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Lakers beat T-Wolves 92-85, extend lead
Kobe Bryant spent one more day in a Colorado courtroom — and one more night at the peak of his game.
Shaquille O'Neal added 19 points and 19 rebounds for the Lakers, who took a 3-1 series lead and moved to the brink of their fourth trip to the NBA Finals in five seasons.
For the third and final time in the postseason, Bryant returned from a hearing in his upcoming sexual assault trial in time to propel the Lakers to a victory with a spectacular performance. He poured in 18 points in the third quarter as Los Angeles took a 15-point lead, hitting open jumpers and difficult layups with equal aplomb.
His previous two playoff games under the same conditions were similarly outstanding: Bryant scored 31 points against the Houston Rockets in the first round, and 42 points against San Antonio in the second round.
Kevin Garnett had 28 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists while desperately trying to keep the Timberwolves close in what he dubbed a must-win game.
But the grim-faced league MVP was no match for the freewheeling Lakers' most thrilling performance of the series. With everything from Kobe's unbelievable finishes to Shaq's basket-rocking dunks, Los Angeles finally returned to its Showtime roots.
All-Star Sam Cassell's injuries kept him out of the starting lineup and limited him to five minutes for Minnesota. Derek Fisher thrived in Cassell's absence, scoring 15 points for the Lakers.
Game 5 is Saturday night in Minneapolis. If the Timberwolves win, Game 6 will be Monday back in Los Angeles.
After one of the most tumultuous regular seasons in recent league history, the Lakers have reclaimed the aura of invincibility that surrounded them during three straight championship runs from 2000-02.
The Lakers' infighting and confusion have abated while winning seven of their last eight games — and Bryant's teammates say he's more focused than ever.
Bryant walked into the locker room at Staples Center shortly before 5 p.m. PDT — more than an hour before tipoff, and less than three hours after he left the courthouse in Eagle, Colo., and hopped on a private jet.
The Lakers made a 15-2 run in the second quarter and took a five-point lead to halftime — and that's when Bryant took over. Kobe brought down the house with a third-quarter layup — beating Wally Szczerbiak to the baseline, leaping to draw contact from Michael Olowokandi and reverse-banking a shot off the glass.
Szczerbiak scored 19 points for the Timberwolves, but Los Angeles played solid defense on Garnett's supporting cast, limiting the rest of the roster to 33 percent shooting. Latrell Sprewell had yet another poor night with 4-for-18 shooting.
The Timberwolves struggled without Cassell, out of the starting lineup for just the second time in 98 games this season.
Though he participated in pregame warmups, Cassell silently pedaled a stationary bike in the tunnel leading to Minnesota's locker room until entering the game in the third quarter. He hit a 3-pointer but went 1-for-4, and he still hasn't played in a fourth quarter in this series.
Notes:@ Bryant got a technical foul with 3.2 seconds left in the second quarter when he said the wrong word to referee Jack Nies while protesting a no-call. Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Gary Payton also got T's in the third quarter, and Slava Medvedenko got one in the fourth for lightly shoving Garnett. ... Jackson's teams have never lost a playoff series they led at any point — a streak of 34 straight series wins. ... The Timberwolves switched from their blue road uniforms, worn in Game 3, to their all-black ensemble. |
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