EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The baseball cap Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson wore Saturday said it all: "Blah, Blah, Blah.''

That's the deal when you fall behind by 27 points at home in losing the biggest game of the season.

At least the biggest to date.

Now, the biggest will be played Sunday when the two-time defending NBA champions, trailing Sacramento 2-1 in the Western Conference finals, face the Kings in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series at Staples Center.

"We think we're OK,'' Jackson said a day after the Lakers lost a 103-90 decision and home-court advantage as well. "The simple mistakes hurt us in the ballgame, handling the ball well, taking the ball out of bounds poorly.''

And what about what the Kings did right?

"They definitely handed it to us -- there are no ifs, buts or ands about it,'' Samaki Walker said.

The Kings took command by outscoring Los Angeles 23-4 for a 36-15 lead in the second quarter. Then, after the Lakers closed within 12 at halftime, Sacramento outscored them 13-2 to begin the third period.

A 14-point explosion in a 45-second span, cutting Sacramento's lead from 87-61 to 87-75 with a little over seven minutes left, got the Lakers back into contention, but they weren't able to get closer than 11 after that.

Rick Fox smiled when asked if the Lakers are in trouble.

"Are we in trouble?'' he repeated. "I immediately think of school, like we're in detention. We'll be in trouble if we continue to do what we've done in the last two games.

"Their play right now should be credited,'' Fox said of the Kings. "They've had some success that will build their confidence, and rightly so.''

Should the Kings win Sunday, not only will they take a stranglehold on the series, they'll send a Jackson-coached team to its first three-game playoff losing streak.

Jackson has coached eight championship teams -- six in Chicago and two with the Lakers -- and is one behind Red Auerbach's record nine.

Jackson's playoff record of 149-53 is the best-ever percentage-wise, with his postseason wins ranking second behind Pat Riley's 155.

Asked about the Lakers' previous aura of invincibility, Jackson replied: "We don't believe one game changes that. We got hardheaded out there on the court, guys forced the action. Every time we forced the action, we were made to pay.''

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal -- acknowledged as two of the NBA's best players -- led the Lakers in scoring, but Bryant had 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and O'Neal 15 of his 20 in the first half.

Bryant made 8-of-24 shots while O'Neal went 9-of-20 including 2-of-10 after halftime.

"My message as a basketball coach is five players have to play together,'' Jackson said. "Their job is basically to stop Shaq and Kobe.''

The Kings did an awfully good job of that in Game 3.

"Our other guys are going to have to fill in the gaps,'' Jackson said. "That's what they've done in other championships. It's a team effort, we want to make it a team effort.''

Fox, Derek Fisher and Robert Horry -- so effective last spring when the Lakers went 15-1 in the playoffs -- combined to shoot 6-of-23 Friday night, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range.

Fox didn't play in the fourth while Horry played one minute and Fisher two.

"We're all disjointed, it's not just one individual,'' Fox said.

Bryant said he believed the Kings' latest victory was the result of their good play and the Lakers' poor performance.

"Yesterday wasn't too fun of a game, they jumped on us early. For the most part, it seemed like everybody was flat,'' he said, a surprising development considering the game's importance. ''(But) I'm not going to say it was all on us.''

Bryant said he felt good Saturday -- the best he's been since an apparent bout with food poisoning hit him early Monday -- several hours before the Kings won Game 2 at Arco Arena, where Game 5 will be played Tuesday night.

Bryant said he wasn't 100 percent in Game 3, but wouldn't blame his sub-par shooting performance on that.

"I was well enough to play, I was well enough to knock those shots down,'' he said.

O'Neal admitted he was surprised the Kings won Game 3 so handily, adding it was "just one of those days for us.''

"We're kind of angry,'' he said. "We didn't play well, we didn't shoot the ball well down the stretch at all. They just played a better game than we did.

"I'll be ready, we're going to be ready,'' O'Neal said of Game 4. "I just have to get the ball at my comfortable spots.''