LOS ANGELES — Lonnie Walker scored all of his 15 factors in an outstanding fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied late to take a 3-1 collection lead with a 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Sport 4 on Monday night time.
LeBron James scored 27 factors and Anthony Davis had 23 factors and 15 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who moved to the brink of an unbelievable journey to the Western Convention finals with their eighth consecutive house victory since March.
Los Angeles overcame Stephen Curry’s third profession postseason triple-double down the stretch largely due to Walker, who has made a seismic influence in returning to the Lakers’ rotation on this collection after the previous starter was caught on the bench in current weeks.
Walker went 6 for 9 within the fourth quarter and hit the go-ahead jumper with 1:53 to play. Curry’s layup with 1:05 left trimmed the Lakers’ result in one level, however Curry missed a protracted jumper and a 3-point try on Golden State’s subsequent possession earlier than Walker made two free throws with 15 seconds to play.
Davis then compelled a bounce ball within the waning seconds, and it went out of bounds off Curry with 1.3 seconds to play.
“We don’t win this sport tonight with out Lonnie Walker, that’s for certain,” James mentioned. “As arduous as this sport was, it’s going to be even tougher. We perceive that. We all know that.”
Curry had 31 factors, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in his thirteenth profession triple-double for the defending champion Warriors, who should overcome a 3-1 collection deficit for under the second time in franchise historical past to proceed their NBA title protection. Golden State additionally did it within the 2016 Western Convention finals.
Sport 5 is Wednesday night time in San Francisco.
Gary Payton II scored a season-high 15 factors in his first begin of the season for Golden State, however Klay Thompson had his second straight quiet sport in Los Angeles, scoring 9 factors in 41 minutes. Andrew Wiggins added 17 factors for the Warriors, who made simply 25 mixed 3-pointers of their two video games in Los Angeles after making 21 apiece within the first two video games in San Francisco.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr switched to a three-guard beginning lineup to have an effect on the Los Angeles protection that held the Warriors to 97 factors in Sport 3, and the modifications largely labored: Davis, who blocked 11 pictures within the first three video games, wasn’t capable of shield the rim with the identical ferocity when his defensive matchups required him to exit to the perimeter, and the Warriors capitalized with 52 factors within the paint.
The Lakers compensated: They made all 20 of their free throws, and Austin Reaves added 21 factors.
However they gained with a gritty, well timed effort by Walker, who picked up the Lakers’ slack when D’Angelo Russell scored simply 4 factors on 1-for-10 capturing after a robust efficiency in Sport 3.
Curry secured the thirteenth triple-double of his profession early within the fourth quarter, including it to his postseason triple-doubles within the 2017 NBA Finals and once more in 2019. However he missed 9 of 10 3-point makes an attempt spanning three quarters, and essentially the most prolific 3-point shooter in NBA historical past completed 3 for 14 from distance.
The rivals cut up the collection’ first two video games final week within the Bay Space, and the Lakers adopted up their 27-point loss in Sport 2 with a 30-point thrashing of the Warriors in Sport 3. Each groups shot poorly to start Sport 4, however Curry’s 17 factors put Golden State forward on the half.
The Warriors minimized Davis’ influence on protection after he dominated lengthy stretches of the Lakers’ first 9 playoff video games this spring. After blocking 19 mixed pictures — 11 by Davis — within the first three video games of this collection, Los Angeles blocked only one shot in Sport 4 — an imposing, swooping swat by James on a layup try by Curry within the fourth quarter.
