Gasol fuels Lakers to win over struggling Wolves
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pau Gasol scored a team-high 25 points and Andrew Bynum added 14 rebounds before being ejected to help the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-98 Friday.
Minnesota led 51-49 at halftime and then 94-93 with 3:52 left on the clock but Spanish forward Gasol knocked in a two-point jump shot to spark an unbroken eight-point run by the Lakers as they regained control in a physical encounter.
All-Star guard Kobe Bryant scored 18 points for Los Angeles, despite a sprained left ankle, while Shannon Brown contributed 14 from the bench on five-for-seven shooting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It was a difficult game," Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters. "We kind of anticipated it. The first half was erratic at best, second half we played a little bit better."
Wes Johnson top-scored with a career-high 29 points for the Timberwolves, who suffered their 15th successive defeat at the hands of the Lakers and now lie second-last in the West.
Seven-foot center Bynum was ejected with 6:16 remaining for a flagrant foul while driving past Michael Beasley, who fell to the floor.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He was going to go block the shot but he was too late so he just bumped him, just gave up on the ball ... he didn't do it in a way that was malicious," Jackson said.
Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis agreed.
"That's playoff basketball, they're gearing up for it," said Rambis, a former player and coach at the Lakers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I thought it was good for our guys to see how rough and physical a game can be, that's a good thing for our learning experience.
"I thought our guys did a really good job when the ball came, offensively and defensively we played a very mindful game for the most part and gave ourselves a chance to win."
(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Indian Wells, California; Editing by Alastair Himmer)