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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — LeBron James had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and the Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, beating the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 131-122 in Game 5 on Saturday night.
Anthony Davis had a playoff-best 43 points for the top-seeded Lakers in their first playoff appearance since 2013.
The Lakers will play the winner of the series between Houston and Oklahoma City.
CJ McCollum had 36 points for the surprisingly scrappy Trail Blazers, who played without injured All-Star guard Damian Lillard. Carmelo Anthony added 27 points.
The game was originally set for Wednesday night, but players collectively decided not to play in the three playoff games scheduled for that day to protest racial injustice following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Games on Friday were also postponed.
Lillard injured his right knee in Game 4 that prompted him to leave the bubble in Florida and return to Portland to see team doctors. Lillard was named MVP of the seeding games heading into the playoffs, averaging 37.6 points and 9.6 assists in eight games.
Trent Jr. took his Lillard’s spot in the opening lineup. But because of injuries the eighth-seeded Blazers had just nine players available for the game. Portland’s lone win in the first-round series came in Game 1.
ROCKERS 114, THUNDER 80
James Harden scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook returned to face his former team in the playoffs for the first time, helping Houston beat Oklahoma City for a 3-2 series lead.
Robert Covington added 22 points and Eric Gordon had 20. The Rockets can advance to the conference semifinals with a victory Monday.
Westbrook, who had played played just one game since Aug. 4 because of a quadriceps injury — missing the Rockets’ first four playoff games — had seven points, six rebounds and seven assists in 23 minutes.
Dennis Schroder led the Thunder with 19 points despite being ejected midway through the third quarter for hitting P.J. Tucker in the groin; Tucker also was ejected after retaliating with a head-butt.
Steven Adams had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Darius Bazley had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder. They trailed by three at halftime before giving up 19 of the first 21 points of the third.
Houston scored 20 of the game’s first 27 points, but the Thunder erased the deficit in the second — taking a brief lead of as many as five points — before the Rockets took a 48-45 lead into the half. Houston outscored the Thunder 37-18 in the third.
BUCKS 119, MAGIC 104
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 17 rebounds and Milwaukee beat Orlando to close out the Eastern Conference series in five games.
The Bucks advanced to face Miami in the second round, beginning Monday.
Chris Middleton added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee. The Bucks had a 21-point lead trimmed to three in the fourth quarter before regaining control with the help of timely outside shooting by Marvin Williams.
Williams scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers, and Brook Lopez added 16 points for Milwaukee, which won four straight after dropping the opener.
Nicola Vucevic had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Orlando. Evan Fournier added 18 points.
The Associated Press
