Even with a bout of the stomach flu, Kobe Bryant was too much for the NBA's worst team.

Bryant scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half to help Los Angeles jump out to a big lead, and the Lakers cruised the rest of the way to a 116-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

Trevor Ariza added 15 points and five rebounds, and Bryant also had five assists for the Lakers, who dropped Minnesota to 2-14.

Al Jefferson had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but shot just 5-for-14 from the field. The Timberwolves have lost their last three games by a combined 65 points.

A sparse crowd braved a winter snow storm to make it to the game, and the weather even wreaked havoc with the Lakers' short travel plans.

The Lakers stayed in a hotel across the street from the Target Center, but the bus that was supposed to pick them up and bring them to the arena was late because the poor road conditions created a traffic snarl in the city.

About half the Lakers chose to walk over on their own, while coach Phil Jackson, Bryant and others waited for the late bus.

A reporter jokingly suggested to acting head coach Jerry Sichting before the game that the Wolves were playing games with their opponents from sunny California, but even a little help from the skies couldn't get them their third win of the season.

Bryant came out gunning from the start, scoring 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first quarter. He appeared to be a little less explosive than his usual self, until he threw down a 360-degree dunk off a fast break late in the second quarter.

The Lakers were up by 16 by that point, and Bryant didn't even need to play the fourth quarter as they snapped a two-game losing streak.

In Minnesota, rebuilding has been painful - literally.

The Timberwolves have been banged up all season, which certainly hasn't helped matters in what already was expected to be a difficult year after Kevin Garnett was dealt to Boston. Randy Foye (knee) and Theo Ratliff (knee) have been out for weeks, while Rashad McCants (knee) and Mark Madsen (shoulder) have recently returned from injuries.

Marko Jaric missed the game with a foot injury, leaving the Wolves with Sebastian Telfair as the only healthy point guard.

Even their coach hasn't been able to stay healthy. Randy Wittman missed the game and will be out indefinitely when he undergoes back surgery on Wednesday. Sichting will fill in until Wittman returns, though the team has not said when that will be.

Notes: Lakers C Andrew Bynum did not dress with the same illness Bryant had and spent part of the afternoon at a Minneapolis hospital to receive IV fluids. ... Lakers Ronny Turiaf (concussion) and Kwame Brown (ankle, knee) did not make the trip. ... Wolves F Antoine Walker played after being listed as a game time decision with an ankle injury.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been wildly inconsistent throughout the early season. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been very consistent - they've rarely done anything but lose.

The Lakers (9-8) will try to avoid a third straight defeat Tuesday when they hit the road to face the 2-13 Timberwolves, losers of three in a row.

It's already been a season of streaks for the Lakers, who won a season-best four in a row in mid-November, only to drop their next three. They then won two straight before their current two-game skid.

Los Angeles has won seven games by 10 or more points but have lost four by at least 13.

"You're not a good team until you can play the same way all the time," Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. "Even when you're not scoring the ball, you still have to play defense ... we've yet to have that throughout the whole game."

The Lakers followed up a 120-96 loss at Utah on Friday, when they committed 22 turnovers, with a 104-97 home defeat to Orlando on Sunday.

Prior to those two losses, Los Angeles blew out Denver 127-99 on Nov. 29 in a game in which seven Lakers scored in double figures.

"That's what's so frustrating," Lakers forward Luke Walton said. "I wish it was something we could just go to practice and fix, but I can't put my finger on it. We're showing that we can play; it's just that we're not doing it all the time. If we want to be a good team, we have to do that."

Sunday was not the first time Los Angeles has been plagued by turnovers, as its 16.3 average is among the highest in the league.

Minnesota and Los Angeles have met once this season, a 107-93 Lakers win Nov. 9. Los Angeles had six players score in double figures and was paced by Kobe Bryant's 30-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist performance.

Bryant has averaged 23.0 points against the Timberwolves in his career, and he's been particularly good against them in his last four games. In that span, he's averaged 36.0 points, including a 50-point effort March 18 in a 109-102 Lakers victory.

Minnesota knew it would be in for a season of transition with star Kevin Garnett having been dealt to Boston over the summer. The Timberwolves, though, probably didn't expect things to be this bleak.

Minnesota has the lowest winning percentage in the NBA (.133) and is losing by an average of 9.0 points, worst in the Western Conference.

The upcoming schedule doesn't bode well for a turnaround. Minnesota plays 11 of its 16 games this month on the road, and started December with a 109-80 loss at Memphis on Saturday - its worst defeat of the season.

"It's one of those games you want to forget about. Not even talk about,'' said Timberwolves forward Al Jefferson, who was held to a season-low nine points.

Despite a poor performance against the Grizzlies, Jefferson has shown promise in his first season with Minnesota after being the centerpiece of the Garnett trade. He's averaging 20.1 points and 10.9 rebounds and has 11 double-doubles.

The Timberwolves are one of the league's younger teams with an average age of 26, but inexperience isn't the only thing holding them back. Promising guard Randy Foye hasn't played this season due to a stress reaction in his left kneecap, veteran center Theo Ratliff has missed the past eight games with knee problems and swingman Marko Jaric may be out a while after injuring his foot in Friday's loss to San Antonio.

"We know how much talent we have in this locker room, and how we compete and how we play in practice,'' forward Ryan Gomes said. "It's just not going the way we think it should be going."

The Lakers have won five of the last six meetings with the Wolves, but are 3-8 in the last 11 matchups in Minneapolis.