WALKER IS HERO, LAKERS GO UP 3-1
Lonnie Walker IV scored all of his 15 points in a phenomenal fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied late to take a 3-1 series lead with a 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 on Monday night.
LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 23 points and 15 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who moved to the brink of an improbable trip to the Western Conference finals with their eighth consecutive home victory since March.
Los Angeles overcame Stephen Curry’s third career postseason triple-double down the stretch largely because of Walker, who has made a seismic impact in returning to the Lakers’ rotation in this series after the former starter was stuck on the bench in recent weeks.
Walker went 6 for 9 in the fourth quarter and hit the goahead jumper with 1:53 to play. Curry’s layup with 1:05 left trimmed the Lakers’ lead to one point, but Curry missed a long jumper and a 3point attempt on Golden State’s next possession before Walker made two free throws with 15 seconds to play.
Davis then forced a jump ball in the waning seconds, and it went out of bounds off Curry with 1.3 seconds to play.
“We don’t win this game tonight without Lonnie Walker, that’s for sure,” James said. “As hard as this game was, it’s going to be 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 series deficit for only the second time in franchise history to continue their NBA title defense. 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 straight quiet game in Los Angeles, scoring nine points in 41 minutes. Andrew Wiggins added 17 points for the Warriors, who made just 25 combined 3-pointers in their two games in Los Angeles after making 21 apiece in the first two games in San Francisco.
Heat 119, Knicks 101: The unpredictable ride of the eighth-seeded Heat continues, with Miami on the brink of yet another trip to the Eastern Conference finals. Jimmy Butler had 27 points and 10 assists, Bam Adebayo finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Heat topped visiting New York.
They’ll take a 3-1 lead into Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Wednesday night, one win from wrapping up this East semifinal matchup and returning to the conference finals for the third time in four years.
Max Strus scored 16 points, Kyle Lowry added 15 and Caleb Martin had 10 for the Heat. Miami, the No. 8 seed, leads the East semifinal series 3-1, with Game 5 — and the first potential clincher — awaiting in New York on Wednesday night.
Jalen Brunson finished with 32 points and 11 assists for fifth-seeded New York, while RJ Barrett had 24 points and Julius Randle scored 20 for the Knicks before fouling out with about three minutes left.
Notable
Denver Nuggets center
Nikola Jokic was fined $25,000 by the league Monday for making improper contact in the stands with Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
No suspension, though. The two-time NBA MVP is all set for Game 5 tonight in Denver, with the second-round series tied at 2-2.
• Rookie of the year Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic headlined the AllRookie team. Banchero was the only player to be selected as a first-teamer on all 100 ballots. He was joined on the first team by Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz, Bennedict Mathurin of the Pacers, Keegan Murray of the Kings and
Jalen Williams of the Thunder.