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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Los Angeles Lakers returned to Minnesota, hoping to finish off the Timberwolves with some history -- a streak of 12 straight wins in "close-out" games.

But the Lakers lacked the tenacity they boasted about the day before -- until it was too late in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Saturday night.

"Those things eventually have to come to an end at some point," said Derek Fisher, one of the few Lakers who played well from start to finish.

After a 98-96 loss to the Timberwolves, the Lakers headed home with a 3-2 lead to get ready for Game 6 on Monday night and a second chance to advance to the championship round.

The last time the Lakers lost in the postseason with a chance to finish a series was June 16, 2000, when they fell to Indiana in an NBA Finals they won on the next try.

"With the intensity of the playoffs, it makes it tough," coach Phil Jackson said. "But we have to keep on going."

Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles with 23 points, but had four turnovers and never seemed in rhythm with his teammates. Shaquille O'Neal had a low-impact 17 points and Fisher added 17 off the bench -- fueling a 16-5 run in the final 1½ minutes that served only to make the final score close.

Jackson, who described his team as "giddy" before the game, spoke afterward about his charges not playing "very smart."

The Lakers emerged with plenty of energy, but they finished the first half in a funk they never escaped as the fired-up Timberwolves stayed strong after halftime.

"They did a good job playing our wings, making our guards penetrate and pitch," Bryant said. "We had good looks. They just didn't go down."

The Lakers led 40-33 with 3:33 left in the first half. Bryant missed a pair of free throws, and the Timberwolves began a 17-0 run that didn't end until Gary Payton's layup nearly two minutes into the third quarter.

Bryant, seemingly intent on ending the series himself, went 4-for-12 in a frustrating first half while his teammates mostly stood around and watched. Reminiscent of his quiet Game 2 performance (14 points), O'Neal was just 2-for-6 for five points in the first half and endured a span of more than 23 minutes without a field goal.

The Lakers insisted they wanted to get him the ball. But the Wolves, as they did in their Game 2 victory at home, were adept at crowding O'Neal in the lane and preventing him from bulling his way to the basket for those powerful, rim-shaking dunks.

Bryant was well-defensed, too, thanks to Latrell Sprewell, Trenton Hassell and, occasionally, Kevin Garnett.

"They were just trapping me," Bryant said. "They got after me pretty good."

Los Angeles couldn't get any closer than five in an ugly, foul-filled third quarter, and Wally Szczerbiak's short jumper in the final seconds put Minnesota back up by 10. Karl Malone had three fouls in that period, and Bryant attempted only one shot.

The Lakers won both of their home games this week, taking full advantage of Sam Cassell's back injury by suffocating Garnett around the basket and keeping Sprewell from doing too much damage from the perimeter or on the drive.

Minnesota coach Flip Saunders lamented Friday that Los Angeles was only worrying about guarding a couple of his players -- the other two or three on the floor weren't a concern.

But Saunders found an offensive-minded quintet that worked well for much of the game: Garnett, Sprewell, Wally Szczerbiak and Fred Hoiberg with Mark Madsen at center.

The Lakers couldn't cover all of them, and they let the Timberwolves be the aggressor. Minnesota went 26-for-32 at the foul line, and Los Angeles was 13-for-24.

The Lakers are still in good shape, though. Only seven of 157 teams in league history have overcome a 3-1 deficit in a playoff series.

"We wanted the chance to close the game out," Bryant said. "We wanted to finish the series. It wasn't for lack of effort. They played extremely hard."

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press