Lakers wrap up series with Blazers; Bucks hold off Magic
Westbrook back to help Rockets go up 3-2 on OKC
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — LeBron James had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, beating the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 131-122 in Game 5 on Saturday night.
Anthony Davis had a playoff-best 43 points for the top-seeded Lakers in their first playoff appearance since 2013.
The Lakers will play the winner of the series between Houston and Oklahoma City. The Rockets took a 3-2 lead with a 114-80 victory earlier Saturday.
CJ McCollum had 36 points for the surprisingly scrappy Trail Blazers, who played without injured All-Star guard Damian Lillard. Carmelo Anthony added 27 points.
Down 14 in the third quarter, Portland got to 100-97 on McCollum’s layup and tied it on Anfernee Simon’s 3-pointer to cap an 8-point run with 9:46 left. James answered with a 3.
Gary Trent Jr.’s 3-pointer tied it at 109 with just under seven minutes to go. Again the Lakers held off Portland with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 3.
After Trent’s 3-pointer closed it to 114-112 with 4:53 left, Davis had a personal 11-0 run to help Los Angeles all but seal it.
The game was originally set for Wednesday night, but players collectively decided not to play in the three playoff games scheduled for that day to protest racial injustice following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Games on Friday were also postponed.
Lillard injured his right knee in Game 4 that prompted him to leave the bubble in Florida and return to Portland to see team doctors. Lillard was named MVP of the seeding games heading into the playoffs, averaging 37.6 points and 9.6 assists in eight games.
Trent Jr. took his Lillard’s spot in the opening lineup. But because of injuries the eighth-seeded Blazers had just nine players available for the game.
BUCKS 118, MAGIC 104: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 17 rebounds as Milwaukee beat Orlando to close out the Eastern Conference series in five games.
The Bucks advanced to face Miami in the second round, beginning Monday.
Chris Middleton added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee.
The Bucks saw a 21-point lead trimmed to three in the fourth quarter before regaining control with the help of timely outside shooting by Marvin Williams.
Williams scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers, and Brook Lopez added 16 points for Milwaukee, which won four straight after dropping the opener.
Nicola Vucevic had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Orlando, while Evan Fournier added 18 points.
ROCKETS 114, THUNDER 80: James Harden scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook returned to face his former team in the playoffs for the first time, helping Houston beat Oklahoma City for a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Robert Covington added 22 points and Eric Gordon had 20. The Rockets can advance to the conference semifinals with a victory Monday.
Westbrook, who had played just one game since Aug. 4 because of a quadriceps injury — missing the Rockets’ first four playoff games — had seven points, six rebounds and seven assists in 23 minutes.
Dennis Schroder led the Thunder with 19 points.
ROBINSON DIES: Clifford Robinson, one of Jim Calhoun’s first big stars at UConn and later one of the NBA’s best sixth men, died on Saturday at age 53.
“He was our first great player,” Calhoun said. “He gave legitimacy to the program.”
Robinson helped the Portland Trail Blazers reach the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. He not only never missed the postseason in Portland but hardly missed any games at all, playing all 82 in each of his first five seasons and never appearing in fewer than 75.
His streak of 461 consecutive games played remains a Portland record.