Love, Rubio ruin Nash's Lakers return with 109-99 win
You shouldn't have shaved your beautiful silver beard, Steve Nash. That's where you went wrong.
On the bright side, the Los Angeles Lakers got a trio of point guards back on Tuesday night. Nash, Steve Blake, and Jordan Farmar were all active for the first time in months, and while Farmar didn't see any action, it's a positive step forward for the team.
But it didn't come without sacrifice. See, the basketball gods hate the Lakers right now. So with three returns came two injuries - to Jodie Meeks and Jordan Hill - and a 109-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Whatever you do, don't blame the returning guards, because their defense was fantastic (nope).
As is often the case, the Lakers struggled to get stops. While the Timberwolves only shot 44.6 percent from the floor, they hit eight triples and had a steady stream of trips to the charity stripe, shooting 38 freebies in total. Add in Minnesota's massive advantage on the glass and not even a hot night from long range of their own could help the Lakers hang.
Kevin Love did most of the damage, scoring 31 points with 17 rebounds, but Kevin Martin added 32 of his own for the game's high mark. In a match-up that would have had hoopheads salivating a few years ago, Ricky Rubio dropped 13 dimes against Nash and company, though he managed just four points.
Corey Brewer, however, didn't have quite as impressive an outing:
As for Nash, who will turn 40 later this week, he looked about how you'd expect after nearly three months off. In 25 minutes, the Canadian scored just seven points but racked up nine dimes, showing that his vision isn't fading nearly as quickly as the health of his back.
He also "came through it great," in health terms, which is a terrific sign.
D'Antoni on @SteveNash health after three months off and this return: "Came through it great."
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) February 5, 2014
Blake played 32 minutes, a surprising total for his first game back. He went scoreless but added five boards, six assists, and three steals. He also ruptured his right ear drum but played through it, because he is a bad ass, apparently.
From here, the Lakers head to Cleveland for a Wednesday date in which Farmar is expected to play and Nash almost surely will not.
The Timberwolves, now back to .500 at 24-24, head to Oklahoma City for a big test against the Thunder.