NEW ORLEANS – LeBron James scored 25 points before he appeared to mildly aggravate a right ankle injury and the Los Angeles Lakers closed out the regular season with a 110-98 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.
While the victory was the Lakers' fifth straight, it was not enough to pull them high enough in the Western Conference standings to skip the NBA's new play-in format involving the seventh through 10th seeds.
Portland beat Denver to finish sixth, meaning the Lakers would have to win one of up to two play-in games to secure a regular playoff spot as either a seventh or eighth seed.
Anthony Davis scored 14 points and Andre Drummond added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers. They had their top players on the floor