TIM KAWAKAMI , Times Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS -- There was, as usual, some feedback
and garbled screeches, crossed wiring and
mini-explosions.

Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Glen Rice, together
on the floor, sharing shots and space and
passes--there may never be enough room, completely
and comfortably, for the three of them.

But Friday, against the struggling Minnesota
Timberwolves, for long stretches and for probably the
first significant time this season, Bryant, Rice and
O'Neal plugged in and shared a powerful electrical
current, pushing the Lakers to a 97-88 victory before
19,354 at Target Center.

"We were just trying to
dissect them," said Bryant,
who had a career-high 12
assists, the highest total for
a Laker since the 1997-'98
season.

"We just wanted to take our time and really pick them
apart. And we were able to do that. We were able to cut
them up in certain parts of the game."

It was not, of course, enough to please their
coach--Phil Jackson was too angry about nearly
blowing a 20-point third-quarter lead to smile.

The Lakers (an NBA-best 20-5) did not even seem to
please themselves much--O'Neal (who had seven
assists) and Rice suggested that there was too much
individual play after the Lakers built a double-digit lead
with a dominant second-quarter performance.

Kevin Garnett, who scored 28 points and finished with
a franchise-record 21 rebounds, almost pulled
Minnesota back into it on his own in the second half.

Minnesota got within six points a couple of times in the
fourth quarter, but never closer, and O'Neal fended
them off for good by making two free throws with 1:34
left.

"Every team we play, they're going to bring their 'A'
game," O'Neal said. "They brought their 'A' game. We
brought our 'B' game. It was good enough for us to
win."

Said Jackson: "It was a matter of us having to spend
too much energy to win a ballgame. . . . We just blew it
open in the second quarter and then just sat on our
lead in the third quarter and were willing to play when
we had to play.

"That's not the way I like a team to play basketball, and
we had a discussion after the game about that."

The Lakers' fifth victory in a row, and 12th in their last
13 games, came against a Timberwolves team in the
process of losing its eighth consecutive game.

But it also came in a back-to-back situation (after
winning in Atlanta on Thursday) and was a vivid
display of how difficult it is to defeat them when
Bryant, O'Neal and Rice are running hot.

"The three amigos do it again," said O'Neal, who
scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds in 46 minutes.
"Yep, got three weapons on this team. It's nice to
have."

Rice scored 23 points and had five rebounds, bouncing
back from an off-shooting performance in Atlanta.

"We had a rhythm," said Rice, who made seven of 13
shots. "We had a lot of shots that were pretty easy
shots, guys were moving to the open slots, we were
working the ball around very well."

Bryant scored a team-high 28 points on 10-of-24
shooting and was three rebounds shy of a
triple-double. He took advantage of the Timberwolves'
defensive strategy of double-teaming the ball early in
each Laker possession.

"My vision is coming back," Bryant said, referring to
the seven weeks he sat out because of a broken hand.

One late fourth-quarter play highlighted the temporary
synergy: Bryant beat his defender on a drive to the
basket, then fired an over-the-shoulder pass to O'Neal
for an easy layup after drawing a crowd in the middle.

"That kind of comes from playing with each other,"
Bryant said. "I know you've seen certain times when I
come off pick-and-rolls, and I'll hit Shaq and the pass
will be too hard, because I think he's still stepping out.
We're still going to learn one another, but we're getting
better at it."

The Lakers raised their road record to 8-3, second-best
in the NBA behind Portland, and now have visions of
sweeping this early-test four-game trip that resumes
Sunday in Toronto and ends Monday in Boston.

"That's what you have to win with on the road,"
Jackson said of relying on his marquee three for the
bulk of the production, "with the guys who come to the
dance and the guys who are the tickets."