Lakers advance in first playoff appearance since ’13
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — LeBron James had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and 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.
After Trent’s 3-pointer closed it to 114-112 with
4:53 left, Davis had a personal 11-0 run to put Los Angeles up 123-112 and all but seal it.
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.
BUCKS 118, MAGIC 104
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 17 rebounds and Milwaukee beat Orlando to close out the Eastern Conference series in five games.
Khris Middleton had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee. Marvin Williams Williams scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers for Milwaukee, which won four straight.
Nicola Vucevic had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Orlando, while Evan Fournier added 18 points.