Kobe Bryant scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Lakers shut down Kevin Love in a 112-95 triumph over Minnesota to beat the Timberwolves for the 13th straight time.
Matt Barnes had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a reserve role for the Lakers, who have won three in a row overall and haven’t lost to the T’Wolves since March 6, 2007, a double-overtime decision in Minneapolis.
Pau Gasol chipped in 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who limited the Timberwolves to 39.6 percent shooting.
Love, who had 31 points and 31 rebounds one week ago in a win over New York and added another hearty double-double against the Clippers on Wednesday, was held scoreless and had just seven rebounds in 34 minutes Friday night.
Darko Milicic led the way with a career-high 23 points, 16 rebounds and a career-best six blocks for Minnesota, which lost for the third time in four games.