Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis will not play in Sunday night's matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a sore right knee, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

This should not come as a surprise, as the Lakers are playing the second game of a back-to-back this evening. AD was initially listed as questionable before being ruled out.

Davis has clearly been hampered by the knee issue as of late. His services were not really required in a blowout win of the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, but he also played under 25 minutes and took just 12 shots in Saturday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

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The All-Star played a large role in locking down Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson when the two teams squared off on Feb. 25, racking up six blocks and pulling down 14 rebounds. However, Davis will not play against his former team on Sunday as the Lakers exhibit some caution with respect to his health.

Anthony Davis had an elbow injury that caused him to miss some time in the middle of January, but he had played in 16 consecutive games prior to Sunday night's absence. The Lakers went 11-5 in that stretch.

This should make for an interesting showdown between the Lakers and Pelicans, especially as far as Williamson is concerned.

Zion was not afraid to take it right at Davis the last time out, but AD had plenty of success disrupting shots at the rim or forcing him towards a help defender. But without Davis on the floor, it is possible the Pelicans will look to involve Williamson early in an effort to exploit matchups.