The defending champions Golden State Warriors are one game away from elimination.
LeBron James and the Lakers fashioned out a thrilling 104-101 Game 4 victory on Monday night (Tuesday AM in Manila) at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
James had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists while Anthony Davis added 23 points and 15 rebounds. Austin Reaves finished with 21 points.
But it was Lonnie Walker IV who stole the show for the purple-and-gold. The 6-foot-4, 204-pound shooting guard exploded for 15 fourth quarter points to help hold off the defending champs. Walker, a former San Antonio Spur, hit 6-of-9 shots including a big 3 that sparked the Lakers’ rally.
“The greatest feeling you could ever imagine,” said Walker of his epic performance. “As a kid, this is something I’ve been dreaming of,” he told reporters.
Walker had seen only scant minutes in this series. But when his number was called he rose to the challenge.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself. I know what I’m capable of, and after a lot of sacrifice and a lot of time in the gym, the fruition finally came today,” Walker added.
Steph Curry sizzled with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists, but not even that herculean triple-double effort couldn’t rescue a Warriors team that hit only 12 of their 41 three-point attempts while Klay Thompson struggled with just nine points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Andrew Wiggins showed up with 17 points and Gary Payton II had 15 but Jordan Poole was a miserable 0-for-4 from the field with two turnovers in 10 minutes of play. Draymond Green put together 8 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists but he also had five turnovers.
Game 5 resumes on Wednesday night (Thursday AM in Manila) at the Chase Center.
