Lakers’ Larry Nance Jr. breaks his nose; Kobe Bryant gets a rest day

The Lakers’ empty injury list lasted all but a day.

Rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. broke his nose in practice Monday, injured by teammate Julius Randle.

While Nance is being tended to, veteran forward Brandon Bass has yet to be looked at by doctors after suffering a corneal abrasion in the Lakers’ Sunday-night loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant was given the day off to rest.

“I knew how frustrated he was last night,” Coach Byron Scott said of Bryant. “I said, ‘I just want to see you Tuesday morning.’”

“I want him to just take a day off, just to get away from it a little bit,” Scott continued. “He’ll be ready tomorrow.”

Last year, the Lakers led the league in injuries, an issue that has plagued the team for the last few seasons.

Although the status of Nance and Bass is unclear, Bryant is expected to play Tuesday night at Staples Center when the Lakers host the Denver Nuggets.

Scott said he doesn’t expect to sit Bryant for games yet, just practices, although at some point the former is inevitable.

“I think if we can get to the sixties, that would be great,” Scott said, referring to the Lakers’ 82-game season.

The Lakers play 18 games on back-to-back nights, but Scott noted he hasn’t decided on a plan for resting Bryant.

Bryant is averaging 17.3 points a game this season, but he’s shooting just 31.4% from the field and 20.7% from three-point range.

The Lakers have started the season with three straight losses. After hosting the Nuggets (1-2), the Lakers embark on a five-game road trip, starting Friday in Brooklyn against the Nets (0-3).

Nance has yet to play this season, and Bass has served as the team’s backup center. If Bass is unable to play, Scott could turn to Tarik Black or Robert Sacre.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.