Anthony Davis says he was still dealing with back spasms vs. Pelicans, expects to be 100% vs. Nuggets

Anthony Davis was hobbled against the Pelicans, but now he can rest and prepare for the Nuggets on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the Lakers needed a win against the Pelicans to gain the seventh seed and secure their spot in the playoffs. It was close down the stretch, but the Lakers took care of business, winning 110-106.

The good news for the Lakers is that they’ll continue their hunt for another Larry O’Brien trophy. The bad news is that Davis is still dealing with back spasms he suffered in Sunday’s regular-season finale, which clearly impacted him during Tuesday’s game as well.

“It’s good that we won tonight, get a couple to get it back right,” Davis said postgame. “Did feel it tonight, a lot of jumping and stuff. Not sure if anyone has had back spasms, but it’s tough. Trying to keep it as loose as possible. It’s the constant moving, twisting and turning, stuff like that kind of limited me a little bit but still tried to go out there and be effective and help the team win. I feel like I’ll be 100% as far as the back come Saturday.”

The numbers look like a standard Davis game, but a lot of his scoring came from the free-throw line, where he went 8-10. Defensively, his movement was limited and the elite rim protection he’s known for was non-existent. New Orleans won the points in the paint battle 62-36 and even outrebounded Los Angeles 50-41.

After the game, Davis acknowledged that his back spasms were factoring into his performance.

“I think where it affected me the most was just as movement going to get offensive rebounds, my presence at the rim, it was just tough,” Davis said. “But we got it done, we got it done and I have a couple days now to get it back to normal and get ready for Saturday.”

Davis was still a big reason the Lakers won this play-in matchup versus his former team.

Even with his limitations on Tuesday, he managed to grab a huge rebound off a LeBron James miss with Larry Nance Jr. clearly mauling him.

This win was another notch in Anthony Davis’ belt, proving to whatever few skeptics are left that he is a tough player who plays through discomfort and makes impactful plays in big games. Even with limited mobility, he grabbed key rebounds, hit clutch free throws and was a huge factor in the Lakers squeaking out the win.

The celebrations in New Orleans will have to be brief as they quickly prepare for the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The Lakers have lost eight games versus the Nuggets, but they’ll look to break that streak on Sunday in Denver.

To pull off the road win, they’ll need Davis as close to fully healthy as possible, so let’s hope his back only improves from now until the weekend.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.