Boston Celtics vs Minnesota Timberwolves live stream: Watch NBA online

All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving returns from injury as the Boston Celtics (45-20) visit the Minnesota Timberwolves (38-28) at the Target Center on Thursday evening (Friday AEDT). Irving sat out of his team's 105-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday due to a sore left knee.

After going through 75 percent of Wednesday's practice session, Irving announced his decision to return for the game in Minnesota. Irving, averaging 24.8 points, 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds, is one of the candidates to win league MVP this season, leading Celtics to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Marcus Smart, who undertook more responsibility in Irving's absence, is glad to have his star teammate back. "He brings that winning mentality. A guy like Kyrie who knows what it takes to win a championship and the things you have to go through, to have somebody like that to come in and stabilize this group where you've got a lot of young guys, young talent that's been thrown in the fire very early, it's been huge for us."

The Timberwolves will continue to be without All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler, who underwent successful meniscus surgery on his right knee on Feb. 25. At the time, it was announced that Butler's recovery would be approximately 4-to-6 weeks, giving Minnesota hope that the star would return in time for the playoffs. The Timberwolves are currently holding onto the sixth seed in a tight dash for playoff berths in the West. A few more losses could mean Tom Thibodeau's team slides out of the eighth seed.

Timberwolves All-Star centre Karl Karl-Anthony Towns is of the opinion that his team needs to carefully manage the workload of players entering the final five weeks of the regular season.

"I think the biggest thing for us is, one, rest. Two, mental recharge. And then to be able to come back and really get right. Get in tune, tweak some things in our offense and defense to be ready for what is, for some of us -- especially me and (Andrew Wiggins) -- the biggest stretch of our career so far," Towns told the Minneapolis Star Tribune after his team's disappointing 116-108 loss to the Utah Jazz last Friday.

After visiting the Timberwolves, Kyrie Irving and the Celtics return home for a two-game stead against Indiana Pacers on Sunday and Washington Wizards next Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will stay at home to host the mighty Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Boston Celtics vs Minnesota Timberwolves live streaming, Celtics vs Timberwolves live streaming and NBA live streaming info follows.

Celtics vs Timberwolves live stream: Watch NBA online
Date: Thursday, March 8 (Friday in Australia)
Start Time: 7 p.m. CT (Local Time), 12 p.m. AEDT
TV Channel: TNT (USA), ESPN (Australia)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass (Global), WatchESPN (Australia), NBA On TNT (USA)