MINNEAPOLIS  — The Los Angeles Lakers were reeling and the Minnesota Timberwolves were rolling, turning an 18-point deficit into a one-point lead with three minutes to go.

Just when it looked as though the Lakers were going to let another road game slip away, Kobe Bryant showed these young pups just how it’s done in closing time.

Bryant had 35 points and 14 rebounds and Pau Gasol scored 28 to give the Lakers a much-needed road victory, 106-101 over the Timberwolves on Sunday night.

Andrew Bynum added 21 points for the Lakers, who won for just the second time in nine road games this season. But it was Bryant who slammed the door, slithering through the holes in Minnesota’s zone to hit two clutch jumpers to seal the win.

“I don’t know if he’s the best one or not, but in the last quarter, for sure,” said Wolves rookie point guard Ricky Rubio, who had eight assists but just five points on 2-for-13 shooting. “Maybe during 48 minutes, there are players like LeBron and Derrick Rose who can be in that top position, but at the end of the game, he’s the best.”

Kevin Love had 33 points and 13 rebounds and Michael Beasley added 18 points and 12 boards for the Wolves, who lost to the Lakers for the 16th straight time.

The Wolves dominated many of the statistics, including offensive rebounds (24-7), turnovers (12-4), second-chance points (32-10) and fast-break points (16-0). But they shot just 38 percent and couldn’t find an answer for Bryant, who made 14 of 29 shots and 5 of 9 3-pointers.

Minnesota led 94-93 with 3:19 to play, but the Lakers’ size was too much down the stretch. Bynum threw down two dunks and Bryant attacked the middle for two pull-up jumpers.

“We couldn’t stop him, no matter what we did,” Rubio said. “He was a scoring machine in the fourth quarter.”