No Chaunce for Lakers

By STEVE SPRINGER

Feb. 28, 2002 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

MINNEAPOLIS — The Lakers were facing a hot team on a cold night in a hostile arena. They were playing in their fifth city in seven days. They were playing their second game in as many nights. They were up against a point guard who couldn’t miss, a superstar at the top of his game and a newly arrived big body banging his way into a significant role.

Despite all that, the Lakers asked their tired legs to carry them through one more rally Wednesday night at Target Center, to sink a few more clutch baskets, to grab a few more key rebounds, to extend their winning streak to five games and conclude a perfect trip.

It didn’t happen. Perfection was beyond their grasp.

And so were the Minnesota Timberwolves, in particular Chauncey Billups and Kevin Garnett.

Behind by 13 at the half, the Lakers cut the deficit to seven points in the fourth quarter, but they never got closer, losing, 112-101, in front of an exuberant sellout crowd of 19,769.

The Lakers fell to 39-17. Minnesota is 39-18.

“Four and one. That’s not a bad road trip,” Laker guard Kobe Bryant said. “I’m pleased with that.”

But he wasn’t pleased with the way his legs and his shot deserted him in the second half.

In city after city on this trip, Bryant has dazzled with his deadly shot, lightning moves and overall command of the court.

But on Wednesday night in the final half of the final game, he lost his touch. Bryant was one for 10 from the floor in the last 24 minutes, finishing the night eight for 25. He finished with 20 points and managed to hand out 11 assists.

“They did a good job on him,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “He missed some real easy shots in the first half. Every time he didn’t convert in there, they would run on us. That was pretty tough.”

So tough that Jackson took out Bryant for about 21/2 minutes with 51/2 to go in the fourth quarter.

“He didn’t have a good night,” Jackson said of Bryant. “I thought that at that point, we needed to go in another direction.”

The other direction Jackson goes, whether Bryant is misfiring or not, is center Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal managed to score 27 points, although he made only eight of 19 from the floor. But, subjected to the usual human barrage in the paint, O’Neal was uncharacteristically effective from the free-throw line, sinking 11 of 15, a 73% success rate.

On some nights against lesser teams, that might be enough. But not Wednesday night when Minnesota guard Billups was nearly unstoppable, scoring 30 points while making 10 of 15 from the floor, including seven of eight from three-point range.

And Billups wasn’t even the highest-scoring Timberwolf on the floor. That would be Garnett, who had 33 points (14 of 25 from the floor) and a game-high 15 rebounds.

“It’s a great feeling, man,” Billups said of his big night, “especially against a team like that.”

Billups, now in his fifth year, has been starting in place of Terrell Brandon, out because of a fractured leg, and making the most of it. Last week, he had a career-high 36 points against the Dallas Mavericks, including a club-record 24 in the third quarter.

The Lakers threw both Derek Fisher and Lindsey Hunter against Billups, but neither could cool him down.

“Fisher, he’s a bulldog, a strong guy and real cerebral,” Billups said. ‘And Lindsey Hunter has those big, long arms. But when you get going like that, sometimes you just know the ball is going in the basket. The basket just gets bigger.”

Fisher was quick to give Billups credit.

“Any time you shoot like that, you’re in a groove,” Fisher said. “But we gave him some looks he shouldn’t have had.”

Minnesota forward Wally Szczerbiak, who helped shut down Bryant, added 14 points, and newly acquired Marc Jackson added 12 while leaning his 6-10, 270-pound body heavily on O’Neal.

Jackson was acquired last week at the trading deadline from the Golden State Warriors for center Dean Garrett and the Timberwolves’ second-round draft pick in 2007.

“You can’t stop Shaq,” Jackson said, “but I came ready to play, ready to hit and hoped he would miss his shots.”

Jackson said he already feels like he fits in.

“When you are on the court,” he said, “you are a family.”

When the Lakers began this trip, they were in the throes of the first three-game losing streak of the Phil Jackson era in Los Angeles. Winning four out of five on the road would have sounded pretty good when they left.

So, Jackson was asked, was this loss excusable in light of the overall success of the trip?

“Losing,” said Jackson, “is not excusable.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Lakers on the Road

The Lakers have had success on long trips. They have one more trip of more than two games:

JAN. 6-12 (3-2)

Defeated: Toronto, Detroit, Indiana

Lost to: Minnesota, Chicago

JAN. 27-FEB. 3 (4-1)

Defeated: Atlanta Orlando, Memphis, Dallas

Lost to: Philadelphia

FEB. 21-27 (4-1)