Entering the fourth quarter of Monday’s Game 2 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, the Warriors held an 84-77 lead, looking to knot the series at 2-2. A quarter later, they’d fallen, 104-101, and now face a 3-1 deficit heading back home for Wednesday’s Game 5.
Aside from an offensive drought and some costly blunders, a primary reason behind the Warriors’ loss was Lonnie Walker IV exploding for 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the final frame. He made some crucial plays off the bounce and buried a three. After the game, Warriors forward Draymond Green discussed the loss on his podcast and gave credit to Walker for delivering in crucial moments.
“You tip your hat to Lonnie Walker. That’s a guy who’s been in and out of the lineup,” Green said. “On the biggest stage, he came through. We were right there at tying the series up 2-2 and he came through and he beat us.”
“You tip your hat to Lonnie Walker. That’s a guy who’s been in and out of the lineup… On the biggest stage, he came through. We were right there at tying the series up 2-2 and he came through and he beat us.”
— Draymond Green
(via @TheVolumeSports)pic.twitter.com/CRFKND2VWR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 10, 2023
Walker signed with the Lakers last offseason and was a mainstay in the rotation roughly until they remade their roster at the trade deadline. He even started 32 games. But head coach Darvin Ham reinserted him into the rotation in Game 4 and he’s played a key role on both ends, helping Los Angeles stake a 3-1 lead, one win away from the Western Conference Finals, with no bigger stretch than his fourth quarter on Monday night.