LeBron James arrives at the game against Golden State 5 hours before kick-off (from the NBA's official website)
In a tight final quarter, in a fateful playoff game, with superstars on both sides — at the least expected moment, Lonnie Walker delivered his breakout game for the Lakers. The guard, who has been dried on the edge of the bench for many parts this season, scored 15 points in the final quarter of Game 4 against Golden State, sweeping the Lakers to a 101-104 victory in a game already in the hands of the champions.
Walker single-handedly scored almost as much as Golden State did in the final quarter (the Warriors had 17 points) and made it into Lakers history: He is the first Laker since Kobe Bryant to score 15 or more points off the bench in the final quarter of a playoff game. Kobe, by the way, did just that 26 years ago Tuesday against the Utah Jazz, when he was just starting out.
"It's the best feeling you can imagine. As a kid, you dream of moments like that," Walker said with a smile at the end, after LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of the Lakers' players hugged him at the end and gave him the game ball as a souvenir. LeBron and Davis, two proven stars in the league, recognized in the final quarter how hot Walker was, and looked to give him the ball over and over again. It didn't surprise Walker.
"First of all, I'm a scorer," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in myself, I know what I'm capable of, and after all the sacrifices I've made this season, after all the hard work in training, today finally came to fruition."
"Without him, we wouldn't have won." LeBron and Davis share the moment with Lonnie Walker (Photo: official website, official website of the Los Angeles Lakers)
LeBron James shined a spotlight on Walker after the game as well, praising him with warm words. "I've seen a lot of young players in this league lose confidence and belief in themselves, but Looney shows up for training every day, maintains a very high level of professionalism, high energy, character. That's why he was able to put everything aside today and just be himself," James said, "We gave him the ball of the game as a gift, because we certainly wouldn't have won here without him."
Coach Darwin Ham said: "This kid is just great... All this time he remains a soldier, remains a professional, he always comes with a positive attitude. He came out of the rotation at certain parts of the season through no fault of his own, but stayed focused all the time. When your heart and mind are in a good place, that's what happens."
"Lonnie won the game for us. He told us that when he was a child, he prayed to reach such moments. Today he took it with both hands," Anthony Davis added.
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The surprising hero: Walker scored 15 in the final quarter, the Lakers went 1-3 over Golden State
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LeBron and Davis embrace
Magic: "Lonnie Walker rose in a big way"
Pau Gasol: "He changed the game"
Dennis Schroeder also congratulates
And Walker himself is excited
Now Golden State has its back against the wall again, and once again the statistics are against it. LeBron James has never lost a series in which he led 1-3, and in cases of such an advantage in playoff series over the years, the leading team has won 95% of the series. On the other hand, Golden State has made such a turnaround before, ousting Oklahoma City in 2016 with a brilliant comeback. It seems to be counting on such a scenario this time as well.
"We remember that we've come back from falling behind 3-1 in the series before, and we're certainly going to use that to get confidence," said Steph Curry, who finished with a triple-double that wasn't enough. "The trick is not to think too far, but to focus now on Game 5 and think about how to win it first. We have a lot of confidence, we take the good things from the game today, and we know we have to keep our home."
Compared to Steph, Charles Barkley is already confident that the series has been decided. "This series is finished, the Warriors are finished," the former player told TNT's panel of commentators. "It will be decided in five or six games. The Lakers did a great job of getting Steph and Klay to work hard. They knew these were the two players they had to worry about, and they attacked them again and again defensively. Klay and Steph got tired, and I really liked what the Lakers did to make it happen."
Are the judges guilty? Draymond complains (Photo: Reuters)
Steve Kerr, by the way, is convinced that tonight's game was decided not only in favor of the Lakers thanks to Lonnie Walker, but also thanks to the referees. "The final quarter was decided by Walker, and also by the whistles that whistled at us. We were whistled for offenses for illegal blocks three or four times, and it was very frustrating and disappointing." According to Kerr, "The Lakers are a team that uses a lot of trickery to win. They know how to get referees to blow whistles. They made flops, and got an award for it - and not for the first time. I have to watch the replays, maybe I'm wrong, but in real time it seemed to me that they were getting unwarranted whistles."
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- Los Angeles Lakers
- Golden State Warriors
