The Los Angeles Lakers have a lot to dwell on - the least of which being why they were so badly beaten by the Sacramento Kings.

After being criticized by his coach for thinking too much about scoring, Kobe Bryant took just one shot in the first half of a 102-85 loss to the Kings on Sunday.

"I've never seen Kobe take just (one shot)," said teammate Gary Payton, who had 15 points. "I don't think any of us came to play, and this is the outcome that happened."

Bryant insisted he wasn't avoiding shots - even though that seemed obvious to everybody else at Arco Arena. After finishing with eight points on 3-of-13 shooting, he praised the Kings' defense, which has been among the NBA's worst this season.

"They doubled me every time I touched the ball," said Bryant, who scored at least 34 points in each of his last five games against Sacramento. "So I just moved the ball, waiting for the game to kind of open up. I've done that before when teams have doubled me."

Shaquille O'Neal also struggled in the first half, getting two quick offensive fouls and taking just one shot for Los Angeles, which lost for the third time in four games - their worst stretch since the All-Star break. O'Neal finished with 10 points and five rebounds, then risked another one-game suspension for using an expletive in a postgame interview.

O'Neal, banned for a game in February for cursing during an on-court TV interview, used a profanity when saying he was "not impressed" with the Kings' play.

Chris Webber had 25 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento, which led by as many 21 in the first half. The rout of their division rival was quite a turnaround for the Kings, who won for only the fourth time in 10 games.

Doug Christie added 21 points and played tough defense on Bryant. Sacramento needs just one more win or one Lakers loss to clinch its third straight Pacific Division title and the second seed in the playoffs.

"I can't really take credit for the defense on Kobe," Christie said. "First of all, it was a great gameplan from the coaches. Then, guys were helping me when he was putting the ball on the floor. ... He's a smart player. I was thinking he would pick his time to start shooting, but the guys stayed with me."