After defending their home court in Games 3 and 4, the Los Angeles Lakers had the opportunity to close out their series against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road in Game 5.
However, the toll of their overtime win against the Grizzlies in Game 4 was apparent as they came out much slower than their younger opponents. L.A. was able to keep pace with Memphis for half of the first quarter before the latter started to get going from beyond the arc to open up a 14-point lead. The second quarter was much of the same, though the Lakers showed some signs of life to close the half as they went into their locker room only down nine points.
The beginning of the third quarter was all Los Angeles, battling back to get within one point on the back of their defense spearheaded by Anthony Davis. However, the game flipped on its head when Darvin Ham decided to take out Davis. Sensing an easier path to the paint, the Grizzlies were relentless attacking the basket and were able to build up a lead that the Lakers couldn’t ever climb back from.
L.A. did try one last-ditch effort in the fourth quarter, but the double-digit lead that Memphis built up was enough for them to hold on and win Game 5.
While blowing an opportunity to close out the series and get a few extra days of rest, the bright side for the Lakers is they return home to Crypto.com Arena where they have played much better. The crowd has given the team as much energy as they can possibly handle, and there should be no doubt that they’ll be up on their feet the entire night cheering for the purple and gold to advance to the Western Conference semi-finals.
With Game 6 officially going to happen, the NBA announced the start time and TV info for the matchup. Previously, the league only announced the TV info and start times for the first four games, but with the first-round series’ wrapping up, they’ve sent out the schedule for teams still battling it out.
NBA Playoffs & Lakers Friday Night Schedule
Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors: 5:00 p.m. PT, ESPN
Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakwrs: 7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN
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