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PREV. COVERAGE: Fans rally around LA Lakers
PREV. COVERAGE: Los Angeles is painted in purple and gold as the Lakers gain momentum in the playoffs. They are now one win away from the Western Conference Finals.
SAN FRANCISCO (KTTV) - The Los Angeles Lakers failed to take care of business on the road Game 5.
The Lakers fell to the Golden State Warriors 121-106, sending the series back to LA for Game 6.
The Lakers, who lead the best-of-7 series 3-2, are hoping to return to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 2020 NBA bubble. The winner of this series will await the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Phoenix Suns series.
SERIES SCHEDULE
- Game 1: Lakers 117, Warriors 112
- Game 2: Warriors 127, Lakers 100
- Game 3: Lakers 127, Warriors 97
- Game 4: Lakers 104, Warriors 101
- Game 5: Warriors 121, Lakers 106
- Game 6: Warriors at Lakers, Friday, May 12
- Game 7*: Lakers at Warriors, Sunday, May 14
*= if necessary
HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Lakers arrived at the 2023 NBA Playoffs as battle tested as any team in the league. New coach Darvin Ham had a nightmare start to his head coaching career as LA started the regular season at a 2-10.
After the team's tumultuous start, the Lakers shipped out former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook in a trade with the Utah Jazz.
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Prior to the deadline, all eyes were on LeBron James earlier in the 2023 calendar year as he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record. As if there weren't enough distractions, both James and 8-time All-Star Anthony Davis missed time during parts of the regular season to recover from their respective injuries.
Yet, in spite of all the distractions and trips to the trainer's room, the Lakers somehow found themselves a spot in the Western Conference side of the playoff bracket after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime in the Play-In tournament.
LA, entering the playoffs as a seventh seed, knocked off the second-seed Memphis Grizzlies in six games in Round 1.