Los Angeles, May 9 (BNA): Lonnie Walker started the season as a starter for the Los Angeles Lakers, despite suffering an injury and skipping his way into the rotation after they changed their roster at the trade deadline.
Walker did not cry or complain. cheered off the bench. I worked harder in practice. His chance to shine awaited, the Associated Press reported.
And when he arrived, the unflinchingly confident unknown pro outlasted Stephen Curry in the fourth quarter of a playoff win that put his Lakers on the brink of an unlikely trip to the Western Conference Finals.
“(It’s) the greatest feeling you could ever imagine,” Walker said with a smile. “As a kid, this is something I used to dream about.”
Walker scored all 15 of his points in an exceptional fourth quarter, and the Lakers recovered late to take a 3-1 lead in the second round with a 104-101 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 Monday night.
LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis 23 points and 15 rebounds for the seventh-ranked Lakers, who are one clear from beating the defending champions for the eighth consecutive time since March.
Los Angeles hit Curry’s third career postseason triple-double down the stretch largely because of Walker, who made a seismic impact in returning to the Lakers rotation this series. He went 6-for-9 in the fourth quarter, starting a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the period to cut Golden State’s lead to four points.
After sitting out Game 1, Walker contributed nine points in Game 2 and another 12 in Game 3. His appearance in this series was shocking to most, but not Walker or his teammates.
“I’m a scorer-first mentality,” Walker said. “I have great confidence in myself. I know what I can do, and after a lot of sacrifices and a lot of time in the gym, it finally paid off today.”
In the end, Walker hit a go-ahead jumper with 1:53 to play. A Curry pass with 1:05 left narrowed the Lakers’ lead to 1 point, but Curry missed the long jump and 3-point attempt on Golden State’s next possession before Walker hit two free throws with 15 seconds left, and Los Angeles got one last touchdown. . Defensive pause to shut it down.
“We wouldn’t win this match tonight without Lonnie Walker, that’s for sure,” James said. “As tough as this match is, it’s going to be even tougher. We understand that. We know that.”
Game five is Wednesday night in San Francisco.
Curry had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists for his 13th career triple-double for the sixth-ranked Warriors, who will have to overcome a 3-1 series deficit for only the second time in franchise history to continue their NBA title defense. Golden State also did so in the 2016 Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors led by 12 points late in the third quarter, but the Lakers chased down the champions and finished with Walker ahead in front of even James and Davis, who joined in the chorus of congratulations after the buzzer.
“The kid is a sweet kid,” said Lakers coach Darvin Hamm. “He came out of the shift through no fault of his own, but remained a professional. He remained high spirited and positive, and continued to work on his game every day, especially in these playoffs. When your mind is in the right place your body follows.”
Gary Payton II scored a season-high 15 points in his first start of the season with Golden State, but Klay Thompson had a quiet second straight game in Los Angeles, scoring nine points in 41 minutes. Andrew Wiggins added 17 points for the Warriors, who made 25 three-pointers in their two games in Los Angeles after making 21 points in their first two games in San Francisco.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr switched to a three-guard starting lineup to sway an L.A. defense that held the Warriors to 97 points in Game 3, and the changes largely worked: Davis, who stopped 11 shots in his first three games, wasn’t able to. On guarding the edge just as ferociously when his defensive debates required going out to the perimeter, the Warriors pared 52 points into the paint.
Awad Lakers: They made all 20 of their throws, and Austin Reeves added 21 points.
But they won with a timely and brave effort by Walker, who caught a Lakers kick when D’Angelo Russell scored just four points on 1-for-10 shooting after a solid Game 3 performance.
Curry had his first career triple-double early in the fourth quarter, but missed nine of his 10 3-point attempts spanning three quarters. The most prolific 3-point shooter in NBA history finished 3-for-14 from long range.
Tip-ins
Warriors: Payton’s only previous NBA start of the season was for Portland on February 8. He made two playoff starts with Golden State last year before signing a three-year contract in the summer with the Trail Blazers, who brought his game back to the Warriors in February. … Kevon Looney started Game One against Los Angeles, while JaMychal Green started Games Two and Three.
Lakers: After blocking 19 shots in the first three games of the series, LA’s only block in Game 4 was James’s pouncing attempt on Curry’s fourth quarter attempt. … Jack Nicholson is back on the court for the second time in his last three home games. The 86-year-old Lakers fan topped another crowd studded with celebrities including Chris Pratt, Dodgers head of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, Dave Chappelle, Dustin Hoffman, Kim Kardashian, Colin Jost, and Flea.
Rial