After taking care of business at home in Games 3 and 4 to take a 3-1 series lead, the Los Angeles Lakers had a chance to close out the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Chase Center.
The Warriors are the defending champions and weren’t gonna go down without a fight, and that’s exactly what happened as they earned a 121-106 victory to force a Game 6.
Golden State got off to a quick start with Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins hitting early 3-pointers. Green then finished a three-point play and Gary Payton II got in on the action to put his team up 12-3.
The Lakers were sloppy early with some silly turnovers and were then forced to take a timeout after Stephen Curry hit a 3 to make it 17-5.
LeBron James scored out of the timeout and then Austin Reaves banked in a triple to settle the Lakers in. After a couple easy buckets by Davis, the Warriors were forced to take a timeout with their lead being cut to 21-16.
Moses Moody made an impact out of the timeout with a pair of 3s, but the Lakers second unit did a nice job of answering with Rui Hachimura and Dennis Schroder each scoring from midrange, although L.A. still trailing 32-28 at the end of one quarter.
Schroder connected from deep to begin the second and then James did the same to give the Lakers their first lead at 34-32.
Andrew Wiggins helped get the Warriors going again though with a pair of three-point plays inside. Jordan Poole then got in on the action from deep before Wiggins hit another to give the Warriors a eight-point lead. The Lakers lost their composure a bit to end the half with Klay Thompson and Curry hitting back-to-back 3s to take a 70-59 lead into the locker room.
The Warriors scored five straight to begin the third quarter, extending their lead to a game-high 16 with the Lakers continuing to commit silly turnovers. Reaves hit a 3 and Davis completed a three-point play, keeping L.A. within striking distance although the deficit was still double digits midway through the quarter.
As was the case in Game 4, Lonnie Walker IV got going with a pair of buckets and then Schroder hit a 3, making it a respectable 11-point deficit through three at 93-82.
If the Lakers wanted to get back in the game they would have to make a run early in the fourth, but they were unable to do that as Payton finished a three-point play to extend Golden State’s lead back to 14.
Davis was forced to go to the locker room after taking a shot to the head from Kevon Looney, but that didn’t mean the Lakers stopped fighting as Reaves drilled a 3 to cut it to nine midway through the fourth.
Out of a timeout though, Curry responded with five straight points to make it more comfortable for his team. It was then that the Lakers learned that Davis would not return due to a head injury, and that took the wind out of any potential comeback as the Warriors were able to maintain their lead to earn the victory.
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