Minneapolis ? Kevin Garnett was criticized in the playoffs last year for not being selfish enough down the stretch. Tuesday night, he showed he can indeed take over a game in the fourth quarter.

Garnett had 35 points and 20 rebounds, and he made four of his five field-goal attempts in the final period as Minnesota defeated Los Angeles, 119-91, to even their first-round series at one game each.

“He just stepped up and played big,” teammate Wally Szczerbiak said. “He’s been doing that all year for us, and that’s why I think he should be the MVP of the league.”

Troy Hudson added 37 points for Minnesota, which was eliminated in the first round the past six seasons.

Game 3 is Thursday night in Los Angeles, where the Wolves are 3-24 all-time against the Lakers.

“I don’t think they can play any better than that,” Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. “They played a desperate game.”

A somber Shaquille O’Neal, who spent a day and a half in South Carolina for his grandfather’s funeral, showed up about 90 minutes before tipoff and wasn’t much of a factor, despite 27 points and 14 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant, the other half of the Lakers’ dominant duo, had 27 points on 9-of-28 shooting — far below his sensational 39-point performance in Sunday’s opener. The Lakers won that game 117-98 to swipe home-court advantage from the Timberwolves.

O’Neal wasn’t around in the locker room afterward to comment, but Bryant spoke for him and said the big man wasn’t distracted.

“It didn’t seem like his trip had any effect,” Bryant said.

Hudson’s 37 points set a franchise record for a playoff game. He averaged only 14.2 points during the regular season, and his best effort was 31.

“I was just staying aggressive, like the coaches told me to,” Hudson said.

The Lakers had their most lopsided postseason loss since 2000, when the Indiana Pacers beat them 120-87 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Minnesota, which had never won a postseason game by more than nine points, led by as many as 24 in the third quarter but let the Lakers creep back into it in the fourth. Los Angeles got to 96-83 on a free throw by O’Neal, but Garnett made two jumpers, sandwiched around two free throws by Hudson to push the lead back to 19.

Garnett’s last basket — a jumper from 12 feet — elicited a thunderous chant of “MVP” from the crowd.

His teammates were only 4-for-16 from the field in the final period, and all the baskets came in garbage time.

Szczerbiak had 21 points, and Marc Jackson had 12 off the bench for the Timberwolves, who shot 55.6 percent from the field. Minnesota shot 50 percent in Game 1 and still lost by 19.