After a brief postponement, the NBA playoffs are back — and so is Russell Westbrook. The Rockets star played in this year’s playoffs for the first time since his quad injury and helped Houston take a 3-2 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder with a dominant Game 5 win.
Meanwhile, the two top seeds in the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers have booked their tickets to the second round after losing Game 1 in their series.
There’s more top playoff action for SBOTOP NBA fans to enjoy tomorrow, but before that, let’s first take a look back at how the Bucks, Rockets, and Lakers emerged victorious.
Orlando Magic 104-118 Milwaukee Bucks
A few days after their boycott of Game 5, which led to a league-wide playoff postponement, the Milwaukee Bucks got back on the court and finally closed out their first-round series against the Orlando Magic.
The Bucks made short work of the Magic in Game 5 as they used a 41-point second quarter to go up by 17 points by half-time and never looked back.
Giannis Antetokounmpo played just 28 minutes, but he still had 28 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Bucks. Khris Middleton had his best game of the series as he finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.
Meanwhile, Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Magic were held to under 40 per cent shooting from the field.
Neither Middleton nor Eric Bledsoe had particularly impressive series, which will be the Bucks’ main concern when they take on the Miami Heat in the next round. Bledsoe, who joined the team in the bubble late after getting the coronavirus, averaged just 11.6 points in five games against the Magic.
The Heat gave Milwaukee some problems during the regular season as they won two out of three games against the Bucks. The NBA 2020 betting odds still have the Bucks as favourites to win the series, but Middleton and Bledsoe will need to play better to avoid a second-round upset.
Oklahoma City Thunder 80-114 Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are now up 3-2 in their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder after a dominant 34-point win in Game 5.
Russell Westbrook made big NBA 2020 news as he made his first appearance in the playoffs following a quad injury. Unsurprisingly, though, Westbrook was still rusty as he finished with just seven points (3-13 FG) in 24 minutes.
But Houston’s other superstar, James Harden, was incredibly efficient with 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Meanwhile, Robert Covington and Eric Gordon combined for 42 points in support.
After scoring well in Games 3 and 4, OKC’s offence completely fell apart in Game 5. They had just 80 points as they shot 31 per cent from the floor and 15 per cent on 3-pointers. Danilo Gallinari had a single point in 22 minutes, while Lu Dort went 3-of-16, including 0-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Dennis Schroder once again led the Thunder with 19 points off the bench, but the OKC sixth man was ejected in the third quarter after an altercation with Rockets forward PJ Tucker.
Westbrook’s return is a huge boost for the Rockets. Even if he isn’t back to 100 per cent, his mere presence on the court still makes a major difference.
Unless the Thunder role players make the shots the Rockets are giving them, OKC will find it tough to send the series to a seventh game.
Portland Trail Blazers 122-131 Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are through to the second round as they overpowered a Blazers team that was without injured superstar Damian Lillard.
The Lakers’ dynamic duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James was simply unstoppable. The two All-Stars combined for 79 points on a sizzling 28-of-37 from the field.
The Blazers put up a proud fight as they tried to keep the series alive even without Lillard. CJ McCollum dropped 36 points, while Carmelo Anthony added 27 points. But they simply had no answers defensively for James and Davis.
The Lakers will now get a few days off as they await their next opponent, which is the winner of the Rockets-Thunder series.
Whoever the Lakers’ opponent is, they must contend with a LeBron James who is at the peak of his powers at the moment. James was absolutely dominant in the last three games against the Blazers. He scored 30 or more points while shooting over 70 per cent and hitting four 3-pointers in all three games.
Davis, who also had a fine series, figures to play a prominent role, as neither the Thunder nor the Rockets have anyone with the size to slow him down.
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