NBA playoffs: Curry and Warriors handle Lakers in Game 5 to head off elimination

Stephen Curry had 27 points and eight assists, Andrew Wiggins added 25 points, seven rebounds and five assist, and the defending champion Golden State Warriors staved off elimination by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 121-106 in Game 5 of the Western Conference semi-finals Wednesday night.

LeBron James had 25 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles. Anthony Davis added 23 points and nine rebounds but went to the locker room late after appearing to take a hit in the head from Kevon Looney.

Austin Reaves made a three-pointer with 5:25 to play that cut the Warriors’ lead to single digits at 104-95 only for Curry to answer with five straight points, then he hit another big shot after D’Angelo Russell connected from deep.

Draymond Green contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds as Golden State played tough defense that led to better chances on the offensive end – just as coach Steve Kerr has challenged his team to to.

Now, it’s back to LA for Game 6 on Friday night with the Lakers 5-0 at home this postseason, having won eight consecutive games on their own floor since losing to the Bulls on 26 March.

Golden State are trying to rally from a 3-1 series deficit for only the second time in franchise history and will try to win one more to bring Game 7 back to Chase Center on Sunday. The Warriors rallied from 3-1 down in the 2016 Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City.

Curry beat the halftime buzzer with a three-pointer over Lonnie Walker IV as the Warriors took a 70-59 lead. The 70 first-half points were the most Golden State in the playoffs since scoring 72 in a Game 6 first-round win over the Clippers in 2019. The last team to score 70 or more in a first half of a playoff game versus the Lakers was Phoenix with 71 in Game