Wolves

LaVine, Muhammad, Rush all out against Lakers tonight

The Wolves' bench will be without one key member and possibly another against one of NBA's best benches so far this season.

By Jerry Zgoda

November 13, 2016 at 11:50PM

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Bad news tonight for Wolves vs. Lakers:

Starting shooting guard Zach LaVine is out because of a sore right knee.

Backup forward Shabazz Muhammad and backup guard Brandon Rush also won't play tonight at Target Center.

LaVine and Muhammad both have what the team is calling sore right knees, Rush missed the last three games because of a bruised toe.

Nemanja Bjelica will move into the starting lineup in LaVine's absence.

The Wolves are playing back-to-back home games for the 31st time in their history after they lost to the other L.A. team, the Clippers, 119-105 last time. But it's the first time they're doing so on a Saturday-Sunday configuration.

Rush said before the game that he injured his big toe in a game at Oklahoma City eight days ago. He didn't play in games at Brooklyn or Orlando and was on the inactive list for Saturday's loss to the Clippers.

Muhammad and Nikola Pekovic (who will be on the inactive list all season) are tonight's inactives.

That will hurt the Wolves' bench against a Lakers' bench that has been one of the NBA's best in L.A.'s 6-4 season start.

Lakers rookie Brandon Ingram is expected to play even though he has an ankle injury, Lakers rookie coach Luke Walton said before the game.

Ricky Rubio apparently came through his return from injury Saturday fine and is set to start for the Wolves tonight.

This is the first time the Wolves play the Lakers in the post-Kobe Bryant era, a new day that Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau called a "changing of the guard" in the NBA with Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett all gone off into retirement.