The Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors collide in game 5 at the Chase Center on Wednesday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers are now just one win after from moving onto the Conference Finals after sneaking past the Warriors in a thrilling 104-101 win in Game 4 on Monday. LeBron James led the team with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Anthony Davis added 23 points with 15 rebounds and three steals, Austin Reaves scored 21 points while Lonnie Walker provided the spark off the bench with 15 points. As a team, the Lakers shot 45 percent from the field and just six of 25 from the 3-point line as they trailed for most of the game and by as many as 12 points, before they came to life in the fourth quarter where they outscored the Warriors by 27-17 to escape with the crucial win thanks to a scoring barrage from Walker who was the x-factor in the game.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors will be kicking themselves after coming up painfully short to the Lakers in a tough loss on Monday. Stephen Curry led the way with a triple-double of 31 points with 10 rebounds and 14 assists, Andrew Wiggins added 17 points while Gary Payton chipped in with 15 points. As a team, the Warriors shot 46 percent from the field and 12 of 41 from the 3-point line as they moved ahead in the second quarter and kept the lead for most of the contest, before they went cold and managed just 17 points in the fourth quarter to allow the Lakers to slip away in a close finish. Klay Thompson had a rough game as he finished with just nine points on three of 11 shooting while Jordan Poole finished scoreless and played just 10 minutes off the bench.
Looking at the betting trends, the Lakers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall. The Warriors are 41-19-1 ATS in their last 61 home games and 4-10 ATS in their last 14 Conference Semifinals games and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games following a loss.
Head to head, the under is 5-2 in the last seven meetings overall and the Lakers are 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings overall. The Lakers stumbled their way throughout the regular season and had to earn their playoff ticket through the play-in tournament, but now they are just one win away from the Conference Finals after beating the Warriors in a close one on Monday. The Warriors decided to employ a smaller lineup and it was working for about three quarters, but Curry couldn’t get much support from his teammates and it was the difference in the end as the Lakers stole the win thanks to a late flurry from Lonnie Walker. It's tempting to take the Lakers who hold all the momentum now, but the Warriors are now playing for their lives and I think we’re going to see the Warriors bounce back in fine fashion in front of their home crowd.
