After the NBA took a hiatus for a few days, the Lakers vs. Trail Blazers were set to face off in a possible series ending Game 5. Damian Lillard left the NBA bubble earlier this week, which certainly made the Lakers feel more confident heading into what they were hoping to be their final game of the first round of playoffs. The Trail Blazers took a slight lead in the beginning of the first quarter, but LeBron and the Lakers caught up to take a 6 point lead after the first 12 minutes.
It seemed both teams had momentum during the first half, and rightfully so. A Game 5 win for either team had substantial benefits. A win for the Lakers would advance them to Conference Semifinals, while the only way the Trail Blazers could stay alive in the playoffs was with a win. Surprisingly, Portland stayed in the game and continued to push through. The first half ended 68-68.
The Blazers ended the first half with 39 points from Carmelo Anthony and C.J. McCollum alone. The two were on fire and were the sole reason the team was still in the running for a win. The Lakers defense was struggling in the first half, allowing Portland to stay right there with them. However, even with some errors on the defensive end, LeBron James had 24 points, and Anthony Davis had 12 points heading back to the locker room for halftime.
After an exciting first half of back and forth, both teams came back out onto the court ready to fight. The Lakers quickly took a 3rd quarter lead. Halfway through the 3rd, the Lakers already had a 14 point lead over the Trail Blazers, but they didn’t give up. With so much at stake, Portland cut that lead to just 8, ending the quarter 100-98.
Quarter 4 went underway and the Trail Blazers stepped up their playing. Portland cut the lead to just 3 with 7:30 minutes left of play. As long as McCollum and Anthony continued with the same style of play the rest of the quarter, the Trail Blazers had a very real chance of winning Game 5. Both teams gave an outstanding performance in the 4th quarter, but the Lakers pulled out the all important W with a final of 131-122.
What should’ve been an easy win for the Los Angeles Lakers, turned out to be a nail biter. LeBron James ended with another playoff triple double with 36 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. Another key player in the Lakers win was Anthony Davis, who finished with a very impressive 43 points. The two superstars accounted for more than half of the Lakers’ total score. While the Trail Blazers didn’t make a comeback in Game 5, C.J. McCollum and Carmelo Anthony had breakout games. McCollum ended with 36 points and Anthony with 27, both amazing efforts to end the series.
This is the first NBA Playoff series win for the Los Angeles Lakers since 2012. There is plenty more of Playoff LeBron and the rest of the Lakers to see in the second round as they continue their quest to an NBA Championship.
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