Evidently, there were no fresh bulbs to be found anywhere in Conseco Fieldhouse.

Faced with their ninth playoff game in which they could have closed out an opponent, the Lakers came out cold and stiff and were run right out of the gym Friday night by the Indiana Pacers.

Not only were they embarrassed in the 120-87 loss to force a Game 6 of the NBA Finals, but it was their fifth defeat in a row on the road in a game that could clinch a playoff series. The Pacers blistered the indolent Lakers defense with 57.4 percent shooting from the field, led by Jalen Rose's 32 points and 25 from Reggie Miller.

Just two nights after Kobe Bryant led a remarkable second-half Lakers performance to win 120-118 in overtime, Bryant was 4-for-20 from the field with eight points and looked helpless trying to run with Rose and Miller.

Since the Lakers still hold a 3-2 edge in the series with the final two games if necessary in L.A., Bryant contended the loss was "no biggie."

"We're just trying to win a championship and put this game behind us," Bryant said. "No matter if we lose by 30 points or one, we just have to go to the Staples Center Monday and close it out."

This was the kind of game Jackson was talking about Thursday, when he said the great teams figure out their opponent's defensive and offensive abilities, then measure it going into every game to figure out how to win.

Friday, the Lakers left any concept of how to play with the Pacers in their hotel.

Only the 35 points and 11 rebounds from Shaquille O'Neal gave the Lakers some semblance of respect. But the "Big Aristotle" was hardly filling up the notebooks with words of wisdom. He was somber and resolute in his perspective on the game and the series, barely speaking above a whisper.

O'Neal had the same sense as Jackson that they had a chance to establish themselves as special by putting the Pacers away in Conseco. Instead, the Pacers came out sharp and the Lakers had no answers.

"It's a little bit (disappointing)," O'Neal said. "Every game is a big game for us now, and usually we'll bring it. We just can't let it happen again when we go home."

The languid Lakers defense was immediately exposed by the sensational shooting of Rose (22) and Miller (18) in the opening 24 minutes as the Pacers exploded to a 20-point lead before taking a 64-45 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Pacers shot 75 percent in the first quarter and made 22 of their first 32 shots as the second quarter reached the halfway point.

Initially, the Lakers were just slow and Rose was finding creases in their defense all over the floor. Once he got it going, it opened things up for Miller and everybody else. And Bryant makes a good point by comparing Rose's size -- 6-feet-8 -- to Portland's Steve Smith, but without the war-torn knees.

"Anybody's tough to guard when everything they throw up goes in," Bryant said. "They're a tough team to beat because they shoot the ball extremely well on their home floor. (Rose has) long arms, can handle the basketball, and shoot 3s. He's a tough matchup ... just a challenge for us to guard."

Especially when they don't have the energy to match the Pacers.

As if the final tally wasn't embarrassing enough, only the 19 points and seven rebounds from O'Neal prevented the Lakers from being completely humiliated before intermission. As it was, they showed little resistance on the defensive end. It was natural to expect a run or two from the Lakers in the second half ... but it was half-hearted, to put it mildly, as they never got closer than 13.

It was impossible not to identify this performance with the way they went flat after jumping to 2-0 leads over Sacramento and Phoenix and a 3-1 margin on Portland. Sure, they went on to win all three of those series. They'll win this one too, but they're 3-6 in clinching games during these playoffs, and winless in five attempts on the road. They were slow and indifferent in every aspect of the game.

The Lakers' Kobe Bryant tries to get the ball from Pacers guard Mark Jackson.(AP)

"The thing that bothers us the most as a coaching staff is defensively," Jackson said. "Our inconsistency, really playing the kind of defense coming off screens, challenge shooters, and putting some pressure on the ball so they haven't got the rhythm that they can and like to play with."

What we're talking about is the measure of greatness, and this shows how far they must go to figure out what it takes to put a team away once they are on the mat. This team just has too much to learn. Bryant is too young, the rest of the guys are too old and O'Neal simply can't win an NBA Finals game by himself.

They didn't want the game as badly as the Pacers, just as they didn't match the intensity of the Kings, Suns or Blazers when they had a chance to put them away early. Consequently, the two teams must return to L.A. for Game 6.

"We've laid the egg before, so this is nothing new to us," Lakers guard Ron Harper said. "This is our third egg of the playoffs. We had a bad game. Shaq was out there by himself and we didn't do enough around him. We'll be all right. We just have to go home, get a good night's sleep and get ready for Monday with our fans. We're done laying eggs."

They'd better be, otherwise they might end up fried.