San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Craving the pressure
» Walker is thrilled to be playing when it counts.
Lonnie Walker IV doesn’t care what role he’s assigned in Gregg Popovich’s rotation just as long as he’s on the court when it matters most.
“I could care less about starting,” Walker said. “I could care less about being on the bench. But being able to play in the final few minutes of the game and close it out, that’s my favorite time.”
That’s what made the Spurs’ 113-104 win over the Kings on Friday night in Sacramento so special for Walker, who started for just the second time since returning to action April 9 after missing nine consecutive games with an injured right wrist.
In a game that wasn’t decided until the final minutes, Walker scored eight of his 16 points in the final 3:03 on 3-of-3 shooting, hitting a pair of driving layups and a 6-foot bank shot that gave the Spurs a seven-point cushion with 70 seconds left.
His crunch-time excellence wasn’t limited to the offensive end. Walker also helped limit Buddy Hield to just three points in the fourth quarter on 1-of-5 shooting.
“Lonnie Walker was fantastic on Buddy Hield,” Popovich said.
Said Walker: “Just trying to make him uncomfortable.”
Popovich moved rookie Devin Vassell to the bench and started Walker at shooting guard to try to get the Spurs off to a fast start. The decision paid off as the Spurs led 25-21 entering the second period after they’d trailed at the end of the first quarter by 10, nine and 12 points, respectively, in their previous three games.
Popovich praised Walker for being “really under control” at both ends of the floor.
“Athletically, he is very confident — he knows what he can do,” Popovich said. “It’s just a matter of playing the right way more often, making decisions. That’s difficult, especially when you’ve got that kind of speed, because he can beat a lot of people.”
Walker said knowing his teammates trust him and are encouraging him to “attack” the basket allows him to play more under control.
“That sure as hell gives me the confidence to play my game,” he said. “This is my third year in. I am still learning, but I am continuously getting better and better by the day.”
Murray’s displays midrange prowess
Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray also came up big in the fourth quarter against the
Kings, scoring 10 of his 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Four of Murray’s baskets in the final quarter came on jumpers from between 13 and 17 feet. Entering Saturday night’s game at Portland, he was shooting 45.3 percent (107 of 236) from 10 to 16 feet and 47.8 percent (54 of 113) from 16 feet to 3-point range.
“He’s explosive, he’s athletic, so when he walks you down, he understands what he needs to do and how to get to his spots, and he’s confident,” Spurs leading scorer and midrange master DeMar DeRozan said of Murray’s midrange shooting. “You see it time and time again.
That’s big, to be able to play that in-between game. It’s big for us. He came through tonight.”
Spurs spreading the scoring wealth
With Luka Samanic’s 15-point performance in Wednesday’s 126-94 loss to the Utah Jazz, the Spurs have had 12 different leading scorers this season, three shy of matching the franchise record of 15 set in 2017-18.
The variation in scoring leaders reflects a season in which the Spurs have had, entering Saturday’s game, 14 different starting lineups and 147 man games lost to injury or illness.
“Chaotic, I guess is the best word,” Popovich said. “But you deal with what is dealt, so that’s just the way it’s been.”
The seasons in which the Spurs had the highest number of different leaders scorers include 2017-18 (15 players), 1986-87 (13), 2014-15 (13), 2020-21 (12), 1988-89 (12) and 2012-13 (12).