EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — It was a week unlike any other in NBA history.
More than 200 NBA players joined as one to boycott playoff games over three days to support racial equality after Jacob Blake was shot seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The protest started with the Milwaukee Bucks and continued with the 12 other teams still in the playoffs.
When games resumed Saturday, they seemed almost insignificant compared to the swift progress made by players, coaches and owners who announced on Friday a social justice coalition to focus on “increasing access to voting, promoting civic engagement and advocating for meaningful police and criminal justice reform.”
But the games did continue, and the Lakers ended an on-court drought that was the longest in their 72-year history.
They won a playoff series for the first time in eight years by beating the Portland Trail Blazers, 131-122, in Game 5 of a best-of-seven series.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis were too much for Portland, which won Game 1 of the series but folded from there under the Lakers’ withering defense.
James had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Saturday while Davis had 43 points in 36 minutes. The duo combined to make a highly efficient 28 of 37 shots (76%), including eight of 13 from three-point range.
The Lakers await the winner of the Houston-Oklahoma City series. Houston leads it, 3-2, with Game 6 on Monday. If Houston wins that game, a Lakers-Rockets series begins Wednesday.
The short-handed Trail Blazers made the heavily favored Lakers sweat Saturday before finally bowing out.
CJ McCollum had 36 points while trying to cover for the loss of All-Star Damian Lillard, who was done for the playoffs after Game 4 because of a sprained knee.
Portland trailed by only two points with a little under five minutes left. Then Davis scored the game’s next nine points for a 123-112 Lakers lead.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope continued a solid string of games by scoring 14 points as the Lakers advanced to the second round for the first time since beating Denver in 2012.
Mike Bresnahan is the Lakers analyst for Spectrum SportsNet.