Minnesota @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 15, 2018 ) L.A. Lakers 111, Minnesota 119

The Minnesota Timberwolves are in a ferocious fight for a Western Conference playoff spot and they will have the services of All-Star guard Jimmy Butler for Friday's road game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Butler (knee) was active for Thursday's 100-96 road loss to the Denver Nuggets but sat out for the 17th consecutive game.

The latest setback leaves Minnesota with the same record as Denver but the Timberwolves are in possession of the tiebreaker edge for the eighth and final playoff spot with three games remaining. "You have to play for 48 minutes, that's the big thing," dejected Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said in his press conference following Thursday's setback. "We need everyone to play well now. We've got to get it done." Los Angeles enters on a high after completing a three-game season sweep of the San Antonio Spurs with Wednesday's impressive 122-112 overtime victory. The Lakers will again be short-handed Friday as rookie point guard Lonzo Ball (knee) will miss his fifth straight contest and small forward Brandon Ingram (concussion) will be sidelined for a fourth consecutive game.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS North (Minnesota), Spectrum Sports Net (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (44-35): Butler has been sidelined since being injured Feb. 23 against the Houston Rockets and the team's recent dive - losses in nine of 14 games - has created an urgency for his return. "He's real close," Thibodeau said after Thursday's game while confirming Butler will play against the Lakers. "Just taking everything into consideration, we just thought it was best to wait another day." Prior to the contest, Butler said he had to think about his career and needed to know he could "go 100 percent, no matter for how many minutes it's going to be for."

ABOUT THE LAKERS (34-44): Forward Kyle Kuzma needs 20 rebounds over the final four games to become the first rookie in NBA history to accumulate 1,200 points, 500 rebounds and 150 3-pointers in a season. He has established himself as a building block for the youthful franchise and displayed that again when he knocked down five 3-pointers while scoring 30 points in 43 minutes in the victory over the Spurs. "He plays to exhaustion, and then most times plays through it," Los Angeles coach Luke Walton told reporters. "They have the saying, 'Fatigue makes a coward of us all.' And that's true, except for a few special players. They know how to fight through that."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Timberwolves are 3-0 against the Lakers this season with an average winning margin of 14.3 points.

2. Los Angeles SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is averaging 24.5 points on 15-of-23 shooting over the past two games.

3. Minnesota PG Jeff Teague (knee) had 15 points and six assists against Denver in his return from a one-game absence.

PREDICTION: Timberwolves 112, Lakers 107