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Bryant, Odom help Lakers top Timberwolves

Nov 10, 2007 - 8:01 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The post-Kevin Garnett era for the Minnesota Timberwolves has not gotten off to a good start. Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom made sure it didn't get any better.

Bryant scored 30 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists and Odom added 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers posted a 107-93 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday night.

Al Jefferson had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Minnesota, which has started the season with four consecutive losses after dealing four-time All-Star forward Garnett in a blockbuster trade during the offseason.

"Kevin is gone," Jefferson said. "He is history. He's gone on with his career in Boston. We are trying to establish something here."

Bryant shot 9-of-19 from the floor, knocked down three shots from the arc and came away with two steals.

"We've just got to continue to work hard," Bryant said. "It's such a long season. We've got Lamar back now and that is a big step in the right direction and we just have to get the rest of the guys out there."

Odom, who was making his first appearance of the season following offseason shoulder surgery, played 41 minutes and brought an energy to the Lakers that they did not appear to have in their first four contests.

"I had Odom in and out of there a couple of times - gave him a break," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He has great stamina and he played well tonight."

"Lamar looked great," Bryant said. "He didn't look tired. He looked aggressive, and it looked like he was in good rhythm."

The Lakers took control with Bryant on the bench in the second quarter, capping a 12-2 run with a 3-pointer from Vladimir Radmanovic to grab a 42-38 edge with 5:44 left in the second quarter.

Bryant had 14 points in the first half as Los Angeles took a 56-50 lead into the break.

The Lakers came out strong in the second half and burst out with a 12-2 run, which was highlighted by Lamar Odom's full-court pass to a wide-open Bryant for an easy layup.

"I thought the difference was the first five minutes of the third quarter," Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. "LA came out and went on a 12-2 run to start the third. It put us in a hole that was too much to overcome."

Sebastian Telfair helped cut the deficit to 90-81 by scoring seven points in the first five minutes of the final session, but the Lakers did not allow the Timberwolves to get any closer than seven the rest of the way.

Three players that came to Minnesota in the Garnett trade led the way for the Timberwolves. The 22-year-old Jefferson has now had a double-double in each game this season, while Telfair chipped in 15 points and Ryan Gomes finished with 17.

"We missed a lot of short shots tonight," Gomes said. "They shot a lot more free throws than we did. Overall, we played a pretty good game. But playing well is not good enough when you don't win."

Both Chris Mihm and Andrew Bynum had 10 points and 10 rebounds on the night for Los Angeles, which made 41 trips to the free-throw line, while Minnesota had just 14 attempts.