MINNEAPOLIS -- A slow start by Kobe Bryant, and strong
defense from the Minnesota Timberwolves, made it too difficult for
the Los Angeles Lakers to come back.
Kevin Garnett scored 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed
11 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves past the sluggish Lakers 96-80
Tuesday night.
Reserve Marc Jackson scored 13 points and Troy Hudson had 10
assists _ one short of his season high -- for the Timberwolves, who
have won three straight against the Lakers at Target Center.
Shaquille O'Neal led Los Angeles with 17 points and nine
rebounds, and Bryant had 15 points. Both sat on the bench for the
final six minutes of the game.
Bryant, guarded mostly by Kendall Gill, was held to four points
in the first half.
"Kobe looked lackluster tonight," Lakers coach Phil Jackson
said. "He didn't have that fire in the first half. He was better
in the second half, but he energized us for a couple of minutes and
got us in trouble the rest of the quarter."
Asked whether Minnesota was playing a tough defense, Bryant
said: "Not really. I can score any time."
"He's probably used to people being real timid and not wanting
to get embarrassed," Gill said. "You can't think of it like that,
you have to just go in there and fight hard."
The Lakers (10-16) are just a game ahead of last-place Golden
State in the Pacific Division.
The Wolves, who led by as many as 22 points, never trailed, and
their lead wasn't seriously threatened after the first quarter.
"We had a little bit of an edge on us tonight," Garnett said.
It wasn't the way the Lakers, who've lost three of their last
four games, had hoped to start their four-game road trip, which
includes games against New Jersey, Philadelphia and Toronto before
they return home to play Sacramento on Christmas night.
The Lakers couldn't get much going inside. Using a combination
of Rasho Nesterovic and Jackson, the Wolves frustrated the Lakers
by keeping O'Neal outside the paint, and the crowd heckled Bryant
for blowing a dunk in the third quarter.
O'Neal left without speaking to reporters.
"They can throw it to the rafters, and (O'Neal) will go and get
it," Marc Jackson said. "You can't front him. You have to stay
behind him and hope you get help."
Gill had 11 points, while Nesterovic, Anthony Peeler and Rod
Strickland each scored 10 for the Wolves.
The Lakers, who shot 39 percent, tried to come out aggressively
in the second half after trailing by 16 at halftime. Robert Horry
hit a 3-pointer with 7:45 left in the third quarter to pull Los
Angeles to 60-50. Minnesota answered with an 11-4 run, with five
different players scoring.
An 18-footer by Rick Fox cut the Wolves' early lead to 18-17 in
the first quarter. But the Lakers didn't get any closer.
The Wolves used a balanced offensive attack and went on runs of
11-1 and 16-4 in the first half to widen the margin. Jackson hit a
20-foot jumper to give Minnesota a 47-27 lead with 3:20 left in the
second quarter.
The Lakers shot 15 of 41 in the first half.
"I told them, 'They're going to make a run, but let's make our
run first,'" Garnett said. "We did that in the third, and I felt
like we stayed aggressive from that point."
The crowd came to its feet on Bryant's blown dunk. After shaking
off Peeler, Bryant faked a pass to O'Neal and streaked inside for
the jam. But the ball hit hard off the back of the rim and out to
halfcourt, where Hudson picked it up and drove for a layup.
"They're going through a stretch right now were I think
nothing's working in their favor," Hudson said. "I think every
team goes through it, they're just going through it early. I just
think there's so much attention because they're the Lakers."
Game notes
Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said after the game that because of an injury to his left pinky toe, guard Wally Szczerbiak will likely be out until at least the new year. Szczerbiak, who dislocated the toe on Oct. 8, has already missed all but four games for the T-Wolves this season. ... The Lakers have won only two of 13 road games.
... O'Neal was called for a flagrant foul after knocking down a driving Strickland in the third quarter.