Pau Gasol will play tonight

Lakers forward Pau Gasol said he will play tonight against the Miami Heat after missing Tuesday's game against the Knicks and Wednesday's practice with a case of strep throat.

``I feel good. I feel a lot better,'' Gasol said. ``I took my medicine, I've been getting my rest. i took care of myself and I should be better to get back out there.''

Gasol said he stayed in bed most of Tuesday and Wedesday before boarding a flight to Miami on Thursday morning. He worked out a bit when the Lakers landed Thursday evening and participated in shoot-around Friday afternoon.

The two days he was out of commission were pretty miserable though.

``Your throat gets really sore, you can't really swallow anything, and you get a bad fever for a couple of days,'' he said. ``I tried (to play Tuesday). I went to Staples to evaluate myself and realized I wasn't going to do it.

``I watched it at home. ...There was a little too much interest. When we fell behind by 15 I was not too happy but we were able to come back in the second half and get the win.''