Pinoyliga Daily NBA Recap: Lakers Book Return Trip to West Finals

The last time the Los Angeles Lakers made the Western Conference Finals, they still had Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol who led the Purple and Gold to their second straight National Basketball Association (NBA) championship. A decade later, it appeared that history is about to repeat itself.

After seeing their 22-point lead in the first quarter being trimmed down to single-digit, the top-seeded team in the West buckled up in the second half and broke the game open as they scored a 119-96 Game Five victory against the Houston Rockets to secure their place in the Western Conference Finals- something that many expected them to do after acquiring Anthony Davis last year.

LeBron James made sure that there would be no extension of the series as he led with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Kyle Kuzma had 17 points off the bench while Markieff Morris came up big as a starter with 16 points on a perfect four for four shooting from rainbow distance. Danny Green shot four for six from three and finished with 14 points. Anthony Davis was limited to 13 points but given the number of players who stepped up, it appeared that Davis didn't have to force things on the offensive end. Kentavious Cardwell-Pope finished with 10 points. The Lakers shot 52% from the field including 51% shooting from the three-point line. They also outrebounded Houston, 50-31 despite only fielding JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard in the final minutes.

James Harden finished with 30 points on 12 for 20 field goal shooting but shot two for eight from the three-point line. Jeff Green was the next guy who scored in double figures for Mike D' Antoni as Green had 13 points off the bench. Russell Westbrook was limited to 10 points on four for 13 field goal shooting. The Rockets got outscored by the Lakers, 33-18 in the third quarter alone. 

Photo is from CBS Sports