Bryon Russell

Latrell Sprewell scored 30 points while keeping Kobe Bryant in check, and the Minnesota Timberwolves sent the struggling and injury-plagued Los Angeles Lakers to a 106-90 loss last night. Shaquille O'Neal sat out his second straight game with a strained right calf, and Karl Malone has been out for more than two weeks with a sprained right knee. "We can wake up and play, or we can wait for him to come back," the Lakers' Bryon Russell said of O'Neal. "Me, I'd like to wake up and play.

Kurt Thomas of the New York Knicks was suspended for two games without pay and fined $10,000 by the NBA yesterday for punching Jalen Rose of the Indiana Pacers. Thomas will miss games at New Jersey today and at Washington on Thursday. Rose was not suspended or fined. The altercation happened during the third quarter of the Pacers' 101-90 victory over New York on Christmas night. Thomas contends he was provoked when Rose elbowed him in the stomach under the Indiana basket as the two went for a rebound.

When the Chicago Bulls decamp, along with the Utah Jazz and 1,300 members of the media, for Salt Lake City after tomorrow's Game 2 of the NBA Finals, some of them think they might as well be leaving for Mars. "Dennis says he is going to take the party with him," said Bulls reserve Jud Buechler. "He's going to take six or seven guys along. " Salt Lake City, whose downtown sits at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains and is dominated by the Mormon Tabernacle, is one of the least favorite stops among NBA players.

Larry Johnson and the New York Knicks failed to stop Tim Duncan in the 1999 NBA Finals, and they lost. They weren't going to make that mistake again. The Knicks double-teamed Duncan, giving Johnson some defensive help, as they surged back from a 14-point deficit to beat the host San Antonio Spurs, 86-83, last night. It was the first home loss of the season for San Antonio, which is now 8-1 at the Alamodome. New York's defense - rated No. 1 in the NBA - held the Spurs to 40.9 percent shooting.

Dallas Mavericks coach-general manager Don Nelson and owner-to-be Mark Cuban say flamboyant forward Dennis Rodman was released Wednesday because the team was no longer in playoff contention. The rebellious Rodman, as always, had a different point of view. In his first comments since being dropped by the only team willing to put up with his antics, Rodman criticized the league, the Mavericks organization and Cuban in an expletive-filled tirade yesterday. "If it's not a personal thing, then it's the NBA, saying if you don't get rid of Dennis Rodman, then you're not going to be an owner," Rodman told Fox Sports News.

Michael Jordan enjoyed a victory cigar and sounded like a proud father. Phil Jackson used words like "dismantling" and "aberration. " An ambivalent Shaquille O'Neal said the Washington Wizards were just plain lucky. It was, in fact, a stunning upset that ended the fourth-longest winning streak in NBA history. The Wizards, who had won only 20 games all season, stopped the visiting Lakers' bid to win 20 in a row with last night's 109-102 victory. "We feel like we're not supposed to lose any game," Lakers forward Glen Rice said.

Kobe Bryant is well past the point at which youthful cockiness becomes supreme confidence. At 22, he's a tested veteran who's been in tight spots before - and knows what to do with the game on the line. Bryant hit a game-tying three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in regulation, then made the go-ahead jumper with 24 seconds left in overtime as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 112-110, last night. Bryant, who had eight points in overtime, finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and several staredowns of the heckling fans behind the Lakers' bench.

Nick Van Exel, busy exulting in the Los Angeles Lakers' victory over Seattle in the Western Conference semifinals, didn't want to think about the Utah Jazz, their opponents today in Game 1 of the Western finals in Salt Lake City. Shaquille O'Neal talked nonstop about the importance of contributions by other Lakers players. And Kobe Bryant had very little to say. A year ago, that wasn't the case with the Lakers. Displaying braggadocio, they surrendered to the hype about their star-studded lineup and how it would be more than enough to send the Jazz home from the playoffs.

The Orlando Magic confirmed yesterday that point guard Anfernee Hardaway will exercise a contract option and become a restricted free agent. The Magic immediately tendered Hardaway a qualifying offer, which means the team can match any offer he receives and retain his services. Hardaway, runner-up to Chris Webber in NBA Rookie of the Year balloting, had signed a 13-year, $65 million deal with Orlando just before training camp last October. The contract included the popular one-year escape clause to allow him to become a restricted free agent.

Shaquille O'Neal was dominant again, this time at the ballot box. There was no doubt the powerful Los Angeles Lakers center would win his first NBA Most Valuable Player award for his terrific work this season, with the only question being whether he would be the first unanimous selection. He missed, by one vote. "The first thing I did was call my mother and father," O'Neal said yesterday at the Lakers' practice facility in suburban El Segundo, Calif., where he was presented the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the NBA's 45th MVP. "My father started crying.