Lakers survive late Steph Curry drama to leave Warriors on brink
Los Angeles, California - LeBron James and Lonnie Walker IV sparked a furious second-half rally as the Los Angeles Lakers put the Golden State Warriors on the brink of elimination with a 104-101 win in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference semifinal series.
James finished with 27 points and Walker scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter as the seventh-seeded Lakers overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit and grabbed a 3-1 series lead.
Led by Steph Curry’s 31-point, 14-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, the reigning champions looked poised to even the series after building a 77-65 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.
The Lakers then outscored the Warriors 21-7 over the next seven minutes, with James scoring seven points during the run that Walker capped with a layup that put the Lakers up 86-84 with 9:27 remaining.
Golden State answered and took a 99-96 lead on Klay Thompson’s 3-pointer with three minutes left, but their opponents scored the next six points before Curry’s layup brought Golden State within 102-101 entering the final minute.
Curry missed two shots in the final 30 seconds, however, and Walker hit two free throws to extend the Lakers’ lead to three before the Warriors turned the ball over in the waning seconds.
Anthony Davis added 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who will try to clinch the series in San Francisco in Wednesday’s Game 5, while Austin Reaves contributed 21 points to the victory.
Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect