The Los Angeles Lakers will travel to Minnesota to meet the Timberwolves in an NBA 2014 game that will be live streaming online for free from the Target Center at 8:00 PM ET.
Los Angeles has added Pau Gasol to its injury list but could get some backcourt depth following a weekend break. The possible return of Steve Nash might help the Lakers avoid their worst losing streak and first defeat in Minnesota in nearly seven years Tuesday night.
Idle since a 110-100 loss to Charlotte on Friday, Los Angeles (16-31) took a day off before practicing Sunday with Nash, Steve Blake and fellow point guard Jordan Farmar participating.
"They looked good. I think they came through it OK," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "... They're all hoping to play."
While Farmar (hamstring) is unlikely to play Tuesday, Nash (back) could return to the court three days shy of his 40th birthday and Blake (elbow) may be back, too. Nash hasn't played since Nov. 10, Blake since Dec. 10 and Farmar since New Year's Eve. Kobe Bryant and Xavier Henry remain sidelined by knee problems.
Gasol won't return until next week at the earliest due to a strained groin. He had scored at least 20 points in each of the Lakers' last 10 games.
It's possible Gasol has played his last game in a Lakers uniform with rumors swirling he'll be dealt before the Feb. 20 trade deadline. Dealing the high-priced veteran might make sense for a team significantly closer to the worst record in the Western Conference than a playoff spot after losing 18 of 21.
That stretch includes three six-game losing streaks, though they haven't had a longer one since March 2-15, 2007.
That skid includes Los Angeles' last defeat in Minneapolis. The Lakers have since won 12 straight there, though their 22-game win streak in the series was snapped with a 113-90 defeat Nov. 10.
Kevin Love had 25 points and 13 rebounds in both meetings this season and now faces a Lakers team allowing a league-worst 112.1 points per game in 2014.
Los Angeles has surrendered at least 100 in 14 consecutive games, matching its longest such streak since a 17-game span in 1986-87.
"I think we're all together," D'Antoni said. "We're all frustrated. Nobody's happy, but you gotta battle."
The game will be broadcast on FSN + and live streamed onnbaliveonline.tv/streaming/
