Minneapolis ? Karl Malone’s return was an energizer — for the Minnesota Timberwolves, at least.

Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Troy Hudson added 19 points off the bench to lead Minnesota to a 96-86 victory Friday night over Malone and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Shaquille O’Neal led Los Angeles with 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Malone had 13 points in his first appearance since Dec. 21, but the Lakers lacked the spunk showed by the Wolves in the decisive second half.

“When our minds are right, we’re a tough matchup,” said Sam Cassell, who scored 17 points for Minnesota. Latrell Sprewell added 16 as the Wolves won for just the third time in seven games.

The crowd of 20,391 was the largest ever at Target Center, and the atmosphere felt like a playoff game. It was important for both teams, with Minnesota needing to maintain its two-game lead over San Antonio in the Midwest Division and Los Angeles looking to re-establish Malone in the lineup before the postseason.

Trail Blazers 83, Kings 81

Portland, Ore. — Theo Ratliff had 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots to lead Portland over Sacramento.

Pacers 99, Celtics 81

Boston — Reggie Miller scored 18 points and Al Harrington added 16 to lead Indiana to its seventh straight win. Paul Pierce had 21 points for Boston, reaching 10,000 points faster than anyone in Celtics history — in his 431st game. Larry Bird reached the plateau in his 436th game.

Hawks 138, Wizards 124

Atlanta — Stephen Jackson scored a career-high 42 points and five Atlanta players scored at least 20 in a win over Washington. Bob Sura scored 28, along with 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Jason Terry had 23 points, Jason Collier 22 and Chris Crawford 20.

Grizzlies 98, Clippers 89

Memphis, Tenn. — Pau Gasol scored 24 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds as Memphis guaranteed the first .500 season in franchise history.

Nuggets 117, Bucks 111

Milwaukee — Rookie Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points and had a career-high nine assists, and Denver tied a season-high in points.

Spurs 99, Warriors 74

San Antonio — Malik Rose, starting in place of the injured Tim Duncan, scored 17 points.

76ers 99, Knicks 94, 2OT

Philadelphia — Kenny Thomas hit a game-tying three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in regulation, then made a tying layup with 0.2 seconds left in the first overtime to help Philadelphia defeat New York in double overtime.

Jazz 99, Suns 90

Phoenix — Gordan Giricek scored a career-high 33 points for Utah.

Heat 82, SuperSonics 74

Miami — Eddie Jones scored 19 points, and Rafer Alston hit two crucial three-pointers in the final two minutes to help Miami.

Nets 88, Bulls 76

East Rutherford, N.J. — Jason Kidd had his 59th career triple-double, and New Jersey beat Chicago. Kidd had 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds.