Kobe: 'Sometimes you have to pat yourself on the back over such an atrocious job'

The Los Angeles Lakers played such a bad first half on Monday that Kobe Bryant could do nothing but appreciate the sheer awfulness of it.

"Sometimes you have to pat yourself on the back over such an atrocious job," Bryant said following the 110-91 loss to the Indiana Pacers, a final score that didn't in any way do the game justice.

The Lakers trailed the Pacers by 33 at halftime, their worst halftime deficit since the team moved to L.A. in 1960. At one point, Indiana led by 39 points, and never relinquished their lead from the game's opening basket.

Simply put: it was ugly.

There are any number of ways to break down such a bad loss, and the Lakers pointed to energy, a let down after cameras had followed the team as Bryant pursued Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list, and just general malaise and poor play.

Bryant probably summed it up best in that sometimes the only explanation is that you were terrible. From there, just move on, tough though that may seem. At 8-14, the Lakers have some experience putting losses behind them.