Lakers’ victory is not too sunny

Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t at Staples Center. Neither were the Lakers, really.

The Phoenix Suns had only eight players available Wednesday night, but the Lakers couldn’t create any separation until late in the fourth quarter of a shaky 115-110 victory.

It was a victory, sure, but also another warning sign in an increasingly long line of them.

Coach Phil Jackson shook up the lineup by starting Luke Walton instead of Vladimir Radmanovic, but the Lakers barely took advantage of a day in which the Suns took a hatchet to their own roster with a five-player trade.

O’Neal was absent because he was attending funeral services for his grandmother in New Jersey.

On paper, the short-handed Suns appeared to be what the Lakers needed after an uninspiring 3-2 stretch that included losses to two sub-.500 teams.

On the court, however, the Lakers were the ones looking short-handed, unable to stop the Suns from getting a slew of uncontested shots in what could only be called another step back for the defense.

Former UCLA standout Matt Barnes made five three-point attempts on the way to 25 points and Grant Hill scored 23 points on nine-for-11 shooting.

Only when Derek Fisher intercepted Hill’s inbounds pass could the Lakers begin to exhale. Fisher then made two free throws for a 110-102 lead with 26.1 seconds to play. The game was over . . . mercifully, for the Lakers.

They improved to 18-3 overall and 11-1 at home, though there were few smiles afterward.

Jackson typically opens up his postgame news conference by making a brief statement, though he declined to do so, instead opening it up to questions.

There were quite a few.

In fact, they sounded a lot like the ones from the past week or so.

What’s wrong with the defense? What’s wrong with Kobe Bryant’s game? What’s wrong with the Lakers?

“Maybe I’ll put it on tape and just run it right here on the podium so you guys don’t have to ask me questions anymore,” Jackson said dryly.

It was a busy day for the Suns, who acquired Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a second-round pick from the Charlotte Bobcats for Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and rookie guard Sean Singletary.

Neither Richardson nor Dudley played for Phoenix, which suited up nine players but used eight because Alando Tucker was only recently cleared to start practicing after knee surgery.

The Lakers also had a player who didn’t step on the court: Vladimir Radmanovic.

After 20 consecutive starts, Radmanovic was benched in favor of Walton, who finished with eight points and six assists in 23 minutes. Radmanovic did not play at all as the team’s new third-string small forward.

“We just need to get the ball moving, someone in there to pass the ball,” Jackson said. “It keeps guys happy.”

Gasol had 28 points on 11-for-14 shooting and Bynum had 17 points against rookie Robin Lopez, who started in place of O’Neal, but the Lakers had few other standout efforts.

Bryant endured another off night, scoring 18 points on six-for-16 shooting. He also committed five turnovers, prompting a reporter to ask if Jackson saw anything in Bryant’s game that worried him.

“Not worrisome,” Jackson said. “Maybe bothersome would be a better term, a minor drop down from worrisome.”

Sasha Vujacic made some noise with 15 points, but the Lakers simply couldn’t stop the Suns.

Steve Nash’s three-pointer gave the Suns their first lead of the game, 75-74, with 3:04 left in the third quarter. The Suns briefly extended it to two, though the Lakers entered the fourth quarter with a flimsy 82-81 edge.

“We know we can score. We know we can put a lot of points on the board,” Gasol said. “We also know that if we want to get to the next level, the championship level, we have to be consistent on our defense and it’s something that we haven’t been doing very well.”

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com