Game 5: Wolves win 98-96, stay alive in series Game 4: Wolves lose; backs are against the wall Game 3: Lakers win 100-89 Game 2: Timberwolves win 89-71 Game 1: Lakers sink Wolves 97-88 Preview of series with Britt Robson of City Pages (Morning Edition, 5/21/04) Former Minneapolis Laker George Mikan talks with KPCC's John Rabe Timberwolves advance to Western Conference finals Photos Man to man A ball too far Your Voice Join the conversation with other MPR listeners in the News Forum.

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Lakers shut down Garnett to take 2-1 series lead
May 25, 2004

Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves goes to the basket agianst Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals Tuesday night in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images )

Los Angeles, Calif. — (AP) Shaq got hacked, whacked and smacked - and until Kobe Bryant finally showed up in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, it almost worked.

Shaquille O'Neal had 22 points and 17 rebounds, and Bryant rallied from a scoreless first half for 22 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 100-89 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

	A ball too far

Gary Payton scored 14 of his 18 points in the first quarter for the Lakers, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series by remaining unbeaten in seven home playoff games this spring.

And Los Angeles did it the hard way: grinding out a victory as the Timberwolves played vintage Hack-a-Shaq defense in the second half.

Shaq was 8-for-22 from the line, his anger growing with each brutal foul. His frustration was clear when he stared down the Minnesota bench while leaving the game in the final minute.

But the Diesel has a way of wearing down everything - defenders, scoring slumps, even that lid on the basket when he's at the line. He was 2-for-13 before finishing on a Rick Barry-esque 6-for-9 streak.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, but the league MVP went 16-and-a-half minutes between field goals in the second half and eventually fouled out. Wally Szczerbiak scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, including 14 straight to end the third quarter - but Minnesota never led after the opening minutes.

"I didn't play well at all," he said. "My mentality was more defensive tonight. I tried to stay active as much as possible, but I got a couple of fouls, and that made me a little stagnant."

Szczerbiak scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half. Sam Cassell had 18 points in 26 minutes. He was limited to seven minutes in the second half and one in the fourth quarter by the back spasms and hip problems which held him to 43 seconds in Game 2. Latrell Sprewell also scored 18 points, but 12 came in the last 4½ minutes - after the outcome had been decided.

Bryant clinched the victory with back-to-back 3-pointers, the last with 4:46 left to put the Lakers up 91-74.

Game 4 is Thursday night. Earlier that day, Bryant is scheduled for a court appearance in Eagle, Colo.

The series returns to Minnesota for Game 5 on Saturday.

Notes: Payton outscored the Timberwolves 12-4 by himself to give the Lakers an 18-13 lead, and they were on top the rest of the way.

... Bryant hadn't gone scoreless in the first half of a playoff game since 1998. ...

O'Neal finished with 1,768 free throws attempted in playoff games, the most in NBA history. His first pushed him past Michael Jordan.

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