THE Los Angeles Lakers are one win from entering the Western Conference Finals and five games away from the NBA Finals.
LEBRON, DAVIS JOIN HANDS VS HOUSTON
The Lakers dominated the Houston Rockets on defense and offense to win 110-100 and grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their second-round Western Conference series in Orlando.
Anthony Davis scored 29 points and had 12 rebounds, five assists, and two blocked shots, while LeBron James finished with almost a triple-double – 16 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists — for the Lakers.
James Harden had 21 points on 2-for-11 shooting and 10 assists for the Rockets. Russell Westbrook chipped in 25, Eric Gordon added 19, and Austin Rivers scored 14.
Houston trailed in the fourth but Westbrook and Gordon sparked a rally to narrow the gap to seven. A free throw by Harden whittled the lead to five but a triple by Alex Caruso in the right flank from a LeBron assist pulled the Lakers to victory.
The Lakers can secure a spot in the West Finals with a win Saturday.
The winner of this series faces either the Denver Nuggets or the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers are ahead in this series 3-1.
NBA PROBES HOUSTON GUARD
The NBA is investigating Houston forward Danuel House Jr. for allegedly allowing a female COVID-19 testing official into his hotel room.
House did not play in Game 4 which the Rockets lost and put them into the brink of elimination.
What House and the woman did in the hotel room has not been disclosed.
He has denied the allegation and a decision was expected before Game 4.
BURKE REACHES MILESTONE
ESPN’s Doris Burke will become the first woman to call the conference and NBA Finals for ESPN Radio.
“Doris is a trailblazer who continues to reimagine what is possible for women in broadcasting and we know she’ll thrive in this history-making radio analyst role,” said Stephanie Druley, ESPN’s executive vice president of event and studio production.
Burke has been part of ESPN’s coverage since the network resumed televising the NBA in 2003 and became the first woman to serve as a full-time network NBA game analyst in 2017.
She will join Marc Kestecher and fellow analyst Jon Barry when the conference finals begin.
DURANT DOESN’T WANT TO SAVE KNICKS
Kevin Durant said he signed with the Brooklyn Nets because he doesn’t want to be the savior of the New York Knicks.
“No, I never planned on it – going to the Knicks. That was just the media putting that out there… I think the media just hyped it up and wanted to create drama around our team so much and around me that they made up this Knicks thing,” Durant said on J.J. Redick’s podcast with Tommy Alter.
“So around February, as I was thinking, I didn’t want to be the savior of the Knicks or New York. I didn’t care about being the King of New York, that never really moved me. I didn’t care about being on Broadway or that sh*t, I just wanted to go ball, go to the crib, and chill. So I felt like that’s what Brooklyn embodied, and I wanted to live in New York. So I felt like Brooklyn was what I’m all about: chill, on the low, all black everything. We quiet, just focused on basketball. There’s no show when you come to our games. No Madison Square Mecca, all of that s***. We just gonna hoop and build something new in Brooklyn. I felt that way in February, leading up to March and then once free agency hit it was time,” he added.
(Compiled by Tristan Lozano)
