Timberwolves at Wizards
The injury-ravaged Minnesota Timberwolves will try to snap a five-game road losing streak when they travel to Washington to face the woeful Wizards on Friday. The Timberwolves have lost two straight and seven of eight to drop a season-worst five games below .500, and they're coming off a 91-83 home loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday. Minnesota is without its top two scorers in big men Kevin Love (hand surgery) and Nikola Pekovic (bruised thigh) and double-digit scorers Chase Budinger (torn meniscus) and Alexey Shved (ankle) also have been sidelined.
Washington returns home after going 2-3 on a West Coast road swing. The Wizards are coming off a 92-88 loss at Utah on Wednesday, but they're in the midst of their hottest stretch of the season, having won five of eight. The teams have split the season series in each of the past two campaigns. Minnesota won the first meeting this season, 93-72 in Washington on Jan. 8.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports North (Minnesota), CSN Washington
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (17-22): The Timberwolves are the worst 3-point shooting team in the league at 29.2 percent, and with their big men sidelined, they don't have much going on at the offensive end. Andrei Kirilenko (13.7 points, 6.9 rebounds) and Luke Ridnouer (11.9 points, 4.1 assists) are the top healthy scorers, and Ricky Rubio (4.2 points, 5 assists) has started the past four games as he works his way back from a major knee injury that kept him out of the first 25 games of the season.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (9-31): Washington is finally getting healthy after its own rash of injuries. Most notably, point guard John Wall is easing back into the rotation after offseason knee surgery and has averaged 14 points and 6.9 assists in his first seven games back. Center Emeka Okafor also has played well lately, averaging 9.9 points and 11.1 rebounds over his past 13 games. Jordan Crawford (14.8 points) leads the team in scoring, and Bradley Beal (13.6 points) is having an outstanding rookie season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Timberwolves are 0-10 when scoring less than 90 points and have lost a league-high seven games when leading after three quarters.
2. The Wizards are 0-25 when shooting a lower percentage from the field than their opponent.
3. Minnesota has been outrebounded in eight of the past nine games after holding the edge on the glass in 16 of its previous 18 contests.