RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal still didn't meet his lofty standards. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves he didn't have to.

O'Neal delivered on his pledge not to have back-to-back rotten nights. After managing only nine points in a victory at Atlanta 24 hours earlier, he had 24 in the Los Angeles Lakers' 97-88 victory over the reeling Timberwolves on Friday night.

	The Lakers' Kobe Bryant passes Minnesota's Kevin Garnett on his way to the hoop Friday.

Two of the points came on clutch free throws with 1:34 left.

"That's not great for the whole league," Wolves coach Flip Saunders said. "Because if Shaq gets to the point where he gets a comfort level being able to make those coming down the stretch, then that's going to put a lot of misery on a lot of teams in this league."

Still, it was Kobe Bryant's 28 points and career-high 12 assists that led the Lakers to their 12th victory in 13 games. They handed the Wolves their eighth straight loss, the biggest skid of the Saunders era and their worst drought since the club dropped 16 straight in April 1994.

"We just wanted to dissect them," Bryant said. "We wanted to take our time and really pick them apart. We were able to cut them up in parts of the game."

After his poor performance against the Hawks, O'Neal, averaging just under 27 points, vowed to come back strong against Minnesota.

"I don't like to have two bad games in a row," he said.

O'Neal didn't need to fret much against a patchwork lineup that offered resistance in the names of Tom Hammonds and Rasho Nesterovic, even though the Wolves did better in the second half.

O'Neal faced a Timberwolves squad that was missing center Dean Garrett, who was placed on the injured list before the game with a swollen left knee, and power forward Joe Smith, out with the flu.

The Lakers' 20-point lead was whittled to 83-76 with 5 1/2 minutes left after Kevin Garnett's nifty bank shot. During the ensuing timeout, Garnett hollered at his teammates, "This is our chance right here."

But the Wolves couldn't get closer than six.

Even fouling O'Neal, a notoriously bad free-throw shooter, didn't work. He sank two shots with 1:34 left for a 92-84 lead.

O'Neal also had 13 rebounds and tied a season high with seven assists.

"They were doubling and tripling and I'm very unselfish, so I was getting guys like Rick (Fox) and Robert (Horry) open," O'Neal said. "They made me look good, just like last night."

Still, Lakers coach Phil Jackson found fault in his star's game.

"Shaq didn't rebound the ball in the second half," Jackson said. "I think he had 12 in the first half and one in the second. He had a lackadaisical effort in the second half."

The Lakers were so far ahead it hardly mattered.

Garnett finished with 28 points and Terrell Brandon added 22, including 14 in the first quarter.

Garnett set a club record with 21 rebounds but was more impressed by meeting Nate "Tiny" Archibald in the locker room afterward.

"There's a legend walking around here and you guys are waiting on me," he said.

Garnett had no answers for the skid.

"I have no idea what to say. It's not an easy journey," he said. "With these losses, when we start winning, it should feel that much sweeter."

Glen Rice added 22 points for the Lakers, who led 56-28 at halftime on the strength of a 31-12 rebounding edge.

Game notes
The Wolves activated forward Andrae Patterson (knee), who had been on the injured list since Nov. 1 after tearing cartilage in his right knee during practice on Oct. 28. ... The Lakers lead the series 32-8.