NEW YORK - Playing without the suspended Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers' late rally fell short in their season-high third straight loss, 99-94 to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.

New York Knicks' Jared Jeffries, left, tries to strip Los Angeles Lakers' Lamar Odom of the ball during the first quarter in NBA basketball action Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007 at Madison Square Garden in New York. [AP]

Eddy Curry had 27 points and nine rebounds and Stephon Marbury scored 22 points for the Knicks, who led most of the game but never pulled away. David Lee grabbed 13 rebounds and Jamal Crawford added 17 points.

Bryant was penalized one game without pay earlier Tuesday for hitting San Antonio's Manu Ginobili in the face late in the Lakers' overtime loss to the Spurs on Sunday.

Without his 28.4 points per game, the Lakers shot only 43.5 percent and lost for the fourth time in five games.

Lamar Odom had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Lakers. Vladimir Radmanovic added 18 points and nine boards and Smush Parker scored 14 points.

The Lakers trailed by seven with 1 1/2 minutes remaining, but closed to 96-94 on Radmanovic's 3-pointer with 45 seconds left. Curry made two free throws 10 seconds later, and after Maurice Evans' 3-pointer rattled out, Los Angeles got the ball back after Jamal Crawford turned it over.

However, Jared Jeffries blocked Brian Cook's 3-point attempt and New York put it away with three more free throws.

It was a rough way for the Lakers to start an eight-game Eastern trip, their longest since playing eight straight on the road from Dec. 9-20, 1989. Bryant will be back Wednesday when Los Angeles visits Boston.

He hoped to play Tuesday, seeking an immediate hearing at the league office during the afternoon since he was already in New York. But that request was denied, since normal NBA policy is for the player to serve his suspension and hope to get his money back later if he wins his appeal.

Bryant and the Lakers were surprised by the penalty, and the fans at Madison Square Garden, where Bryant scored 40 points last season, were bummed themselves. There were mostly boos when Bryant's absence was announced during pregame introductions.

The Lakers were already without Kwame Brown for most of the season and recently lost starting forward Luke Walton to a sprained right ankle.

The Knicks were without starting forward Quentin Richardson, who has a sprained right elbow. Recently demoted Jeffries returned to the lineup and scored 14 points, including a three-point play with 4:17 left to spark a 9-2 run after Los Angeles had pulled within a point.

The Lakers shot only 37 percent in the first half and trailed by eight with 3 1/2 minutes left, but scored nine straight points to take a 41-40 lead on Radmanovic's jumper with 25 seconds left. Jeffries hit a 3 with 3.2 seconds remaining to give New York a two-point halftime lead.

The Knicks closed the third quarter with a 13-5 spurt to open a 73-64 advantage on Marbury's 3 as time expired.