Anthony Davis knows time is running out for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Last week, Russell Westbrook called the Lakers' matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans — who, at the time, were battling the Lakers for the No. 9 seed — a “must-win.” Frank Vogel said the team internally discussed the stakes. The Lakers blew a 20-point halftime lead and lost.

One week, one LeBron James injury and four losses later, the Lakers' hopes of catching the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 10 seed and qualifying for the Play-In are on life support.

Following their 129-118 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday — the Lakers' sixth consecutive defeat — and the Spurs' victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers trail San Antonio by two games, plus the tiebreaker, with four games remaining.

In other words, the Lakers have zero margins for error. They have to either win out and hope the Spurs finish 1-3, or go 3-1 and hope the Spurs lose out. None of those scenarios are remotely likely.

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The Lakers' next test will come on Tuesday in a road visit to the Phoenix Suns — the NBA's best team who particularly relishes beating the Lakers, which they've done six times in a row by an average of 18 points. As AD made starkly clear in his postgame remarks on Sunday, the Lakers (11-27 road record) will need to find a way to pull off the upset.

“We know the situation that we're in, especially with losing today,” AD said. “It's another must-win. Must-must win in Phoenix. Team is playing well, but also can be beat. But the spirits are high. No one on this team's gonna fold until it's all the way over. We got four games left. Our job's to go out and compete and try to win every one of those.”

Davis admirably gutted out 35 highly-productive minutes against Nikola Jokic on a sore foot. He finished with 28 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals, though he was visibly limping at times and was far more dominant in the first half.

“It was bothering me through the course of the game — from start to finish,” Davis said about his recovering right foot. “But it’s a time where we have to be able to fight through it, for me personally, to try to help the team gather these wins to keep the hopes alive of getting in the Play-In. So I was doing everything I could on the sideline to keep it warm.”

He couldn't guarantee his availability for the all-important Suns clash.

LeBron James (sprained left ankle) was unable to play on Sunday and will probably be listed as questionable for Tuesday.

After the Phoenix trip, the Lakers will face the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder (who have beaten L.A. twice) on a road-home back-t0-back. They'll travel to Denver for a rematch with the Nuggets to close out the season next Sunday.