Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction: Will the home team be able to win game five?

After losing two games in Los Angeles, Golden State put themselves on the brink of relegation from the playoffs. Will Steve Kerr's team be able to start a comeback in game five of the series?

Golden State relied on its three-point offense in the third and fourth games of the series with the Lakers, but it surprisingly did not work in both cases. Both times the Warriors shot under 30% from long range and lost 97:127 and 101:104. Recall that in the 2016 Finals, LeBron James, then playing for Cleveland, won the series with the Warriors by just 1:3.

In the fourth game of the series, which can be called the critical game, the Lakers were 12 points behind during the third quarter. They managed to reduce the gap to seven points before the end of the period and began the fourth quarter with a 9:0 run. In the end, the team was luckier at some moments, but at other moments they were stronger and achieved a crucial win - 104:101. LeBron James had 27 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, and Anthony Davis had 23 points and 15 rebounds. Austin Reeves added 21 points. The Lakers need only one win in their remaining three games to advance to the conference finals.

After winning the fourth game of the series, the Lakers are now heavy favorites to advance to the Western Conference Finals. But that's likely to happen in game six. In game five, however, Golden State is unlikely to attack from beyond the arc for the third game in a row. We're betting on a convincing win for the Warriors and a high-scoring contest, again with Golden State likely to improve offensively.