Byron Scott calls Lakers 'soft'

Lakers coach Byron Scott called his team "soft" four times after its 114-89 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, the Lakers' fifth straight defeat to their fellow Staples Center tenants.

"We were soft," Scott said of his team, which trailed by as much as 43 points as the Clippers won for the ninth time in their past 10 meetings with the Lakers.

"[I have] a lot of respect for that team over there. They're a good team. I don't consider them a physical basketball team, but they came out and punched us, and we were soft, period."

Scott said he had another message for his players, too.

"I told them to man up, basically," he said.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who finished with just four points on 2-of-12 shooting in 28 minutes, didn't disagree with Scott's point.

"He said the same thing I said. He just didn't use a toilet paper analogy," Bryant said, referencing a practice rant earlier this season in which he said his teammates were "soft like Charmin."

Lakers forward Ed Davis also agreed with Scott.

"We played soft," Davis said after scoring four points. "That's all there is to it. We played soft."

Said Lakers forward Carlos Boozer, "At times we played that way. They got whatever they wanted."

The Lakers could discard the game film, but Davis said he wanted to watch it.

"Obviously it left a sour taste in our mouth," Davis said. "We definitely got to see what we did wrong. We can't act like it didn't happen. They definitely kicked our ass all the way around, so we definitely have to watch the film when we get back."

The Lakers' five straight losses to the Clippers have come by an average of 27.8 points.

"They're just better," Bryant said of the Clippers. "They've just got better players. They just come at you in waves. They're just deeper. Got a lot of shooters on the floor, and we're short-handed."

The Lakers played without starters Ronnie Price (broken nose, flu) and Wesley Johnson (hip flexor), but Scott said he expected more.

"We'll get a response from practice [on Thursday], one way or another," Scott said.