Kobe leads the way past Minnesota for the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers are back at full strength but only narrowly edged out the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-117 on Wednesday night.
Kobe Bryant led the scoring with 31 points, while Dwight Howard had a productive night on the offensive end contributing 25 points but also posted 16 rebounds.
The Lakers were in desperate need of a win to end a three-game losing streak as they lost their momentum in the play-off race in the Western Conference.
Antawn Jamison added 18 points off the bench, but that didn’t stop the game ending in controversial fashion as Ricky Rubio appeared to be fouled by Kobe Bryant while attempting a game-tying three as time expired.
However, there was no call and the Lakers escaped with the win despite 19 points and 16 boards from Nikola Pekovic.
The win was slightly marred by the news that Metta World Peace has been ruled out for six weeks with a torn left meniscus suffered during Monday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Yet coach Mike D’Antoni will be pleased with the win as the Lakers remain in the eighth play-off spot.
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