Lakers Find Something to Shout About : Pro basketball: They hold off Timberwolves, 101-99, before 43,606 in Metrodome and end two-game losing streak.

You would not expect the Lakers to react gleefully after a 101-99 victory over an expansion team, even a competitive one such as the Minnesota Timberwolves. But these are stressful times for the Lakers, chasing the Detroit Pistons for the NBA’s best record and being chased by three Western Conference rivals.

A few of the problems that developed during the Lakers’ two-game losing streak surfaced again Saturday. They had defensive lapses, at times lacked offensive movement and lost several leads.

But thanks to defensive plays by Magic Johnson and Byron Scott in the final 37 seconds, the Lakers improved to 48-16. They remain one game behind the Pistons for the league’s best record.

“We got out by the skin of our teeth,” said Laker Coach Pat Riley, who benched guard Larry Drew and went with an eight-man rotation for the first time this season. “But we ended up getting the win, and that’s all that matters.

“You’ve got to keep it in proper perspective. We won three of five road games, and our two losses were to teams (the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers) that were desperate for wins. We didn’t lose those games as much as got beat.”

The Lakers almost lost--or got beat--again Saturday. They have not lost three in a row this season, and it took strong defensive measures at the end to salvage it.

Minnesota (17-46) has victories this season over the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia in their first season, and the Timberwolves were not about to acquiesce at the first flex of Laker strength.

The Lakers had a nine-point second-quarter lead, then nearly lost it by halftime. They led by eight with 6:50 left in the fourth quarter, then lost it. They rebuilt it to five, then saw it whittled to one.

But when seriously challenged, the Lakers responded with big plays.

The first came with 37 seconds left and the Lakers leading, 98-97. Tyrone Corbin turned for a 12-foot jump shot in the lane, but Scott left Tony Campbell and blocked the shot. Johnson rebounded the ball, was fouled and made both free throws.

The second play came on the Timberwolves’ last chance to tie the score. Johnson had made one free throw with eight seconds left, giving the Lakers a 101-99 lead. The Timberwolves, coached by assistant Bob Zuffelato after Bill Musselman was ejected late in the second quarter, called a timeout to set up the play.

When Pooh Richardson tried to pass to Tod Murphy cutting to the basket with three seconds left, there were several Lakers in the area. Johnson stepped in and batted the ball away as the buzzer sounded.

Game over, the Lakers were especially animated leaving the court, exchanging high-fives and waving at the Metrodome crowd of 43,606--largest in the NBA this season.

They were a relieved and happy group, even Drew.

“It’s a good win, especially here,” said Johnson, who had 37 points and 13 assists. “We played hard, and that’s the important thing. We finished this road trip with a win, and we’re going to have a good week. We’re home and got some time for a couple of practices. We’re going to get back to what we had been doing.”

James Worthy, who had 24 points, took a different approach and credited the Timberwolves, who were led by 24 points each by Campbell, a former Laker, and Murphy, a former UC Irvine standout.

“People who understand basketball pretty much understand what a two-point victory over this team is,” Worthy said. “They play harder than anyone in this league. I don’t know of any team that has blown them out.”

Scott was the only Laker to express concern that the Lakers were not their robust selves, even in victory.

“I think we’ve still got a long way to go,” Scott said. “We still got things to work on. This was just about trying to head back in the right direction. We’ve got to work on defense, individually and as a team. The communication gap still has to be worked on. We don’t talk to one another enough on defense. We had them by nine, and lost our defensive intensity and let them back in. If we can keep our defensive intensity, we’d be scary.”

Laker Notes

Laker Coach Pat Riley said he did not plan to bench backup point guard Larry Drew before Saturday’s game. But Drew did not play for the first time this season, Riley choosing instead to play Magic Johnson 45 minutes and Byron Scott 40. “I’m not saying this is going to be continuous,” Riley said. “It wasn’t planned. I just decided to stay with Magic and give Byron some more time. Sometimes, when Byron sits too long, he gets (out of sync).” Said Drew: “It was just the flow of this game. Plus, we lost two in a row. The most important thing is we won the game.”. . . . The Lakers were out-rebounded, 46-33. They gave up 21 offensive rebounds. Eight of Tod Murphy’s nine rebounds were on the offensive end.