Larry Nance Jr. sustains concussion, will miss Lakers’ game Tuesday

Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. suffered a concussion during the first quarter of the Lakers game against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and missed the game’s final three quarters.

At minimum, Nance will miss the Lakers’ Tuesday night home game against the Dallas Mavericks as he undergoes the league’s concussion protocol, the Lakers said.

Nance suffered the injury while diving for a loose ball. He got fouled by Phoenix’s P.J. Tucker and then banged the back of his head hard on the court.

Nance was slow to get up, then walked to the bench holding his head. He returned seconds later to shoot two free throws, which he made. Afterward, Lakers Coach Luke Walton replaced him with starting forward Luol Deng.

Nance must be monitored for 24 hours after his injury before he can begin the return-to-participation exertion protocol. The return-to-participation exertion protocol includes riding a stationary bike, jogging, agility work and noncontact team drills.

Lakers love basketball

Each NBA team has one sponsored filter on the social media app Snapchat and the Lakers’ choice on Sunday was a picture of forward Metta World Peace with the words, “I love basketball.”

It’s become something of a mantra for the team. World Peace posted a video last week in which he said it. Now the Lakers say it constantly, even breaking team huddles with it.

“They enjoy it,” Walton said. “I told them they better watch out and hope Metta’s not having a bad day. If they keep messing with them, he might end up hurting one of them. They’ve been warned. For now at least the team is enjoying it and Metta’s enjoying it and been great about it. Anything to help bring the team together I’m all for.”

World Peace said the permeation of his mantra was point guard D’Angelo Russell’s idea.

“D’Angelo is our leader but he’s accepting from the veterans to teach him how to lead,” World Peace said. “He’s not saying this is my team and not taking feedback. He’s taking a lot of feedback. That’s something he wanted to do.”

Coaching through yoga

The Phoenix Suns will spend an extra day in Southern California for a beach yoga session on Monday.

Last season, Suns Coach Earl Watson, who played at UCLA, began mandatory yoga sessions once a week. He says it builds mindfulness in his players, and a connection that helped them beat the New Orleans Pelicans in overtime recently.

“That backdoor play that we beat New Orleans with, that’s straight mindfulness,” Watson said. “I don’t take credit for that win, the guys they created that moment, they created that play. Mindfulness is also understanding that you’ve seen us in many games, we’re down and out we have a chance to win the game. …

“It’s a spiritual connection. You just gotta be a yogi to understand. A lot of times we come to the huddle we tell guys just find your breath. Relax.”

Half-court shot

Fan Travis Milne of Santa Maria, Calif., hit a half-court shot to win $35,000 between the third and fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. The 27-year-old was the fourth fan winner of the promotion which began 10 years ago.

One of those winners came last year, also during a Lakers win against the Suns.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Twitter: @taniaganguli