Lakers Routed Timberwolves 132-119

Andrew Bynum bulled his way inside for his fifth straight double-double performance with 27 points and 15 rebounds, providing the perfect complement to Kobe Bryant's 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and the Lakers started a six-game road trip with a 132-119 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Minnesota was recently one of the hottest teams in the league having won 10 of their last 13 games for the second-best record in January. But they are no match for the Lakers.

Pau Gasol rebounded from a bad game against Charlotte where he scored only 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. This time, Gasol had 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds. Luke Walton played efficiently scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 18 minutes. Derek Fisher added 10 points.

Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar contributed 10 points each off-the-bench. Trevor Ariza was cleared to play after a CT scan and MRI test came back. Ariza left Tuesday's game against Charlotte with a concussion. He scored eight points in 23 minutes in this game.

Bynum is a big reason why the Los Angeles Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference.

"He looks very confident in there right now," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "I think this is a stepping-out point for him. He's a better player now than he was when he got hurt last year, but it's taken him this month, January, to get back and feel like, 'OK, I'm over my injury, it was a year ago, and I'm prepared to go forth and put this effort into it,' and he's done a great job."

Bynum, the reigning Western Conference player of the week, helped the Lakers make up for a frustrating double-overtime loss at home to Charlotte on Tuesday.

"We're starting to expect it from him because he's being aggressive. He's being assertive," Bryant said. "He's finding his niche and where he can operate in the offense. I like it. I like it a lot."

"Some teams don't have one guy that can post up and play the center position," Bynum said. "We actually have two that can do it pretty well. I think the game plan should always be to go inside. We know what Kobe can do. Offensively I think we've kind of figured it out and we know what's going to happen."

Al Jefferson led the way for the Timberwolves, scoring 34 points and pulling down 13 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season. Randy Foye scored 27 points on 8-of-20 shooting. Ryan Gomes and Sebastian Telfair contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Mismatches turn in Lakers' favor

By Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune

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Kevin McHale's draft-night swap of O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love in an eight-player deal was predicated on the notion that skilled 7-footers are few and far between in the NBA these days.

The Los Angeles Lakers, and Sunday night, are exceptions.

The Lakers present two of those aberrations -- Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol -- in their starting lineup and thus, the Lakers' 98-86 victory at Staples Center featured the kind of mismatches McHale once dismissed and now bases his coaching philosophies around.

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Lakers just good enough to win again

By Elliott Teaford, LA Daily News

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Maybe this is as good as it gets right now. Maybe this is the best the Lakers can do. Maybe winning ugly games against bad teams is their method of operation.

That certainly seemed to be the case again Sunday night, when the Lakers rumbled, bumbled and stumbled their way past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 98-86, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center.

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Lakers beat Timberwolves, 98-86

By Mike Bresnahan, LA Times

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Lakers deliver another subpar effort, waiting until the fourth quarter to put away the 4-19 Timberwolves in a 98-86 victory that improves L.A.'s record to 20-3.

The Lakers finally revisited the concept of holding a team under 100, but there was a glaring omission of something equally important -- an offense.

The Lakers sputtered and coughed their way to a 98-86 victory Sunday night over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center.

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