Getty Warriors' Draymond Green (left) and Lakers' Lonnie Walker IV
After the Golden State Warriors lost Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals to the Los Angeles Lakers, Draymond Green discussed Lonnie Walker IV’s massive game on the May 9 episode of his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show.”
The Lakers guard scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, helping Los Angeles outscore Golden State 27-17. The Lakers defeated the Warriors by a final score of 104-101 to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I thought we did an incredible job of wearing both AD and LeBron down,” Green said. “They played a ton of minutes, very high usage. In turn, they went to Lonnie Walker in the fourth quarter. Most cases, that’s a win. And it’s still a win by the way. Like, if you can stop LeBron from getting what shots he wants, stop AD from getting what shots he wants, Lonnie Walker beats you, you kind of gotta live with it. Lonnie Walker had a huge fourth quarter. 15 points in the fourth quarter, which was all the points that he scored in the game. And you gotta tip your hat to him.”
Draymond on the Lonnie Walker game @thevolumesports
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Walker IV didn’t attempt his first shot until the fourth quarter. The Miami product shot 6-of-9 from the field, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line to finish with 15 points in 27 minutes. He scored 15 of the Lakers’ 27 points in the fourth quarter.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Anthony Davis finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds and three steals and Austin Reaves chipped in 21 points. The purple and gold, who started the season 2-10, are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.
LeBron James on Lonnie Walker IV: ‘The Game Ball Definitely Goes to Him’
During his postgame press conference with reporters, James said the game ball “definitely” goes to Walker IV, who is averaging 13.5 points over his last two games against the Warriors.
“I think it’s self-explanatory obviously how special he was in the fourth quarter,” James said. “He had 15 of our 27 points. But just more importantly, just like in my career, in my 20-year career, I’ve seen a lot of young guys kind of lose confidence in themself or lose themself if they been in the rotation or started or had big minutes on the team and then they get taken out of the lineup because of certain situations or circumstances whatever the case may be. And they just completely lose themself.
“And for him to be a young guy in this league and just consistently every single day showed up, been a professional, great energy, high character, it showed why he was able to throw everything to the side and just be him tonight in that moment. And the game ball definitely goes to him. We don’t win without him.”
The Lakers signed Walker IV to a one-year, $6.5 million deal last summer. The 24-year-old averaged 11.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 56 games during the regular season.
Lonnie Walker IV: ‘I Know What I’m Capable of Doing’
Walker IV wasn’t surprised by his performance in Game 4, telling reporters postgame, “I know what I’m capable of doing.”
“I mean, truthfully speaking, I’m a scorer mentality first,” Walker IV said. “So first shot in the fourth, first shot in the first, I mean, it don’t really mean any difference to me honestly. I’ve been shooting a lot of shots my entire life. So I got a lot of confidence in myself. I know my value. I know what I’m capable of doing. And by the grace of God and a lot of hard work and sacrifices and time in the gym, the fruition kind of came today.”
Game 5 of the Lakers-Warriors series is on May 10 in Golden State. The Dubs will be favored in that contest since they will be at home.