Friday, May 2, 2003 | 10:37 a.m.
FROM SUN WIRE REPORTS
Kobe Bryant was upset as he came out for the fourth quarter, annoyed by the way the Los Angeles Lakers finished the third period.
He decided to do something about it.
That turned out to be the beginning of the end for the visiting and high-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
Bryant made three jumpers and added two alley-oop dunks off passes from Robert Horry in the opening 2:45 of the final period to outscore the Timberwolves 10-2 by himself, and the Lakers rolled to a 101-85 victory Thursday night.
Besides L.A., the San Antonio Spurs, New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics advanced to the second round of the playoffs Thursday night, each winning their best-of-seven series in six games.
Tim Duncan had 15 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career playoff triple-double as San Antonio eliminated Phoenix 87-85.
Jason Kidd had a triple-double, Kenyon Martin scored 29 points and Richard Jefferson added 16 as the Nets downed Milwaukee 113-101.
Paul Pierce had 27 points and Antoine Walker 21 for the Celtics, who opened an 18-point lead in the first quarter and coasted to a 110-90 victory against Indiana.
Trailing 67-50, Minnesota outscored Los Angeles 13-2 to finish the third quarter within six points.
Bryant's outburst made it 79-65, and the Lakers scored another eight consecutive points -- four by Devean George, two by Bryant and two by Shaquille O'Neal -- to make it an 18-2 spurt.
And that was that.
"I made a conscious effort to be more aggressive," Bryant said. "We didn't close out the third quarter very well. It was important to start the fourth quarter and establish momentum."
The three-time defending champions will take that momentum into the second round of the playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Timberwolves will be going home after the first round -- again.
"Kobe was phenomenal," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "We doubled him and couldn't keep him from scoring. That took the wind out of our sails and we had trouble scoring.
"As I said all along, the Lakers are the team to beat and I don't think that's going to change."
Bryant finished with 31 points and eight assists and O'Neal just missed a triple-double with 24 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers beat the Timberwolves for the third consecutive time to win the best-of-seven series 4-2.
"Shaq was dominant in the first half and in the second half, Kobe was the dominant factor," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I told the team Minnesota tested them and we have to improve.
"Our next series is going to be very difficult and we know it."
The first two games of the Lakers-Spurs series will be played Monday and Wednesday nights in San Antonio. The remainder of the schedule will be announced later.
The Lakers eliminated the Spurs from the playoffs each of the last two years, winning eight of nine games. But San Antonio swept Los Angeles 4-0 this season en route to earning homecourt advantage throughout these playoffs.
"They'll be looking for revenge from what we've done to them the last two years," O'Neal said. "We match up pretty well with the San Antonio team."
If the Lakers play the way they have in the past two games, they match up well with anybody.
While O'Neal and Bryant were dominant, the supporting cast did its part, too. Derek Fisher scored 16 points, George added 12 points and eight rebounds and Robert Horry had 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
"It was their role players that beat us," Minnesota's Kendall Gill said. "We had no idea Derek Fisher was going to show up the way he did. Brian Shaw, Devean George, Robert Horry the last two games. They can't complain about their role players."
The Lakers have won 13 consecutive playoff series under Jackson, and Jackson-coached teams have won an NBA-record 25 series in a row.
"Our defense is what stepped up in the last two games," Jackson said.
The Timberwolves have never advanced in the playoffs, being eliminated in the first round seven consecutive years after failing to qualify in their first seven seasons of existence.
The second round begins Monday night with Game 1 of the Nets-Celtics and Lakers-Spurs conference semifinals.
Three more first-round series could conclude tonight as Philadelphia (leading 3-2) visits New Orleans, Dallas (ahead 3-2) plays at Portland, and Orlando (up 3-2) hosts Detroit.
If any of those series is extended to a seventh game, it will be played Sunday.
Tony Parker added 17 points, and Ginobili scored 12 by going on 4-of-7 3-pointers.
Joe Johnson's driving layup gave Phoenix its last lead, 71-69, with 6:10 to play. Then the 3-pointers began to fall for the Spurs.
Jackson made one to put the Spurs up for good, 72-71 with 5:54 to go. Ginobili, wide-open, made two, then Jackson sank another and it was 81-74 with 3:44 to go.
"The Suns were a great eighth seed," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "If they had made their shots down the stretch, we would probably be playing a seventh game."
Martin, who picked up his fifth foul and took a seat early in the fourth quarter, had two crucial offensive rebounds on one possession, dishing to Kerry Kittles for a 3-pointer to make it 102-90 with 4:37 remaining.
Sam Cassell, the only remaining member of Milwaukee's "Big Three" that included Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson, had one of the worst playoff performances of his career with just five points as the Bucks trailed by as many as 22.
"It was awful good," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said of the first 12 minutes. "That was awful good basketball."
Indiana has now lost in the first round three times under coach Isiah Thomas, who got little in this series from All-Star Brad Miller and future Hall of Famer Reggie Miller.
"I'm disappointed because I let the other 11 guys down," Reggie Miller said. "No question about it: It was 100 percent my fault."
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