A high scoring game on Saturday between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers (Western Conference top and eighth seeds) resulted in a 131-122 win by the Lakers. The series now stands at 4-1, effectively eliminating the Trail Blazers for the season.

The Portland Trail Blazers had to fight tooth and nail to earn the eighth seed in the Orlando bubble against five other teams including the Memphis Grizzlies, who were holding the spot when the games were suspended back in March due to the coronavirus.

After winning the play-in tournament against the Grizzlies, the Trail Blazers surprised everyone by beating the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the opening game of the first round.

But the Trail Blazers' run ended there. The Los Angeles Lakers rallied and won four straight games, including the last one, game 5. One of the first NBA games after the boycott was an overwhelming Lakers victory.

According to CBS Sports, Lakers superstars Lebron James and Anthony Davis combined for 79 points to secure their advancement into the Western Conference second round.

On the other hand, the Trail Blazers weren't giving their best. Their top scorer Damian Lillard was injured last week and wasn't able to return for Game 5. Portland is also missing a few key players like Trevor Ariza, Rodney Hood, and Zach Collins.

Overall it wasn't a bad run for the Trail Blazers now that their season has ended. They started slow until they signed ageing superstar Carmelo Anthony as a free agent last November. It didn't take long for Anthony to gain chemistry with Lillard and the rest of the Trail Blazers to help lift their win rate to 9th place by the time the season was suspended in March.

Anthony is not in the same form as he was 10 years ago when he was a true superstar and scoring champion, but he did enough for the Trail Blazers to help the squad qualify for the playoffs.

It's interesting to know that the James-Davis 79 point performance is based on pick and roll plays that resulted in strong attacks to the basket or open jumpers. It reminded Lakers fans of their last dynasty with Shaq and Kobe, especially those who remember their championship 20 years ago which was sealed with an alley-oop from Kobe to Shaq to beat the Trail Blazers in the first round. The game last Saturday ended with a LeBron alley-oop to Davis.

Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James shoots against Jusuf Nurkic, 27, of the Portland Trail Blazers during the third quarter in game four of the Western Conference playoff series in Orlando GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Kevin C. Cox