Game 5- pictorial recap
Rashidi Lawson costly turnover pushes LA to the brink of elimination
The game started out with a bang, however the Lakers pulled away with an early lead and with the block shot triple threat in
Elwood,
Gaston and
Owens. San Antonio was so bombarded that they felt they were actually 7-footers in disguise. Although he's only listed at 6'8", Gaston blocked 5 shots in addition to Elwood's 3. Said
Coach Popvavich, "It's really annoying to have my guys coasting in, and then [the Laker] guards swatting it." In addition, starting guard
Mohammed exclaimed in exasperation, "It would be more legitimate if the opponent didn't steal the ball every time it came withing five feet of them. But whatever, I can't change, I'll just have to adjust."
Fatigue wasn't a factor in this game as both teams ran back and forth with the immediacy of a Game 5 victory. However as the series pushes on, Game 6 may see more of the benches logging in more minutes.
Lawson's dribble out of bounds with only seconds remaining was crucial. Said Lawson, "I really hate it when you want to do one thing and then your body just goes and does something else, and that's what happened there. It wasn't like anybody significant was guarding me, they're all robots when it comes to defending my crossover. But apparently they did a good job of it this time. However, it wasn't them really, it was me who pushed myself out of bounds.
The came the fateful buzzer beating 3 pointer by
Walker. After the post-game celebration, Walker was still in disbelief with the last moments of the contest, "I was so suprised when the punk turned it over with 2.3 seconds left. That, obviously, was huge. But I'm still hyped over that three. OK, whatever happens next, Game 5 just filled every expectation. That was amazing."
Teammate
Erwin, always the historian basketball buff, further compared it with the Hall of Famer, Gilbert Areas, "And you know what? Walker hit that three almost at the same time that Gilbert Arenas hit the three to tie in Game 6 of the 2006 playoffs. And almost the same place too. Amazing."
If the Lakers want to get back into the series, hopefully, Game 6 will be a repeat. While the Lakers could only contemplate, maybe this time it will be Lawson making three.