Anthony Davis limped through a vital Los Angeles Lakers win at the Minnesota Timberwolves before assuring fans his ankle would "be fine" and "we're not finished".

The Lakers moved above .500 for the first time this season with a 123-111 victory at the T-Wolves, powered by 38 points and 17 rebounds from Davis.

That was despite the Lakers superstar turning his ankle in his first game back in Minnesota since sustaining a knee injury there in December 2021.

On that occasion, Davis missed more than a month; this time, he did not miss a possession.

"I knew I was going to play," he said after the game. "Tied the shoes up tighter and just kind of played off adrenaline until the end of the game and was able to get some treatment. But I'll be fine."

The Lakers could not have afforded to be without him, with coach Darvin Ham emphasising the big man's importance to their team.

"Everyone knows that in order for us to be at the highest level and playing at the highest level, it all starts with AD," he said.

"We have a team that can make some things happen, but you have to have that one pivotal force that's leading the charge, and in our case, with this particular team here in the moment, it's AD.

"When he comes out and he's aggressive and we're feeding him and he's not settling and he's putting pressure on the paint, putting pressure on the rim, we find ourselves having a lot of success."

LeBron James added of his team-mate: "I think he understood the assignment and knew how important this game was, and I think we all knew that.

"We jumped on AD's back and he brought us home."

As T-Wolves coach Chris Finch put it: "He kicked our a** in every way possible."

The Lakers are up to seventh in the West, but an intense playoff race is not done – and nor are they.

"We've made some huge climbs, but we're not finished," Davis said. "We want to get greedy."