Reviving a storied franchise from midseason doldrums was never going to be easy, leaving the Los Angeles Lakers to try once more to advance to the Western Conference finals.
The Lakers will play host to Game 6 on Friday, May 12, still up 3–2 in the conference semifinal series against the defending-champion Golden State Warriors but left to rethink their strategy in the wake of a 121–106 defeat in Game 5 on Wednesday.
The Warriors shot 51.1 percent from the field and earned the victory, despite committing 14 turnovers, by out-rebounding the Lakers 48–38.
The Lakers received 25 points and nine rebounds from LeBron James in the defeat and 23 points with nine rebounds from Anthony Davis. But Davis played just 32 minutes, his lowest in the series, after leaving with more than seven minutes remaining when he took a blow to the head from the Warriors’ Kevon Looney….