GAME THREAD: NBA: LA LAKERS (9-8) at MINNESOTA (2-13)

NBA: LA LAKERS at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 116
MINNESOTA 95 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
LA LAKERS 30 32 24 30 116
MINNESOTA 24 22 22 27 95 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: LAL - KOBE BRYANT 20, SASHA VUJACIC 16, TREVOR
ARIZA 15
MIN - SEBASTIAN TELFAIR 16, RASHAD MCCANTS 14,
CRAIG SMITH 13</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NBA
LA LAKERS 116
MINNESOTA 95 FINAL</div>

 

Jim Beilby
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Timberwolves had no answerfor Kobe Bryant as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a three-gameroad losing streak with an easy 116-95 victory at the TargetCenter on Tuesday night.


Bryant, who entered the contest second in the league at 27.6points per game, scored 13 of his 20 in the first quarter andcreated foul trouble for all the Timberwolves tasked withguarding him - including Rashad McCants, Ryan Gomes and GregBuckner.


The superstar guard totaled his output in just 29 minutes anddid not play in the fourth quarter for the Lakers, who securedjust their third win in their last eight games.


While the Timberwolves have played well in the first half thisseason, they have been badly outplayed after halftime of mostgames. On Tuesday, however, the Lakers opened an 11-pointadvantage in the opening period and outscored Minnesota, 62-46,in the first half.


The Lakers led by as many as 23 in the third quarter, but fivestraight points by rookie Corey Brewer cut the Timberwolves'deficit to 86-68.


But it would be too little, too late for Minnesota, which hasbeen outscored by over 11.0 points per game in the fourthquarter this campaign. It was no different in this one.

Both teams used a balanced attack, boasting six double-digitscorers each.


Sasha Vujacic scored 16 points and Trevor Ariza added 15 for theLakers, who are 8-0 this season when posting more assists thantheir opponent. That trend continued on Tuesday as they bestedthe Timberwolves, 28-11, in that department.


Al Jefferson continued his strong play for the Timberwolves,collecting 12 points and 12 rebounds - his 12th double-double ofthe season, third best in the NBA.

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">LA LAKERS (116) AT MINNESOTA (95)

LA LAKERS

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

L WALTON 23:06 5-8 0-1 1 3 4 1 2 1 0 10
L ODOM F 36:12 4-10 1-2 0 9 9 4 3 0 2 9
C MIHM 32:35 5-9 1-1 2 5 7 2 5 1 0 11
K BRYANT G 28:56 6-12 6-9 1 2 3 5 2 4 4 20
D FISHER G 18:30 3-5 0-0 0 2 2 1 1 0 1 7
V RADMANOVIC F 25:10 3-7 2-4 0 3 3 2 1 0 2 9
J FARMAR 20:11 5-9 0-0 1 4 5 4 1 0 1 13
S VUJACIC 16:14 5-9 3-3 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 16
T ARIZA 26:57 5-5 5-6 2 3 5 4 4 4 0 15
J CRITTENTON 12:09 3-7 0-0 0 1 1 3 1 1 1 6
R TURIAF DNP - CONCUSSION
A BYNUM DNP - GASTRO INTESTINAL INFECTI

TOTALS 240:00 44-81 18-26 7 33 40 28 20 11 11 116
(.543) (.692) TEAM REBS: 10 TOTAL TO: 13 (9 PTS)

MINNESOTA

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

R GOMES F 29:13 4-8 3-3 1 5 6 0 4 1 5 11
A JEFFERSON F 30:56 5-14 2-5 5 7 12 3 3 1 4 12
M MADSEN C 13:58 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 0 1 1 0 0
R MCCANTS 23:23 5-12 2-3 0 2 2 1 4 1 0 14
S TELFAIR G 40:43 6-13 4-7 0 2 2 3 2 0 3 16
C BREWER G 17:38 4-8 0-0 1 2 3 0 3 0 0 9
A WALKER 19:28 4-10 0-0 1 0 1 3 1 0 1 10
G BUCKNER 18:38 2-6 0-1 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 4
C SMITH 29:28 4-6 5-6 0 2 2 1 1 1 2 13
G GREEN 3:59 0-2 2-2 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 2
M DOLEAC 6:43 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
C RICHARD 5:53 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 4

TOTALS 240:00 36-81 18-27 11 26 37 11 24 7 18 95
(.444) (.667) TEAM REBS: 12 TOTAL TO: 18 (18 PTS)

LA LAKERS 30 32 24 30 - 116
MINNESOTA 24 22 22 27 - 95

BLOCKED SHOTS: LA LAKERS - L ODOM 2, T ARIZA, S VUJACIC. MINNESOTA -
C BREWER 3, R MCCANTS, S TELFAIR, A JEFFERSON.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: LA LAKERS 10-22 (.455), L WALTON 0-1, L ODOM 0-
1, K BRYANT 2-5, D FISHER 1-2, V RADMANOVIC 1-4, J FARMAR 3-6, S VUJACIC 3-
3. MINNESOTA 5-22 (.227), R GOMES 0-2, R MCCANTS 2-5, S TELFAIR 0-
2, C BREWER 1-3, A WALKER 2-6, G BUCKNER 0-3, C SMITH 0-1.
TECHNICAL FOULS: LA LAKERS - K BRYANT, TEAM 2.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: BRIAN FORTE, LUIS GRILLO, RON OLESIAK.
A - 17,513. T - 2:13.</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">LA LAKERS (116)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
L Walton 23:06 5-8 0-1 1-4 1 2 10
L Odom 36:12 4-10 1-2 0-9 4 3 9
C Mihm 32:35 5-9 1-1 2-7 2 5 11
K Bryant 28:56 6-12 6-9 1-3 5 2 20
D Fisher 18:30 3-5 0-0 0-2 1 1 7
V Radmanovic 25:10 3-7 2-4 0-3 2 1 9
J Farmar 20:11 5-9 0-0 1-5 4 1 13
S Vujacic 16:14 5-9 3-3 0-1 2 0 16
T Ariza 26:57 5-5 5-6 2-5 4 4 15
J Crittenton 12:09 3-7 0-0 0-1 3 1 6
R Turiaf DNP - CONCUSSION
A Bynum DNP - GASTRO INTESTINAL INFECTI

