LeBron James and the Lakers were hoping to close out the Rockets at home on Wednesday night and move on to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Instead, they lost Game 5, 99-93, and now must travel back to Houston for Game 6 on Friday night where they will try to snap a two-game skid and avoid a do-or-die Game 7.
The Lakers won the first three games of this series and appeared to be ready to cruise into the next round. Austin Reaves made his return to the lineup for the first time this postseason in Game 5 and scored 22 points in 34 minutes. But Los Angeles was unable to do enough down the stretch to get the win and could only watch as the Rockets celebrated another victory.
