NBA Playoffs 2011: Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Hornets Game 5 Live Blog

Welcome to the Lakers vs Hornets Game 5 live blog.

Fueled by Chris Paul's triple double in Game 4, the New Orleans Hornets evened their best of seven first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

Tonight, the Lakers and Hornets will square off in Game 5 in Los Angeles. The winner of tonight's game will take a commanding 3-2 lead in the series.

At the end of Game 4, Kobe Bryant sprained his ankle. Bryant is expected to suit up tonight for Game 5.  It will be interesting to see how Bryant's ankle injury impacts the game tonight.

Chris Paul has been nothing short of spectacular in the series so far, especially in Games 1 and 4. If Paul puts on another extraordinary performance, the Hornets could be headed home with the 3-2 series advantage.

With Kobe's injury, the Lakers will need Pau Gasol to play big tonight. Gasol has been very quiet in the first four games of the series.

The game will tip-off in roughly 15 minutes.