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 44-81 18-26 7-40 28 20 116
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.543, FT-.692. 3-Point Goals:
10-22, .455 (L Walton 0-1, L Odom 0-1, K
Bryant 2-5, D Fisher 1-2, V Radmanovic 1-4, J
Farmar 3-6, S Vujacic 3-3). Team Rebounds:
10. Blocked Shots:4 (L Odom 2, T Ariza, S
Vujacic). Turnovers:11 (K Bryant 4, L Odom 2,
V Radmanovic 2, D Fisher, J Farmar, J
Crittenton). Steals: 11 (K Bryant 4, T Ariza
4, C Mihm, J Crittenton, L Walton).


MINNESOTA (95)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
R Gomes 29:13 4-8 3-3 1-6 0 4 11
A Jefferson 30:56 5-14 2-5 5-12 3 3 12
M Madsen 13:58 0-0 0-0 2-5 0 1 0
R McCants 23:23 5-12 2-3 0-2 1 4 14
S Telfair 40:43 6-13 4-7 0-2 3 2 16
C Brewer 17:38 4-8 0-0 1-3 0 3 9
A Walker 19:28 4-10 0-0 1-1 3 1 10
G Buckner 18:38 2-6 0-1 0-0 0 4 4
C Smith 29:28 4-6 5-6 0-2 1 1 13
G Green 3:59 0-2 2-2 0-1 0 0 2
M Doleac 6:43 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
C Richard 5:53 2-2 0-0 1-1 0 1 4

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 36-81 18-27 11-37 11 24 95
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.444, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
5-22, .227 (R Gomes 0-2, R McCants 2-5, S
Telfair 0-2, C Brewer 1-3, A Walker 2-6, G
Buckner 0-3, C Smith 0-1). Team Rebounds: 12.
Blocked Shots:6 (C Brewer 3, R McCants, S
Telfair, A Jefferson). Turnovers:18 (R Gomes
5, A Jefferson 4, S Telfair 3, G Buckner 2, C
Smith 2, A Walker, G Green). Steals: 7 (G
Buckner 2, M Madsen, R Gomes, R McCants, C
Smith, A Jefferson).

--------------------------------------------
LA LAKERS 30 32 24 30 - 116
MINNESOTA 24 22 22 27 - 95
--------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: La Lakers - 3 (K Bryant,
5:44 1st; Team, 9:02 3rd; Team, 10:12 4th).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 17,513. T: 2:13.
Officials: Brian Forte, Luis Grillo, Ron
Olesiak.</div>

 

Jim Beilby
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Timberwolves had no answerfor Kobe Bryant as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a three-gameroad losing streak with an easy 116-95 victory at the TargetCenter on Tuesday night.


Bryant, who entered the contest second in the league at 27.6points per game, scored 13 of his 20 in the first quarter andcreated foul trouble for all the Timberwolves tasked withguarding him - including Rashad McCants, Ryan Gomes and GregBuckner.


While there was a rumor before the game that Kobe Bryant wassick, Minnesota assistant coach Jerry Sichting wasn't buying it.

"How are you going to tell? He's a player like (Michael)Jordan," said Sichting, who was taking over for injured coachRandy Wittman. "Somebody told me that he had the flu, but itdoesn't matter with guys like that. He made me sick."

"I felt a little better (Tuesday night) than I did thismorning," Bryant said. "I made a point of coming out and beingaggressive and trying to set a tone."


The superstar guard totaled his output in just 29 minutes anddid not play in the fourth quarter for the Lakers, who securedjust their third win in their last eight games.


"It was a matter of our bench coming out and doubling the effortour starters had tonight," Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said."We were shorthanded in the big department and Chris Mihm camein and did a good job for us tonight."


While the Timberwolves have played well in the first half thisseason, they have been badly outplayed after halftime of mostgames. On Tuesday, however, the Lakers opened an 11-pointadvantage in the opening period and outscored Minnesota, 62-46,in the first half.


"We've been competitive," Sichting said. "But our defense hasgone out the window. (They had) way too many drives. They had28 assists on 44 baskets; they found the open guy all night."

The Lakers led by as many as 23 in the third quarter, but fivestraight points by rookie Corey Brewer cut the Timberwolves'deficit to 86-68.


But it would be too little, too late for Minnesota, which hasbeen outscored by over 11.0 points per game in the fourthquarter this campaign. It was no different in this one.

"We had turnovers that led to easy baskets, and you can't guardthat," Gomes said. "We have to get much better."


Both teams used a balanced attack, boasting six double-digitscorers each.


Sasha Vujacic scored 16 points and Trevor Ariza added 15 for theLakers, who are 8-0 this season when posting more assists thantheir opponent. That trend continued on Tuesday as they bestedthe Timberwolves, 28-11, in that department.


"They shared the ball well," Gomes said. "Everybody focuses onKobe because he's a great scorer, but he moved the ball, andthey found the best shot available."


Al Jefferson continued his strong play for the Timberwolves,collecting 12 points and 12 rebounds - his 12th double-double ofthe season, third best in the NBA.


"You can't make excuses in this league," Buckner said. "It'sgoing to snowball and get worse. We just have to go out thereand fight and stop being tentative against teams like theLakers."