Timberwolves Make Best of a Bad Situation

It was only last May that Shaquille O’Neal clogged the lane, Karl Malone threw elbows in the good name of securing rebounds, and Gary Payton took a hobbled Sam Cassell to the basket, again and again.

Days before a dynasty began to crumble and split against the Detroit Pistons last June, the Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals, a fading memory for both franchises when they met Thursday.

They have each struggled beyond any semblance of expectations this season, but the Lakers took the latest hit, a 105-96 loss to the Timberwolves in front of 18,997 at Staples Center.

Kevin Garnett’s 23 points helped offset Kobe Bryant’s 26, and the Lakers fell 6 1/2 games behind the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies, who are tied for seventh place in the Western Conference. The Lakers have 11 games left, including a three-game trip that begins Saturday in San Antonio, continues Sunday in Memphis and concludes Tuesday in Phoenix.

Coach Frank Hamblen said earlier in the week the Lakers would have to settle for a role as spoiler, but so far they haven’t even adjusted to that.

They continued Thursday to take the path of least resistance on defense, allowing an opponent to pass 100 points for the eighth time in nine games and tumbling to 7-33 when allowing a team to score 100 or more.

Seven Timberwolves scored in double figures, including Trenton Hassell, who had 16 points, almost 10 more than his average.

Not even Kareem Rush, who made six of seven three-pointers in the decisive sixth game last May against the Timberwolves, could bail out the Lakers these days.

“We scored 96 points ... that’s enough to win an NBA basketball game,” Hamblen said.

Each team was working on its own agenda, the Timberwolves trying to make the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season, the Lakers for an 11th.

At the same time, they were both linked to the same statistic: Never before in NBA history have two teams that met in the conference finals failed to make the playoffs the next season.

Give the better chance to Minnesota, who pulled within two games of the Nuggets and Grizzlies for the West’s final playoff spot.

Garnett was steady as always, making eight of 15 shots and taking 12 rebounds. The Lakers threw small forward Jumaine Jones at him, and then Brian Grant took his turn to no avail.

“He has always been a tough matchup for any team,” Hamblen said. “He has always been a tough matchup for us.”

Like the Lakers, the Timberwolves have been hit by tumult this season, beginning with gripes by Cassell and Latrell Sprewell about contract extensions, and followed up by the mid-season firing of Coach Flip Saunders.

Kevin McHale, who watched it all unfold from the front office, picked himself to replace Saunders and had little success until lately. After Thursday’s victory, the Timberwolves have won five consecutive games.

“They seem to have everything resolved right now,” Hamblen said.

The Lakers had a decent first half defensively, keeping the Timberwolves within reach at halftime, 42-38. But the Timberwolves had 63 points in the second half and made 52.6% of their shots in the game.

There were merely a handful of steals in the game, the Lakers getting three and the Timberwolves four, but that was not surprising. The Timberwolves, averaging 5.75 steals a game, and the Lakers, averaging 5.9, are close to the league record low of 5.94 steals set by the Detroit Pistons in 1990-91.

Cassell’s three-pointer with 3:29 left to play gave the Timberwolves a 97-83 lead and signaled the end of the game for Laker fans who headed en masse for the exits.

The Lakers made only seven of 30 three-point attempts, setting a team record along the way by making 557 threes this season.

But there were many more misses than makes Thursday.

“It’s one of those things that we live and die by this year,” center Chris Mihm said.

“When we’re hot it looks good, and when we’re not we’ve really struggled.”