NBA Hoosiers (Sept. 12): Lakers Beat Eric Gordon, Rockets at Their Own Game

Small ball is a Houston Rockets thing, with the goal being the spread the court with five shooters and win each game from behind the three-point line.

But on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Lakers beat them at their own game — and sent former Hoosier Eric Gordon and the Rockets home with a taste of their own medicine.

The Lakers made 19 three-pointers themselves and blew out the Rockets, winning Game 5 in a 119-96 rout to win their second-round Western Conference series. The Rockets had won the series opener, but they didn't have any answers the rest of the way and lost four straight games in convincing fashion.

Gordon had just five points in the series finale, He was 2-for-7 from the field and 1-for-4 from the three-point line in the lowest-scoring game of the playoffs for him. For the playoffs, he averaged 17 points per game in their 12 outings.

"It's very, very frustrating," Rockets All-Star James Harden said of another second-round exit. "Especially considering the work I put in. But I've just got to chip away."

The Lakers let James Harden get his — he had 30 points — but they clamped down on everyone else. No other starter had more than 10 points.

"We really really committed to the defensive end,'' Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of defending Gordon and the Rockets' perimeter game. "Even though they have a three-point attack, it was a paint-first mindset. Our verticality and rim protection was just special tonight. The commitment was there. From the beginning of the season, our group has really committed to that end of the floor and it’s paying dividends right now."

It's the first time that the Lakers have made the Western Conference finals in 10 years. LeBron James had 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lakers.

Sunday's NBA game

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets, 1 p.m. ET (TV: ESPN): The Nuggets seem to be that team in the NBA playoffs that's just hard to put away. They came back from a 3-1 deficit to win their first-round series against Utah, and then rallied from 15 points down to win Game 5 against the Clippers on Friday night. Now comes Game 6, and they aren't ready to go home yet. "We've been here before," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said following his team's 111-105 victory in Game 5. "Our guys believe. We're tough. Everybody continues to count us out. That's the way we like it, and we live to die another day."

Eastern Conference finals

The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics begin their championship series on Tuesday night.