Lakers Travel Beaten Path From Midwest

The Lakers took another step toward erasing the memory of being thrown for a loop in Chicago in the opener of this trip through the Midwest, except that it was backward. They wanted another Milwaukee, not a replacement eyesore.

Saturday night found them being out-hustled, which would be bad enough for a team that wants to consider itself among the elite. But they were also outscored by a group that had lost nine of 10, and were shut down on offense by a team that allowed 108.1 points the previous nine games. That would be the Minnesota Timberwolves, who defeated the Lakers, 103-88, before 18,127 at the Target Center as Kevin Garnett had a game-high 23 points along with nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks.

The Lakers just had a lot to feel bad about.

“Embarrassing, really,” said Nick Van Exel, whose 22 points and nine assists couldn’t stop the Lakers from coasting to the end of a 1-2 trip. “This team [Minnesota] is all right. But they’re not a Laker-caliber team. We’re not supposed to lose to them. But when you don’t play hard, any team can beat you.”

The Timberwolves, for example.

“Any time you feel that the opponent played harder than you, that’s the worst thing you can say,” Laker Coach Del Harris said.

Added Shaquille O’Neal: “They came out very, very aggressive and played well. We never really matched their aggressiveness.

“I’m not going to make excuses for the way we played. It was just one of those nights. We never could really get into anything.”

He knows, he knows. It was O’Neal, after all, who missed his first six shots, not counting the potential defensive rebound he knocked in for the Timberwolves in the second quarter. His first basket didn’t come until 2:19 remained in the half.

By halftime, he had already been the assignment of three Minnesota big men--but actually the responsibility of all the Timberwolves because double- and triple-teaming was common--and he was two of nine. The third quarter brought a warming trend, with four baskets in five tries, but the finish was like the start, with O’Neal going two of nine in the fourth quarter.

After shooting 56.3% the previous four games, O’Neal made eight of 20 shots against the Timberwolves, along with five of 12 free throws. The 17 rebounds couldn’t make up the difference.

Van Exel took the blame for not running the offense better to help O’Neal beat the double teams. O’Neal took the blame for missing the shots. Either way, the Timberwolves simply took advantage.

“We played better defense than we have in the past few weeks,” Minnesota point guard Stephon Marbury said. “But tonight, we went in with a game plan and we followed it.”

It was either that or an attitude. At least that accounts for Garnett, who was motivated by the memory of the last time the teams played, Dec. 8 at the Forum, when he watched from the Target Center while getting treatment on the sprained foot that resulted in five missed games. The Lakers won, he steamed.

He saw L.A. “destroy my team.” He promised “pay back” the next time the teams met.

Accounts became payable Saturday. The 6-foot-11 Garnett led all players in points, tied for the lead in steals and blocks and led the Timberwolves in rebounds.

“He’s a terrific player,” Harris said. “He’s a very difficult matchup for us. We don’t have a tall, quote, small forward.”

Well, the Lakers did when they arrived at the arena. But Corie Blount, with no apparent history of back problems, began suffering spasms in his lower back during pregame layup drills and was forced out. That cost him a chance to go from seldom used to integral part.

Instead, it was left to 6-7 Jerome Kersey and 6-6 Eddie Jones to try to contain Garnett while giving away inches. They didn’t have much success. Only fitting.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Season of Expectations

The Lakers acquired nine new players this season, including Shaquille O’Neal and his $120-million contract. In turn, with big acquisitions come big expectations. Throughout the season, The Times will monitor O’Neal’s numbers along with how the team compares to some of the best Laker teams in history.

GAME 28 OF 82

* Record 19-9

* Standing Tied for 1st place

Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

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Year Gm. 28 Overall 1987-88 22-6 62-20 1986-87 22-6 65-17 1984-85 18-10 62-20 1979-80 19-9 60-22 1971-72 25-3 69-13

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Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

* Saturday’s Game:

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Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 41 8-20 5-12 17 3 21

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* 1996-97 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.7 .567 .500 13.1 2.9 26.1

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* 1995-96 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 36.0 .573 .487 11.0 2.1 26.6

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Money Numbers

* Saturday’s Salary: $130,658.53

* Season Totals $3,658,438.84

* FACTOID: Game 28 of the 1987-88 season, a 133-115 victory over San Antonio, was vintage Kurt Rambis. In a span of three minutes, Rambis knocked three fans from seats pursuing a loose ball, stole the ball twice on the inbound pass and scored on dunks, and to cap it, he passed to Milt Wagner too low, the ball bounced off Wagner’s shin right back to Rambis, and Rambis made a short jumper. After the game, Magic Johnson couldn’t get to his locker because of the crowd surrounding Rambis. “You know, Kurt,” Johnson said, “if you’re going to play like this, you can’t sit beside me no more.” Rambis responded: “I’ve been telling you that for seven years.”