Bryant, Lakers fend off T'Wolves

Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant notched a game-high 28 points and dished out seven assists to help the Los Angeles Lakers stave off a hungry Minnesota Timberwolves squad with a 111-108 triumph at the Target Center.

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom scored 25 points each, with Odom adding 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won four straight games and 11 of 12 overall. Los Angeles has also beaten the T'Wolves seven consecutive times and is a league- best 46-10 on the year.

Sebastian Telfair and Ryan Gomes scored 20 points apiece for the T'Wolves, who have dropped two straight and seven of eight overall. Randy Foye and Mike Miller scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Craig Smith totaled 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.

Telfair's layup brought the T'Wolves within 106-105 with 76 seconds left to play.

Then, following squandered possessions by both teams, Bryant missed a three from the left elbow but Odom grabbed the rebound. He quickly put back a layup to give LA a 108-105 advantage with 20.5 ticks remaining.

On Minnesota's ensuing possession Gomes had an open look from the top of the arc, but threw up an air ball. Bryant grabbed the board and was fouled with 14.1 seconds showing before hitting 1-of-2 for a four-point lead.

The T'Wolves came down and Foye nailed a three-pointer with 9.2 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Bryant was immediately fouled on LA's next inbounds pass and hit both shots for a 111-108.

Minnesota still had about seven seconds to get a shot off but Foye's bid was off the mark and the Lakers hung on for the victory.

"I think we had a lot of momentum down the stretch," Foye said. "They're a great team, a championship team, and they came in here today and took it to us. You have to give them credit."

The Lakers took a 29-26 lead after the first quarter and were on top 54-50 at the break.

The teams traded baskets and the lead through most of the third before the Lakers took a 76-70 advantage with 3 1/2 minutes left.

However, Smith's layup with 19.4 ticks remaining closed out a 10-2 T'Wolves run that gave the home team an 80-78 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

Foye's layup and Rodney Carney's dunk opened an 89-84 Minnesota lead with 8:38 left in the game.

"They were on fire as a team and they played really well," said Odom. "We didn't play well enough to stop them, but luckily we still won."

Josh Powell answered with a pair of jumpers and Odom hit two free throws to give the Lakers a brief 90-89 lead.

Up by one point moments later, Derek Fisher nailed a three with 1:44 left to make it 104-100.

Game Notes

The T'Wolves lost their sixth straight home game...LA shot 52.4 percent from the field and 74.1 percent from the charity stripe...Minnesota hit at a 50 percent clip from the floor and 73.7 percent at the foul line...The Lakers are 20-6 on the road this season...Minnesota is 8-19 as the host.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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