LOS ANGELES — The Lakers took another step in the wrong direction Friday. It’s getting close to their final one this season.

The Lakers faded down the stretch and lost to the New Orleans Pelicans, 114-111, in a critical game for post-season implications.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis returned from injuries, but it wasn’t enough as the Lakers mustered only three points in the final three minutes at Crypto.com Arena.

In the race for the final two play-in tournament spots, the Lakers fell three games behind New Orleans and one behind San Antonio. The Lakers don’t hold the tie-breaker with either team. They have five games remaining in the regular season.

“It was pretty much a must-win for us and we didn’t get the job done,” James said. “They made big plays down the stretch. ... That’s the big picture.”

Lakers Coach Frank Vogel tried to sound resolute after the game, but it was undeniably a rough loss for the Lakers (31-46) in a season stacked up with so many of them.

“We have plenty of time to win as many games as we can down the stretch and see what happens to San Antonio,” Vogel said.

San Antonio had no problem Friday with the already-surrendered Portland Trail Blazers, 130-111. The Spurs get a rematch Sunday with Portland, representing more bad news for the Lakers.

C.J. McCollum (32 points) and Brandon Ingram (29 points) took turns attacking the Lakers for the Pelicans, who edged closer to locking up ninth place in the Western Conference and a home game in the play-in tournament.

“They got a couple tough floaters” in the lane, Vogel said. “We didn’t convert offensively down the stretch. We had a couple good looks that didn’t go in for us.”

James scored 38 points after missing two games because of a sprained ankle. He couldn’t be faulted for the loss and even dove over the Lakers’ bench in an attempt to save a loose ball in the third quarter.

James scored 21 points in the third quarter, his most in any quarter this season, as the Lakers took an 87-86 lead into the fourth.

The Lakers clung to a three-point lead in the final minutes, but their offense fizzled from there. Davis missed in the paint and also on a mid-range jumper above the key. Russell Westbrook missed a fastbreak lay-up attempt. James had his shot blocked by Ingram on a drive and tuned over the ball on a lob to Davis.

Despite it all, the Lakers trailed by three with a chance to send the game to overtime. James pump-faked multiple times from the three-point line as the final clock wound down and air-balled a 26-footer as time expired.

Davis had 23 points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes of his first game since Feb. 16 because of a sprained foot.

“The last four minutes was definitely a struggle. Until that point, I felt really good,” Davis said.

Westbrook had only 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting while battling foul trouble.

The Lakers have a fairly quick turnaround with a Sunday afternoon game at home against Denver.

Then they hit the road for a two-game trip to Phoenix and Golden State before finishing the regular season with games against Oklahoma City and Denver.