With the 131-122 victory (box score) by the Lakers in Saturday’s Game 5 versus Portland, the Lakers are moving on to the second round of the 2020 NBA playoffs. It’s their first playoff series win since 2012.
It was largely an expected result, since the Lakers (52-19) had the best record in the West during the regular season, and the No. 8 Trail Blazers (35-39) were a sub-.500 group and without Damian Lillard due to injury.
As for the Houston Rockets, there are two implications. The immediate: Since the Lakers and Blazers won’t play on Monday, this locks in the tip-off time for Game 6 between the Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder at 8:00 p.m. Central. It will be televised nationally on TNT and regionally (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.
With Lakers' and Bucks' wins today Rockets-Thunder Game 6 will be 8 p.m. on Monday in the AdventHealth Arena. On TNT and AT&T SportsNet.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) August 30, 2020
The second implication: Should the No. 4 Rockets beat the No. 5 Thunder one more time — they currently lead the series, 3-2, after a huge win in Game 5 — the Lakers would be Houston’s second-round opponent.
Houston took two of three versus the top-seeded Lakers in the regular season, with both wins after switching to a smaller lineup. More notably, it would be a titanic showdown between James Harden and LeBron James, a pair of future Hall of Famers and perennial MVP candidates.
The Rockets still require one more victory to get to that clash of titans, with their first opportunity to close out Oklahoma City coming at 8:00 p.m. Central on Monday in Game 6. Should they do it, the stage is set for a fun matchup in the Western Conference semifinals featuring the size and length of the Lakers against the speed and shooting of the Rockets.
Lakers advance. The Rockets are one win away from a LeBron vs. Harden best-of-seven.
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) August 30, 2020
