Anthony Davis Takes Blame for Lakers' Loss to Knicks: 'I Played Terrible'

Anthony Davis shouldered the blame for the Los Angeles Lakers' 112-108 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday, saying he played "terrible."

"I played terrible. Couldn't find my shot: free throws, layups, everything. The guys did their job. I didn't do my job tonight," Davis told reporters after the game.

Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds but was 8-of-18 from the field and clanked four of his five free-throw attempts. He has just 25 points over his last two games.

The Lakers were looking to reach the .500 mark for the first time this regular season. They came into Sunday winners of three straight, surprisingly continuing to stay alive in the Western Conference playoff race despite the absence of LeBron James.

"That one hurt," D'Angelo Russell said after the game. "That one hurt for us. I think we were battling, we tried to do everything we could. We couldn't get enough rebounds, no stops, didn't make enough shots. It just didn't go our way, I guess."

The loss dropped the Lakers outside the play-in tournament for the time being. They currently sit at 33-35 and are in 11th place in the Western Conference thanks to losing tiebreakers to the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder. Utah and Oklahoma City came into the season expected to compete in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes versus the playoffs, while the Lakers are a veteran-laden roster who saw a return to championship contention in their future.

Tuesday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans will kick off a critical stretch run that looks favorable on paper. Only three of the Lakers' final 14 regular season games come against teams with winning records, two of which are against a Phoenix Suns team playing without Kevin Durant.

All other games are against teams either out of playoff contention or also battling in the play-in race.