He Makes It His Kind of Mad House

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad dog world.

“Aww,” said Mark Madsen.

The Lakers survived Sunday on a wing and a woof.

“C’mon,” said Mark Madsen.

The Lakers have tied this first-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves at two games apiece thanks to a guy who is too small, too slow and too much.

“A collective effort,” said Mark Madsen.

Collective, schmlective. Madsen doesn’t want any credit, but he’s getting it, right here, right now, if for no other reason than, when are we going to have another chance?

During long, important minutes in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 102-97 victory Sunday, the mascot became a menace, the punching bag punched back, the bite was finally worse than the bark.

With the Timberwolves leading by three points with six minutes remaining, Madsen chased Kevin Garnett into distraction, leading to an off-balance brick.

“Phil Jackson has made a point of telling us, get a hand in his face,” Madsen said, shrugging.

At the other end of the court, Madsen was fouled on a dunk attempt, the first time he has benefited from a call in approximately three years. He celebrated with two free throws to pull the Lakers within one.

“Tex Winter has been working with me on those,” he said, shrugging again.

On the Timberwolves’ next possession, Madsen tugged and pushed and frustrated Garnett into another bad shot, a fly bewitching an elephant.

“It wasn’t just me, it was everyone helping out,” Madsen said.

The Lakers went back down the court and Brian Shaw missed on a quick three-point attempt, but Madsen grabbed the rebound and Devean George connected on the next shot to give the Lakers a one-point lead they never lost.

“A lucky bounce right into my hands,” Madsen said.

Two minutes, four possessions, the saving of a season?

Mad Dog will never say it, and we’ve run out of canine metaphors to help him, so let’s just put it this way:

The Lakers could not have won Sunday without him.

Strange but whew!

His first two seasons here, he was little more than a cheerleader, a diversion, a guy whose was seemingly paid only to jump off the bench and pump his fists.

But this winter injuries and indifference forced him onto the court, where that emotion seeped into the Lakers like Armor All across a dashboard.

They needed somebody to remind them why they still care. They needed an anti-Horry.

Madsen had become such a part of the team that when Kobe Bryant drew his name for Christmas presents, Bryant exceeded the $100 limit by buying him two custom suits.

Considering Madsen dresses like a man in search of a pocket protector, it was a compliment indeed.

Considering it was Shaquille O’Neal who could have picked his name and bought the suits, it also was a great stroke of luck.

“Look at this,” said Madsen, showing off monogrammed sleeves under a dark blue pinstripe number Sunday. “I mean, this is custom.”

Once the postseason began, considering he was one for 14 in his previous two springs, there was some thought that Madsen would disappear again.

Who needed emotion when the gym was filled with it?

But then, come Sunday, Robert Horry was slow and silly, Rick Fox was limping, and there was Madsen, in crunch time, off the bench and in somebody’s face.

Which, OK, is not always a good thing.

One minute he’s crawling under Garnett’s skin, the next minute Garnett is streaking past him for a layup.

One minute he’s tipping in a rebound, the next minute he’s clanking a jumper.

“But he makes up for a lot of things with effort,” said Brian Shaw.

And, suddenly, that seems to be the most important thing not just about Madsen, but his teammates and this series.

In less than a week, a man who seemed far removed from the Laker culture now embodies it.

The Lakers are not going to win this series with an Horry miracle or a Bryant flight or an O’Neal dunk.

They are only going to win it with Madsen hustle.

How does that sports-drink saying go?

Be Like Mad Dog.

“I told him, he has to beat guys up like he beats me up in practice,” O’Neal said.

That’s where this latest burst of Madsen energy began, from the words of O’Neal in a locker room in Portland.

It was at the end of the season and O’Neal angrily scolded Madsen in front of his teammates.

“He called me out,” Madsen said Sunday. “He wanted me to do more. He wanted me to take my game to a higher level.”

Upon hearing that, many players like Madsen would wipe the stinging sweat from their eyes and say something like, are you kidding me?

But when he’s not being a pest, Madsen is unfailingly polite. He listens to advice. He respects veteran teammates.

When he does poorly, it’s his fault. When he does well, he credits the world.

“Sometimes, even when you think you are giving it 100%, maybe you can give more,” he said. “I thought about what Shaq said, and he was right. A message was sent, and I’m trying to respond.”

Whatever he’s doing, it’s working. In four playoff games, in 18 minutes a game, he’s averaging five points and three rebounds.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.