A Low Point, Totally

The Lakers might have believed they’d grown out of them, but incidents of mediocrity haunt them still, two weeks after they’d started their run of playoff victories.

By late Sunday night, their hopes to leave here with two wins long gone, their hopes to play well and honorably gone too, Shaquille O’Neal walked into a news conference and announced, “Blame it on the rain,” which was easier than raising his own hand.

Down a game and a point guard in the Western Conference finals, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Lakers, 89-71, at Target Center and tied the series at a game apiece.

Sam Cassell played 43 seconds before he limped from the floor because of his sore back, and still the Timberwolves led big early, pushed the Lakers around, led big late and went to Los Angeles with something close to hope, which for them was better than the alternative. Game 3 is Tuesday night at Staples Center.

The final quarter was played at the ends of their shoulders and elbows and wits, the Timberwolves by then having answered the Lakers’ 97-88 Game 1 win with something like their best effort.

“We weren’t desperate,” Kobe Bryant said. “They were. They played harder and we weren’t able to match their intensity. So we’ll have to live with the split.”

Four Lakers and three Timberwolves received technical fouls in the fourth quarter and Karl Malone, who had one of the previous technicals, was charged with a flagrant foul and ejected when, with 2:31 remaining, he ran through a pick set by Darrick Martin.

Afterward, as the Timberwolves celebrated the return of their legs and their MVP -- Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 11 rebounds -- Phil Jackson paused at the door of his temporary office. The Laker coach looked over his shoulder and waited.

When referees Steve Javie, Bill Spooner and Joe DeRosa filed by, Jackson said, “Not a good job tonight, guys. Not a good job.”

None looked up, but Javie, almost under his breath, said, “A lot of class.”

The Lakers lost their first playoff game since May 5 and, perhaps, needed somewhere to put it. They had won five in a row, four in eliminating the San Antonio Spurs, then easily in Game 1 here. Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders announced Game 2 was a “must-win” for his guys, and they played as though they believed it.

“All we’ve done is made it a series,” Saunders said.

The Lakers matched their Los Angeles-era low for points in a playoff game, in part because of a Timberwolf defense that took away the perimeter and O’Neal, leaving the middle open for Bryant but, apparently, no one else.

Bryant scored 27 points -- 25 of the Lakers’ first 46, then two of their next 25. Dominant for six games, O’Neal was four for 10 from the floor, six for 14 from the free-throw line, and had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Malone and Gary Payton had early foul issues and barely were a part of the offense. As he does, Malone accepted responsibility.

“It seems like when I handle things, the team handles things,” said Malone, who had five points. “I didn’t do it tonight and it probably spread throughout the team. ... Maybe I was a little testy.”

While the Laker bench struggled in their places -- the reserves scored 14 points -- Martin and Wally Szczerbiak alone scored 31 for the Timberwolves, who rode them to leads of 14 points in the second quarter, 18 in the third and 21 in the fourth.

The seven technical fouls came in the final 8 1/2 minutes. O’Neal, at 8:28, when he shoved Mark Madsen and slapped away Gary Trent’s arm. Trent, for getting involved. Slava Medvedenko, at 6:57, for a hard foul on Garnett. Malone and Ervin Johnson, at 4:15, for a disagreement under the basket. Szczerbiak, at 3:39, for squaring off against Payton after fouling Derek Fisher. Payton, for getting involved.

The Lakers were way behind, the Timberwolves weren’t going to back down, everybody got a piece of somebody, and no one left scarred.

“I think it’s only the beginning,” Saunders said. “When you play a team two times in three days, you start to not like each other. I thought we went out and did our things within the realm of what’s allowed. We play hard, not dirty.”

The Lakers believed Szczerbiak came too high with his elbows against Fisher and, slightly more than a minute later, Malone, staring down a Martin pick, chose to barrel through him.

“I ran through the pick,” he said. “I didn’t try to go around it. I tried to run through the pick.”

Asked if he were frustrated at the time, Malone said, “You can call it that. We shouldn’t, because we should be bigger little boys than that. We didn’t handle the situation good.”

Malone said he was not concerned about a possible suspension and an NBA official said he did not believe the league would review any of the plays.

“They were setting back picks all night for Garnett and I guess Karl just got tired of that and Karl just got mad,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t malicious, but Karl did it and now he has to suffer the consequences.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Lost in the 70s

A look at the times the Lakers have scored fewer than 80 points in playoff losses since moving to Los Angeles in 1960. (Note: the Lakers have scored fewer than 80 points and won a playoff game twice, this season’s 72-71 victory over Houston and a 74-73 win against San Antonio):

*--* Pts. Season Defeated by Round Score 71 2003-04 Minnesota Game 2 Western finals 89-71 71 1994-95 Seattle Game 1 first round 96-71 71 1994-95 San Antonio Game 4 Western semis 80-71 72 1971-72 Milwaukee Game 1 Western finals 93-72 73 1970-71 Milwaukee Game 2 Western finals 91-73 76 1991-92 Portland Game 4 first round 102-76 76 1998-99 San Antonio Game 2 Western semis 79-76 77 1996-97 Utah Game 1 Western semis 93-77 77 1997-98 Utah Game 1 Western finals 112-77 77 1999-00 Portland Game 2 Western finals 106-77 78 2003-04 San Antonio Game 1 Western semis 88-78 79 1991-92 Portland Game 2 first round 101-79

*--*