New Jersey (9-8) has been respectable overall this season, but has struggled at home. The Nets have gone 3-5 at the IZOD Center, scoring less than 90 points four times.

On Tuesday night, New Jersey was terrible against a Washington team that had yet to win on the road, losing 108-88. The Nets had won three straight, all away from home.

Devin Harris, the NBA Player of the Week last week, was disappointed with New Jersey's effort.

"We have a small margin of error as a team and we need to give more than a decent effort if we want to win," Harris said. "We made two steps forward and now one big step back. When we struggle to make shots, we're going to have a tough time winning games."

With the Timberwolves (4-13) visiting, the Nets have a chance to quickly put that loss behind them. New Jersey has won three straight and seven of its last eight home games against Minnesota, which is 2-7 on the road this season.

The Timberwolves have lost three straight overall, allowing 102.0 points per game.

In a 100-89 loss at Orlando on Wednesday night, Minnesota held starting guards Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick to a combined seven points. Facing Harris and Vince Carter, though, will be a much tougher test.

Harris is averaging 24.8 points per game, but was held to 18 against the Wizards. Carter, posting 23.3 points a contest, had 16.

"I still feel very confident about this team," said Carter, who averaged 25.0 points in his previous three games. "I think that we feel good about our team and ourselves and as individuals."

Carter would normally find himself matched up often with Mike Miller, but the Timberwolves' veteran swingman may not be available for this game.

Miller was helped off the court and taken to the locker room early in the third quarter against Orlando with an apparent knee injury. He returned with about two minutes left in the period, but he's expected to have an MRI and his status for Friday's contest is uncertain.

"At first, I thought it was really serious," Miller said. "But right now we found out that it is hopefully just a sprain."

The Timberwolves already lost backup forward Corey Brewer for the season early this week due to a torn ACL in his right knee.

Big man Al Jefferson continues to lead Minnesota, and he'll likely try to take advantage of a matchup with Nets rookie center Brook Lopez. After scoring a season-low eight points against Charlotte on Monday night, Jefferson had a team-high 19 against Orlando.

Jefferson is averaging 21.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He had 40 points in a home win against New Jersey on Jan. 27, but was limited to 16 on 5-for-18 shooting in a road loss on Feb. 12.