Anthony Davis Out for Lakers vs. Zion Williamson, Pelicans With Knee Injury

A sore right knee will keep Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis out of the team's matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night at the Smoothie King Center, the team announced.

Davis dropped 21 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in the Lakers' 118-109 win over the Pelicans last Tuesday.

Davis, 26, is averaging 26.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks across 51 starts for the 45-13 Lakers, who are first in the Western Conference.

L.A. landed the three-time All-NBA team member in a blockbuster deal with the New Orleans Pelicans last summer. The new partnership with LeBron James has been a rousing success, with L.A. on track to earn the West's No. 1 seed.

Davis has missed seven games because of injury this season. A bruised tailbone suffered on January 7 against the New York Knicks kept him out for five contests. He also missed one game with a sore right shoulder and a mild right ankle sprain.

The Lakers have gone 5-2 without Davis in the lineup, but The Brow has unquestionably been one of the league's five best players on both ends. Replacing his production is a tough task.

The Lakers should turn to Kyle Kuzma to enter the starting lineup in Davis' place. The third-year pro is averaging 12.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He scored 36 points on 15-of-24 shooting versus the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, Jan. 11 with Davis out.

Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee should see more minutes at the five, where Davis makes cameos when he's not playing power forward.