Curry's 27-Point Effort Leads Warriors Over Lakers, Forces Game 6

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 121-106 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals at Chase Center on Wednesday night. With the win, the Dubs forced a Game 6 in Los Angeles on Friday night.

Six Warriors scored in double figures in the victory, led by Stephen Curry's 27 points. Andrew Wiggins added 25 points and seven rebounds and Draymond Green recorded a double-double, finishing the game with 20 points and 10 assists.

An Anthony Davis free throw on the game’s first possession put the Lakers on the scoreboard first, but it was the Warriors who were in control of the game early on. The Dubs subsequently went on a 17-4 run to take a 12-point lead in the opening minutes. Draymond Green led the way with 8 points during the run. The Dubs scoring was balanced early on, with four different players making a three in the first four-and-a-half minutes as the team connected on four of their first six attempts from distance.

The Warriors finished the first quarter with a playoff-high seven made 3-pointers. Six Dubs made a three in the opening frame, including two from Moses Moody off the bench.

"The fact that we can control a game from the jump the way we did, handle that run the way we did and then close out the fourth quarter strong was exactly how we expect to play," Curry said postgame. "And it's just a matter of can we take it on the road and win a must-win game on Friday."

Stephen Curry scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 4-for-6 in the final frame, including hitting a crowd-erupting 3-pointer after a Klay Thompson block. Curry shot 50 percent from the field (12-for-24) on the night and recorded a game-high eight assists.

The Warriors and Lakers were knotted up at 54-54 with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter, but a 10-2 Warriors run in under two minutes gave the Dubs an eight-point advantage. The Lakers cut the lead to five within the final 90 seconds, but Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry both knocked down 3-pointers to give the Dubs a double-digit advantage heading into the half.

The Dubs picked up the third quarter right where they finished the half at, scoring nine of the first 11 points of the half, to increase their lead to 18 points within the opening three minutes of the half.

Andrew Wiggins' 25 points on Wednesday night was his most since Feb. 13 against the Wizards. The forward was extremely efficient in the victory, shooting 10-for-18 from the field. Wiggins was active around the rim, scoring eight of his 10 buckets in the paint and converting three And-1's. He also added seven rebounds and five assists, his most assists in a playoff game this season.

"He was great," Draymond Green said of Wiggins' Game 5 performance. "Super aggressive on the offensive side and it's what we need from him. He is sometimes our second scorer, sometimes our third scorer, depending on the night. And we always need that aggressiveness. I also thought his aggressiveness on the defensive side of the ball was great as well. He met force with force, put up a lot of resistance. Two-way Wiggs. When he's playing like that, we're very tough to beat."

Draymond Green recorded his second 20-point performance and third double-double in this year's playoffs, recording 20 points and 10 rebounds. Green's impact was felt on both ends of the court, he finished the game a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line and added two steals and a rebound.

"I definitely wanted to come out and set a tone," Green said postgame. "[Assistant Coach for Player Development] Jacob Rubin told me before the game, like, You played well, but I still haven't felt your presence like I know you can, like your presence should be felt. That's coming out aggressive both ends of the floor. That's verbally, so everyone hears you on the floor.

"I felt a little disrespected when he said it, so I knew it was on me to come out and, like you said, set the tone for our guys. Come out aggressive, season's on the line, back against the wall, you got to come out and give all that you got. That was just my mindset coming into this game and that will be my mindset going into the next one."

The Warriors and Lakers will meet at Crypto.com Arena at 7 p.m. on Friday night (ESPN). Trailing 3-2 in the series, the Dubs will need to win Game 6 to force a Game 7 at Chase Center on Sunday. Golden State has lost the first two games in Los Angeles this series and will have one more chance to extend the team’s NBA-record streak of 28 consecutive playoff series in which the Warriors have won at least one road game.

"We get another crack to go down there and try to even up the series," Steve Kerr said on the belief the team has no matter the situation. "So guys will always have belief, that's just who they are."