
  • Photos
  • Stories
Reporting from Cleveland

Painful, is how Pau Gasol described the Lakers' 104-99 loss Wednesday night to a Cleveland Cavaliers team that this season produced the NBA's all-time worst losing streak.

Negative, is how Gasol summed up the Lakers' seven-game trip that began with four victories but finished with three bad losses.


Get the monthly that has L.A. talking. Subscribe to Los Angeles Times Magazine at a special introductory rate.

"Painful, painful loss," said Gasol, who produced a 30-point, 20-rebound game, the first of his career. "Very disappointing. It's tough to understand. … We have to feel this pain as a team to be able to dig in and fight."

It was such an awful defeat at Quicken Loans Arena that Lakers Coach Phil Jackson didn't say anything to his team in the locker room.

"I just talked about when they have to report on Monday," Jackson said.

The report time put on the grease board was 11:30 a.m. Monday, after the All-Star festivities this weekend at Staples Center.

Jackson was asked why he didn't express his disenchantment with his team.

"I can say lots come next Monday," Jackson said.

One of the four victories was a quality win in Boston last Thursday. But then the Lakers completed the trip losing by 14 points in Orlando, by 20 in Charlotte and by five to a Cleveland team that has the worst record in the NBA (10-46) and recently lost 26 consecutive games.

And this was the same Cavaliers team the Lakers lambasted by 55 points Jan. 11 at Staples Center.

"It's a very negative trip," Gasol said. "The sensation in the mouth after each loss, it's been bad."

How did it get away from the Lakers?

"You tell me," Gasol said. "I wish I had all the answers and the right answers so I could fix it and this kind of game wouldn't even happen with the kind of team that we have. I would love to know how, why."

Some of it was because the Lakers shot so poorly again.

Kobe Bryant, who refused to talk to the media for the second consecutive game, was one of the main culprits, his game saying as much about his uneven play as it did the Lakers, who shot 42.5% from the field.

Bryan made eight of 14 from the field, one for six from three-point range. He finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

But he had seven of the Lakers' 19 turnovers.

Andrew Bynum, who complained about lack of touches and playing time in the Charlotte game, missed 10 of his 12 shots. Ron Artest missed his only shot and had one point in 18 minutes.

Defensively, the Lakers still are a work in progress.

Ramon Sessions had 32 points and eight assists off the bench for Cleveland, which led almost the entire game and broke away from an 82-82 tie with nine points in a row.

"I don't think nobody is believing in the defense right now, in the principles of it," Bynum said.

If there was good news for the Lakers, it was that Shannon Brown suffered only a bruised butt from a fall while being fouled in the third quarter.

Otherwise, the two-time defending champions have a lot to think about over the next four days off.

"It's definitely not rock-bottom for us," Bynum said. "We can come back and be the team that we know we can. We just need to put more effort, I think, into it."

broderick.turner@latimes.com

twitter.com/BA_Turner