THE WEEK AHEAD: 2 GAMES

Tuesday vs. Denver, 7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net -- Home of the Rocky Mountain bye, the Nuggets make a nice late-season run to accumulate ping-pong balls. Free-agent-to-be Juwan Howard’s last chance to make an impression on the Lakers.

Wednesday at Golden State, 7:30 p.m., Channel 9 -- The Warriors, who made a run in the middle of the season, won’t make the playoffs, but the gimme win on the last day may not be such a gimme. The Lakers have lost three of five in Oakland. On the bright side, when the game’s over, they get to come home.

-- Tim Brown