BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Shaq got hacked, whacked and smacked ¡ª and until Kobe Bryant finally showed up in     

Los Angeles Lakers ' Shaquille O'Neal reacts to a shot in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves , Tuesday, May 25, 2004, in Los Angeles. O'Neal scored 22 points as the Lakers beat the Timberwolves, 100-89. (China Daily/AP)

Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, it almost worked. Shaquille O'Neal had 22 points and 17 rebounds, and Bryant rallied from a scoreless first half for 22 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 100-89 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

¡¡ Gary Payton scored 14 of his 18 points in the first quarter for the Lakers, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series by remaining unbeaten in seven home playoff games this spring.

    And Los Angeles did it the hard way: grinding out a victory as the Timberwolves played vintage Hack-a-Shaq defense in the second half.

    Shaq was 8-for-22 from the line, his anger growing with each brutal foul. His frustration was clear when he stared down the Minnesota bench while leaving the game in the final minute.

    "My percentage isn't pretty, but I'm not going to miss them all," O'Neal said. "That hasn't worked at all this millennium, and it's not going to work."

    But the Diesel has a way of wearing down everything ¡ª defenders, scoring slumps, even that lid on the basket when he's at the line. He was 2-for-13 before finishing on a Rick Barry-esque 6-for-9 streak.

Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal is double teamed by Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (L) and center Erin Johnson (R) during Game 3 of their NBA Western Finals best-of-seven series in Los Angeles, May 25, 2004. O'Neal had 22 points in a 100-89 win for the lakers who take 2-1 lead in the series. (China Daily/Reuters)

    Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, but the league MVP went 16 1/2 minutes between field goals in the second half and eventually fouled out. Wally Szczerbiak scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, including 14 straight to end the third quarter ¡ª but Minnesota never led after the opening minutes.

    Bryant clinched the victory with back-to-back 3-pointers, the last with 4:46 left to put the Lakers up 91-74.

    Game 4 is Thursday night. Earlier that day, Bryant is scheduled for a court appearance in Eagle, Colo.

    The series returns to Minnesota for Game 5 on Saturday.

¡¡ ¡¡Sam Cassell had 18 points in 26 minutes, but played just one minute in the fourth quarter because of the back spasms and hip problems which limited him to 43 seconds in Game 2. Latrell Sprewell had another down game, going 3-for-12 before hitting four late shots to finish with 17 points.

    No vigilante play resulted from both teams' veiled threats of rough play after the combative end to Minnesota's series-tying victory in Game 2, which included seven technical fouls and Karl Malone's ejection for a flagrant foul against Darrick Martin.

  

Los Angeles Lakers Shaquille O'Neal (L) takes a pass as he is defended by Minnesota Timberwolves Mark Madsen during Game 3 of their NBA Western Finals best-of-seven series in Los Angeles, May 25, 2004.(China Daily/Reuters)

  Bryant was scoreless in the first half of a playoff game for the first time since 1998, but he didn't appear to be avoiding shots as he did in his infamous performance at Sacramento late in the regular season. The Lakers got along just fine without him ¡ª particularly when Payton had his first good stretch of the series.

    The first half was an unlikely scoring duel between point guards, with Cassell finishing the first half with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. In the second half, Los Angeles forced the ball inside to O'Neal ¡ª and he kept the Lakers steadily ahead by taking all the abuse Minnesota could dish out.

    O'Neal went 9-for-11 on free throws in Game 1, but reverted back to form since. With his first miss in Game 3, he passed Wilt Chamberlain atop the career list for playoff free throws attempted.

    (China Daily/Agencies)