Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart returned to practice Tuesday and intends to play in Wednesday's NBA Cup quarterfinal matchup against the visiting San Antonio Spurs.

Smart has missed the past six games with a lumbar strain in his back.

"Back's feeling good," Smart told reporters. "Felt good in practice today. So we did some tests, passed the tests. We're going to give it a shot tomorrow. See how it feels."

Smart, 31, is averaging 9.3 points, 2.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 14 games (nine starts) with the Lakers. He joined the team as a free agent in the offseason and is in his 12th NBA campaign.

Smart was NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season while playing for the Boston Celtics. A first-round pick (sixth overall) in 2014, Smart played nine seasons w

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