Lakers Barely Tame the T-Wolves

All that really needs to be reported from last night’s win at the Target Center between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves is the final score, 111-108. Other than that, there is no need to mention that the Lakers struggled the entire night against the gamey Twolves, or the fact that they had to rally from behind again against a sub-.500 team. Or, that this was a contest against a team that hadn’t won a home game in over a month, and also whose best player, was out due to a season-ending knee injury. No, these weren’t the Kevin Garnett/Sam Cassell/Wally Szczerbiak/Troy Hudson/Latrell Sprewell pack of howlers, heck, these weren’t even the Tom Gugliotta/Stephon Marbury/Doug West/Cherokee Parks version. This team bore no resemblance to any Minnesota team I’ve ever seen take the court, or to any NBA team ever assembled. They had strange, unfamiliar names of Gomes, Foye, Ollie, Carney, and an obvious alias in some player called Smith. But for some reason, this team of no-namers almost defeated the team chock full of superstars, beautiful people and A-listers. They created havoc with the Lakers defense, scoring at will, often leaving players aghast and spun around in confusion. They moved the ball around the perimeter, then attacked the lane and kicked out for uncontested threes, hitting 10 of 25. They made up for their small stature in size with increased intensity and hustle, grabbing 35 rebounds, 8 on the offensive end. And they had the Lakers on their heels up to the final seconds, trailing 109-108 with 9.2 seconds to play. Fortunately for the Lakers and beautiful people everywhere, Kobe Bryant was fouled and connected on his two free throws for the final margin as Randy Foye’s 3-point attempt missed as the final horn sounded. Kobe led the way with 28 points, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom both added 25 points apiece to go along with 10 and 14 boards respectively. Both Derek Fisher and Luke Walton had subpar outings and the Bench Mob also appeared a little out of sorts. Jordan Framer (2-5, 4 turnovers), Trevor Ariza (2-6) and Sasha Vujacic (0-2) all struggled with their play. Perhaps it was an anomaly, perhaps it’s just simply one of 82, or maybe it was too cold inside the arena. Whatever the reason, no one will ever remember this game or how the W was secured. Onward to Tuesday’s match-up with Oklahoma City, another sub-.500 team, another team in turmoil, and another team in the hands of an interim coach, but clearly in contention for the number one seed in the upcoming draft lottery.

dEDGE Post Scriptum

Another milestone: Kobe Bryant moved into 20th position on the all-time scoring record with 23,164 points, surpassing Lakers great Elgin Baylor. He trails Adrian Dantley by 13 points, Robert Parish by 170 points, and Charles Barkley by 593 points, all of whom he should easily pass by the end of the regular season. The list of players that Kobe has surpassed is impressive and a who’s-who of the NBA Hall of Fame: Willis Reed, Bill Sharman, David Thompson, Dave Cowens, Bill Russell, Walt Frazier, Pete Maravich, Nate Archibald, Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, Bob McAdoo, Isiah Thomas, Gail Goodrich and Larry Bird. Among active players, he trails only Allen Iverson (16th) and Shaquille O’Neal (7th). And he is only 30 years of age…