Jackson in Foul Mood

The Lakers pleaded and pleaded but simply couldn’t take the fifth.

Irritated with a perceived imbalance in free-throw shooting and frustrated as a game slipped away, the Lakers fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 95-82, and an attempt to win five consecutive games ended up well short Saturday at Target Center.

Trying to win five in a row for the first time since April 2004, the Lakers returned to a familiar, old pattern of not passing enough and threw in a twist by complaining about the referees.

Laker Coach Phil Jackson seemed particularly annoyed during the game, repeatedly asking for clarifications on calls, his palms upturned and head tilted.

For added effect, he sent a long, stinging stare to Ken Mauer, Tim Donaghy and Jason Phillips before leaving the court after the game.

“They were terrible,” Jackson said. “That’s the way you’ve got to do it some nights in towns. I better apologize for saying the referees were terrible. They weren’t terrible. They weren’t consistent tonight.

“I haven’t said anything about referees this year. I really haven’t. It’s pretty obvious [the Timberwolves] shot 14 free throws in the third quarter and those free throws were inconsequential plays, basically, that just got them to the line. Non-shooting, some of the situations. That’s tough when you’re just playing defense, just trying to play hard and you’re not allowed to play defense.”

Each team was called for 19 fouls. The Timberwolves shot 24 free throws, one more than the Lakers. They made nine of 14 in the disputed third quarter. The Lakers made one of one in the quarter.

The Timberwolves won the third quarter, 26-23, and held a 74-63 edge going into the fourth.

“They were plays that were 30, 35 feet from the hoop,” Kobe Bryant said. “Hand-checking calls and things of that nature when guys are standing there dribbling the ball. So, yeah, I see [Jackson’s] point of view.”

There were other Laker problems, more closely resembling the self-inflicted variety.

A Laker mini-trend of strong assist-to-field-goal ratio ended against the Timberwolves, with only 14 assists on 31 baskets.

Bryant, averaging 8.5 assists in two previous games, had only three Saturday. He had 35 points on 11-for-20 shooting, forced some shots early in the game, and never quite found a pass-first mind-set.

Lamar Odom, also coming off two steady games, fell off pace a bit, finishing with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.

“It wasn’t a pretty game for us tonight,” Jackson said. “We didn’t move the ball well or create the kind of assist ratio that we’ve been used to.”

Center Chris Mihm, who felt back spasms after Friday’s victory against Chicago, was the only other Laker in double figures, with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Smush Parker missed all seven of his shots.

Despite it all, the Lakers trailed by only five after Kwame Brown’s seven-foot bank made it 80-75 with 5:06 to play. An 11-2 run by the Timberwolves put an end to any thoughts of the Lakers stealing a game.

Brown, who sat out 10 games because of a strained right hamstring, had two points in 13 minutes.

“He wasn’t moving really well,” Jackson said.

Another injury looked worse, but wasn’t. Bryant crumpled to the floor and stayed there for more than a minute after getting kicked in the nose by Minnesota’s Anthony Carter with 6:59 left in the second quarter. After a timeout, Bryant made both free throws. He did not miss any time.

“My nose is a little crooked, man,” Bryant said afterward. “I’m normally super, super sexy. I’m just super sexy now.”

In the end, fatigue might have caught up with the Lakers, playing their fourth road game in five nights.

“They beat us tonight on the boards and the hustle points,” Jackson said. “And those are the things that are indicators usually that tell you something about how a team’s feeling about themselves.”