The live stream of Game 5 between the Lakers and Rockets was anything but a victory, at least for LeBron James. At the Game 4 post-game press conference, despite his team's win, the league's most famous player was a bit discouraged.

And when he said in that press conference, "We have to end the game the right way," you could easily hear him thinking the same thing about this series. If Houston manages to win Game 5 tonight and delay the Lakers' advance to the NBA playoffs Western Conference finals, it could have two terrifying consequences.

And while it is annoying that the winner of the Clippers-Nuggets series will have less rest before joining them, we don't want to give James Harden and Russell Westbrook a chance to steal this series and take it to a Game 7.

Finally, the Lakers will continue with a lineup that some say is "small ball" (at least for LA) to match the Rockets. Yes, we live in a world where Anthony Davis' 6'11" frame can be put on a team that is in some ways called small. It's baffling.

Of course, the key to Houston's success will be finding offensive contributions from outside the All-Star pair of Harden and Westbrook. This means that all eyes will be on which of Eric Gordon and Jeff Green can be the rock that disperses the Lakers' attention.

Here's everything you need to watch the live stream of Game 5 between the Lakers and Rockets.

If you've had to leave your "bubble" - or you've suffered the dreaded local blackout - and can't watch the Lakers vs. Rockets live stream on cable, you're not out of luck. With a virtual private network, or VPN, you can pretend you're surfing the web from your hometown (or anywhere else not hit by a blackout) and access the same streaming service you've already paid for.

Not sure which VPN is right for you? We tested a variety of services and chose ExpressVPN as the best VPN overall. They offer great speed and excellent customer service. However, there are other VPN options out there. Here are our top picks.

In the U.S., you can watch Game 5 between the Lakers and Rockets today (Thursday, September 12) at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN; the NBA playoff game will also air on ABC and TNT.

Those who are already disconnected and do not have a cable package can watch the game on Sling TV and fuboTV; both ESPN and TNT are included in the $30 Sling Orange package, while Fubo's $60 monthly Standard package does not have TNT.

Sling does not have ABC, although they are two of our best streaming service list picks (although you can get it with one of the best TV antennas).

UK basketball fans will have to stay up late to catch the Lakers vs. Rockets live stream at 1 am BST. The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports, and those who do not have Sky Sports can watch it on Now TV starting at £9.99.

The NBA League Pass is also available in the UK and will offer all games without blackouts for £42.99 for the rest of the year.

Canadian hoops fans can watch Lakers vs. Rockets on TSN. Game 4 on TSN4.

NBA League Pass is also available in Canada.

(all in EST)

* = as needed [33]