Wednesday night, the Memphis Grizzlies refused to concede in Game 5, preventing the Los Angeles Lakers from advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Despite holding a 3-2 series lead, the Lakers will seek to advance in Game 6 against the Grizzlies on Friday.
What channel is the event broadcast on? What time does it begin?
Friday’s contest will begin at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN.
Live stream details
ESPN | – fuboTV | – DirecTV | – Sling Those with cable can view the game on TNT. If you lack cable, you can access the game on smart TVs and streaming devices through fuboTV, Sling, and DirecTV, which offers a free trial. Sling offers a 50% discount on the first month.
Additional coverage from Associated Press
Boston advances to Round 2 by eliminating Atlanta. The Warriors and Lakers are one victory away from joining the Celtics.
Friday could mark the conclusion of the opening round of the NBA playoffs if the Warriors defeat Sacramento and the Lakers defeat Memphis. Those are the only remaining first-round series.
Phoenix and Denver begin their Western Conference semifinal series in Round 2 on Saturday. The Suns practiced in Denver on Thursday to begin acclimating to the mile-high altitude that will be present in Games 1 and 2.
In the other conference semifinals, Miami-New York begins on Sunday, Boston-Philadelphia begins on Monday, and the victor of Lakers-Grizzlies will face the winner of Warriors-Kings.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
On Friday, the Warriors will play host to Sacramento, while the Lakers will host Memphis. Golden State and Los Angeles each possess a 3-2 series advantage.
HOW TO VIEW
ESPN broadcasts the two events on Friday. The game between Sacramento and Golden State begins at 5 p.m. local time in San Francisco and 8 p.m. Eastern. This will be followed at 10:30 p.m. Eastern by Memphis versus the Lakers.
These two matches will also be broadcast by team broadcasters.
The first game of the Phoenix-Denver series will broadcast on TNT on Saturday. ABC will broadcast the first game of the Miami-New York series on Sunday. Game 1 of Philadelphia-Boston and Game 2 of Phoenix-Denver will both broadcast on TNT on Monday.
The NBA Finals commence on ABC on June 1.
UNDETERRED
In these finals, seeding has provided no guarantees.
The presumed underdogs, No. 5 through No. 8 seeded teams, are 18-22 in this preliminary round. This.450 winning percentage in Round 1 is the third-best for these positions since the NBA expanded to 16 teams in 1984.
In 2014, teams seeded fifth through eighth in the first round went 24-26 (.480), compared to 15-17 (.469) in 1991. If the Lakers and Warriors win on Friday, the records of the 5th through 8th seeds in this year’s tournament will trail only the 2014 mark.
In 1986, the top four seeds went 24-5 (.828) and in 2004, they went 32-7 (.828). Last season, they went 32-11 (.744) against teams ranked fifth through eighth.
LEBRON THE CLOSER
When LeBron James has the opportunity to close out a game, it typically occurs.
James’ teams are 39-12 when they have an opportunity to clinch a series, despite Memphis preventing elimination by defeating James and the Lakers on Wednesday night. The 2006 Detroit Pistons were the only team to defeat a team with James on the roster twice while facing elimination.
During James’s tenure in Cleveland, the Cavaliers were 21-6 when in position to close out games. Miami was 14-4, while Los Angeles is 4-2.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Jimmy Butler has already surpassed 12 players on the NBA’s career playoff scoring tally.
Al Horford, Bob Dandridge, Bob Cousy, Kevin Johnson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jason Kidd, Tom Heinsohn, Steve Nash, Moses Malone, Jeff Hornacek, Pau Gasol, and Allen Iverson are all impressive names.
Butler is currently ranked 53rd.
AWARD WINNERS
The NBA announced on Thursday that when this year’s All-NBA and All-Defensive teams are revealed, they will be the last to be classified by position. Beginning with the upcoming season, NBA electors will be instructed to select the most deserving players regardless of position.
This season’s MVP, All-NBA, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive teams, as well as the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award, have not yet been announced.