Steve Nash says his back was 'tight' throughout Lakers-Blazers game

Steve Nash said his back tightened up in the first quarter of Friday's game in Portland, but he still hit the go-ahead jumper with 1:44 left. (Noah Graham/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Nash had his worst shooting effort of the season during Friday night's 111-107 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring just four points on 2-for-11 shooting.

After the game, Nash admitted to feeling back pain from the first quarter on, according to the Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus.

The 39-year-old said that he could not pinpoint when he began feeling what he called "tightness," but that he expects to play on Sunday when the Lakers face the Mavericks in Dallas.

"I tweaked my back in the first quarter and it kept locking up," said Nash. "It was tight the whole game and I couldn't get the mobility."

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"Tonight I couldn't make shots but I tried to be there for my teammates," said Nash, who also dished six assists.

Nash, whose 11.7 points per game is his lowest output since his fourth season in the league, sank a jumper with 1:44 left to give L.A. a 107-105 lead.

"When the ball got kicked out to me, and I didn't feel comfortable catching and shooting it because I was backing into it and I felt stiff," he said, "so I just tried to take my guy one on one and get deep and get a little fadeaway off -- and I was able to knock it in."

He missed nearly two months of action earlier in the season after fracturing a bone in his leg.