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Saturday, Jan. 15 8:00pm ET
Lakers grab 17th victory in 18 games | |||||
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- One night after their longest winning streak of the season ended, the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their longest losing streak. Shaquille O'Neal had 26 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists as Los Angeles beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-91 on Saturday night for its 17th victory in 18 games.
"We came out and did what we had to do," said O'Neal, who also had five blocks. "We make it a point not to lose two in a row." Kobe Bryant had 22 points and Glen Rice added 17 for Los Angeles, which had its 16-game winning streak snapped in Indiana on Friday night. The Lakers have not lost consecutive games this season. "We didn't get emotional," coach Phil Jackson said after watching his team squander a 17-point first half lead. "It was a take-care-of-business type of game." Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost for just the third time in 14 games. Terrell Brandon had 21 points and eight assists and Anthony Peeler had 17 off the bench. The game was tied at 80 entering the fourth quarter, but the Lakers used a 17-2 run at the start of the quarter to put it away. "They were just running their offense and we were just missing," Garnett said after his team shot 4-for-18 in the fourth. "We got more frustrated as the quarter went on." Derek Fisher's third 3-pointer of the run gave Los Angeles a 97-82 lead with 4:53 left. Minnesota did not get closer than nine the rest of the way. Fisher had 12 points in the third and outscored Minnesota, which tied a franchise-low with 11 points in the quarter. "I think he (Fisher) took it personal that his guy wouldn't even check him," O'Neal said. "I just tried to be aggressive on both ends of the court and make things happen, and it did," Fisher said. Los Angeles led 57-49 at halftime and still led by eight, 74-66, with 4:55 left in the third. But, the Wolves followed with an 11-2 run to take their first lead of the game on Garnett's dunk with 1:22 left. "We fought so hard to get back in," said Wolves forward Joe Smith, who said it was no fun guarding O'Neal for most of the game. "I was surprised the momentum didn't carry us over." The Lakers shot 12-for-20 in the first quarter and raced out to a 30-20 lead. Rice scored 11 and Bryant added nine. Los Angeles kept the pressure on in the second led by Rick Fox, whose third 3-pointer of the quarter gave the Lakers their biggest lead at 51-34 with 3:37 left. But, Minnesota went on a 15-6 run to close within 57-49 by halftime. Peeler scored 14 in the quarter. Game notesOn Tuesday, O'Neal became the father of a boy named Shareef Rashaun. ... Minnesota shot 38.8 percent for the game -- the first time it has been under 50 percent in six games. ... Minnesota has lost four games since Dec. 15, twice to the Lakers and twice to the Miami Heat. ... O'Neal has had a double-double in 32 of 37 games. ... Los Angeles has scored at least 100 points in nine of the last 10 games. ... Bryant is averaging 25 points per game in his last 15. ... The Lakers played in front of a sellout crowd for the ninth straight road game. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard LA Lakers Clubhouse Minnesota Clubhouse Pacers' Best effort ends Lakers' streak of 16 straight wins
RECAPS Detroit 112 Washington 107
LA Lakers 104
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