Los Angeles ? Only Karl Malone saw the wink.

Though Kobe Bryant said little in the locker room and less during warmups, the Lakers knew his mind was on the game, not back in a Colorado courtroom.

The Mailman glanced at him right before tipoff — and Bryant gave a hint that he was ready to put on a show.

“That wink — I knew it was on then,” Malone said with a grin.

After returning to Los Angeles less than two hours before tipoff, Bryant scored 31 points and led the Lakers to a 92-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night.

Shaquille O’Neal added 19 points and 19 rebounds for the Lakers, who took a 3-1 series lead and moved to the brink of their fourth trip to the NBA Finals in five seasons.

For the third and final time in the postseason, Bryant returned from a hearing in his upcoming sexual assault trial in time to propel the Lakers to a victory with a spectacular performance. He poured in 18 points in the third quarter as Los Angeles took a 15-point lead, hitting open jumpers and difficult layups with equal aplomb.

“I just go day by day. Whatever I have to do, I’ll do,” Bryant said. “No matter what it is, no matter what it takes. … We see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the game becomes more fun.”

Game 5 is Saturday night in Minneapolis. If the Timberwolves win, Game 6 will be Monday back in Los Angeles.

Bryant walked into the locker room at Staples Center shortly before 5 p.m. PDT — more than an hour before tipoff and less than three hours after he left the courthouse in Eagle, Colo., and hopped on a private jet.

Though Bryant’s iconoclasm and selfishness have annoyed his teammates in the past, the Lakers express nothing but admiration for his focus this spring.

“If I had a choice between winning a championship and making things better for that little brother, I’d probably help him out,” said Malone, who left the Utah Jazz last summer for a chance at his first title. “That’s how much he means to me, and this team. He’s being strong right now, real strong.”

Bryant’s previous two playoff games under the same conditions were similarly outstanding: Bryant scored 31 points against the Houston Rockets in the first round, and 42 points against San Antonio in the second round.

After one of the most tumultuous regular seasons in recent league history, the Lakers have reclaimed the aura of invincibility that surrounded them during three straight championship runs from 2000-02. They’ve won seven of their last eight games.

“We’ve been this way for a while now,” Bryant said. “I think that has to do with the playoffs coming around and everybody sensing that this is the time we’ve been waiting for.”

Kevin Garnett had 28 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists while desperately trying to keep the Timberwolves close in what he dubbed a must-win game.

But the grim-faced league MVP was no match for the freewheeling Lakers’ best performance of the series.