06/02/2021, 6:57 AM

Carries Lakers in loopsided defeat

James was the only reliable scoring threat for the Lakers throughout the entire contest, but he lacked company this time around -- Los Angeles couldn't even reach the 90-point plateau as a team while losing by a 30-point margin. The star forward will have to carry the Lakers in Game 6 on Thursday and while the Lakers are on the brink of elimination, James can't be the one to blame for the team's struggles since he's averaging 22.6 points, 8.2 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game in the series so far.

06/02/2021, 6:53 AM

Double-doubles off bench

Horton-Tucker might have logged just 16 minutes off the bench, but he made the most of his opportunity -- especially after he had logged a combined 13 minutes so far in the playoffs while being absent in both Game 3 and Game 4. The former Iowa State standout shouldn't see heavy minutes given what's at stake for the Lakers in Game 6 on Thursday.

06/02/2021, 6:51 AM

Puts up 15 points off bench

The Lakers struggled badly on offense in Game 5, but Kuzma showed improvement after going a combined 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) from the floor through the first four games of the series. He's scored in double digits in each of the last two contests, but the Lakers will need more out of him if they want to keep their season alive Thursday -- especially if Anthony Davis (groin) ends up being unavailable once again.