The Los Angeles Lakers took over the business on Saturday night. Leaping to a 22-point lead in the first quarter, they won Game 5 of the second-round series 119-96 against the Houston Rockets. With the win, they took the series 4-1 to advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2010.
LeBron James wasn’t totally messed up in this, helping with an impressive performance with 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Another big story for the Lakers was their 3-point shooting, as they knocked down 19 shots from downtown, setting a new franchise playoff record.
James Harden did his job, registering 30 points, six rebounds and five assists, but that was nowhere near enough for the Rockets. They landed on a terrible start, and even though they scored at the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third, they completely collapsed after that point. They shot only 37.1 per cent off the field and turned the ball 12 times at a loss.
