In a tense, contentious affair, the Los Angeles Lakers – led by LeBron James – managed to take a commanding lead in the Western Conference Semifinals. A game that went back and forth throughout the evening ended in a victory for the Lakers over the Golden State Warriors by a score of 104-101.
With the game on the line, the Lakers were able to string together some strong offenses to finish off a dominant performance from Warriors point guard Steph Curry.
Despite Curry’s outstanding performance – where he put up 31 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists – the rest of the Warriors couldn’t come forward and meet him at his level as the Lakers found baskets all over the court.
LeBron led the team with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as they closed the game thanks to his stellar play. Fellow superstar Anthony Davis was also a major contributor with 23 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.
But the best performance of the night came from Lakers guard Lonnie Walker IV – who had 15 points in the fourth quarter alone.
LeBron James led the Lakers to a commanding 3-1 lead over Golden State
Steph Curry had a phenomenal triple-double night with 31 points, 10 boards and 14 assists
LeBron led the way for the Lakers with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists
Walker went 6 for 9 in the fourth quarter, hitting the go-ahead jumper with 1:53 left to play.
Curry’s layup with 1:05 left trimmed the Lakers’ lead to one point, but Curry missed a long jump and three-point attempt on Golden State’s next possession before Walker made two free throws with 15 seconds left in the game.
Davis then forced a jump ball in the waning seconds, and it went out of Curry’s lane with 1.3 seconds to play.
“We’re not winning this game tonight without Lonnie Walker, that’s for sure,” James said. As hard as this game was, it’s going to get even harder. We understand that. We know that.’
Curry had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in his 13th career triple-double for the defending champion Warriors, who will have to overcome a 3-1 deficit for the second time in franchise history to continue their NBA title defense to put. Golden State also did it in the 2016 Western Conference Finals.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in San Francisco.
Gary Payton II scored a season-high 15 points in his first start of the season for Golden State, but Klay Thompson had his second consecutive low-key game in Los Angeles, scoring nine points in 41 minutes.
Andrew Wiggins added 17 points for the Warriors, who made just 25 combined three-pointers in their two games in Los Angeles after making 21 each in the first two games in San Francisco.
The two biggest superstars kept exchanging claps back and forth all night long
But the Warriors failed to hold onto the ball – Curry threw the ball out of bounds late
Anthony Davis picked up an important turnover late in the game on a missed pass from Draymond Green
Golden State coach Steve Kerr switched to a three-guard starting lineup to influence the Los Angeles defense that held the Warriors to 97 points in Game 3, and the changes largely worked: Davis, who blocked 11 shots in the first three games , was ‘He was unable to protect the rim with the same ferocity as he had to go to the perimeter for his defensive matchups, and the Warriors capitalized with 52 points in the paint.
The Lakers compensated: they made all 20 of their free throws and Austin Reaves added 21 points.
But they won with a gritty, timely effort from Walker, who took the Lakers’ deficit as D’Angelo Russell scored just four points on 1-for-10 shooting after a strong performance in Game 3.
Curry secured the 13th triple-double of his career early in the fourth quarter and added it to his postseason triple-doubles in the 2017 NBA Finals and again in 2019. But he missed nine of 10 three-point attempts across three quarters, and the most prolific 3-point shooter in NBA history finished 3 for 14 from distance.
Along the stretch, Lonnie Walker IV (4) was a star for the Lakers pulling down key shots
But it was also a great night for the Lakers Austin Reaves – who finished with 21 points
The rivals split the first two games of the series in the Bay Area last week, and the Lakers followed their 27-point loss in Game 2 with a 30-point thrashing against the Warriors in Game 3.
Both teams shot poorly to start Game 4, but Curry’s 17 points put Golden State ahead at the half.
The Warriors minimized Davis’s impact on defense after he dominated long stretches of the Lakers’ first nine playoff games this spring.
After blocking 19 combined shots – 11 by Davis – in the first three games of this series, Los Angeles blocked only one shot in Game 4 – a majestic, flying whack from James on a fourth-quarter layup attempt by Curry.