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Lakers’ Chris Kaman admits frustration as he sits for most of game

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MINNEAPOLIS — Chris Kaman played the first six minutes of Friday’s game. Almost.

Then he sat the rest of the Lakers’ 143-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni said it was because the game got out of hand and also to give more time to the younger big men (Robert Sacre, Ryan Kelly).

Kaman didn’t quite get that last part.

“Maybe he thought he was going to go with the young guys, but Steve Nash is 40 years old,” Kaman said. “He stayed with him so I’m not sure that’s par for the course.”

Nash had four points and six assists in almost 15 minutes. Kaman, 31, had two points, a rebound and a steal in five minutes 37 seconds.

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“It’s a frustrating situation all around,” said Kaman, who was buried at the end of the Lakers’ bench for 10 consecutive games, then started the last three with varying degrees of success.

“It’s hard for a player to know what to think, know what to do and what to say. I’m just trying to be cool about it and stay positive, but it’s definitely difficult.”

College talk

Mark Madsen played for Stanford. Johnny Davis played for Dayton.

So the Lakers coaches naturally bragged before their schools played in a Sweet 16 game Thursday in the NCAA tournament.

Madsen lost. Davis won. Thankfully, Madsen didn’t dance as part of any bet after Stanford fell to Dayton, 82-72.

“I give all the credit to Johnny,” said Madsen, the Lakers’ player development coach. “He stuck with Dayton through thick and thin. If Stanford would have won, Johnny would have had a few surprises in the coaches’ meeting this morning.”

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Dayton hasn’t been this far in the NCAA tournament since 1984.

“I’ve got a little bragging rights in our locker room. We teased each other back and forth,” said Davis, a Lakers assistant coach who played at Dayton from 1973-76 and was voted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1993. “It’s good to see them coming up to the top again.”

Dayton is the 10th-seeded team in the South Regional and plays top-seeded Florida on Saturday.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Twitter: @Mike_Bresnahan

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