Lakers Final Score: Warriors Run Away With Game 5 Blowout, Improve Series To 3-2

LA has another chance to secure a victory today.

On Wednesday night, your Los Angeles Lakers wasted a perfectly good opportunity to close out the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.

Things were relatively even for the first quarter-and-a-half, until LA let its foot off the gas near the end of the second quarter. The game had been knotted, 54-54, with 4:37 remaining in the frame. A 17-5 Golden State run to close out the opening half, spurred on by a lot of favorable Warriors foul calls and then a flurry of triples, pretty much killed LA's competitive spirit.

The Warriors built slightly on their lead throughout much of the third period, until a 7-2 run to end the quarter got Los Angeles within 11 points heading into the final frame of regulation.

Things never got closer than that, as the Warriors' swarming perimeter defense and some tactical maneuvering from Draymond Green to keep Anthony Davis away from the paint (as much as possible, anyway) ultimately held Los Angeles at bay. Darvin Ham threw in the towel at the 2:47 mark, bringing in deep-bench subs to give his main players a breather.

Stephen Curry was once again the star of the show for Golden State, scoring 27 points on 12-of-24 shooting (but just 3-of-11 from deep). His ability to put his head down and drive efficiently ultimately helped the Warriors stave off elimination and improve their series record to 3-2.

That said, the Lakers never quite went all-in. They got semi-close late in the third, but failed to really nail jumpers or ever string together a free throw line parade. The small ball Warriors really seemed to have an adverse impact on Jarred Vanderbilt and to a lesser extent Davis. Vanderbilt was given a short leash by Ham, and played just 10:58 as Ham often opted for three-guard lineups with James playing powerf forward. Reserve four Rui Hachimura, a much better scorer but poorer defender, also logged almost double the run (20:51).

Davis still finished with a 23-point, nine-rebound night, but notably had no blocks for the second straight game. The biggest issue for Davis happened when his face collided with Kevon Looney's elbow while jockeying for a rebound. He left the game with an apparent head injury, but is still considered probable to play tonight, as LA again tries to close out the champs, this time in the friendly confines of Crypto.com Arena.

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