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Lakers top Minnesota for 13th straight time; Love held scoreless

Nov 20, 2010 - 4:14 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Lakers shut down Kevin Love in a 112-95 triumph over Minnesota to beat the Timberwolves for the 13th straight time.

Matt Barnes had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a reserve role for the Lakers, who have won three in a row overall and haven't lost to the T'Wolves since March 6, 2007, a double-overtime decision in Minneapolis. Barnes made all seven of his shots, including five from three-point territory.

"They're the world champions and they played like that. They did a great job on the defensive end, but they were really hitting shots," Love said.

Pau Gasol chipped in 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who limited the Timberwolves to 39.6 percent shooting.

Love, who had 31 points and 31 rebounds one week ago in a win over New York and added another hearty double-double against the Clippers on Wednesday, was held scoreless and had just seven rebounds in 34 minutes Friday night.

"We wanted to finish the road trip up strong," Barnes said. "Minnesota is a team that has played us well. They beat us in the preseason and gave us a good game in LA. They're playing well right now."

Darko Milicic led the way with a career-high 23 points, 16 rebounds and a career-best six blocks for Minnesota, which lost for the third time in four games. Michael Beasley had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which lost 99-94, at Staples Center November 9.

Trailing 21-20 after the opening quarter, the Lakers took control by limiting Minnesota to 7-of-22 shooting in the second. The Lakers used a 14-2 run to take control. Shannon Brown sparked the rally with a three-pointer and Bryant's jumper ended the surge for a 36-26 cushion inside seven minutes left.

Three-pointers from Derek Fisher and Bryant, sandwiched around a dunk from Odom, widened the lead to 44-28 before LA settled for a 10-point halftime advantage.

The difference was in double digits for virtually the entire third quarter, and the Lakers carried an 84-71 lead into the fourth. LA led by as many as 25 in the last period.

Game Notes

Odom had 11 points, eight boards and seven assists, while Fisher ended with 12 points and Brown had 11...Bryant went 8-of-27 from the field and also had eight rebounds...Milicic made 10-of-18 shots and added five assists.