The Los Angeles Lakers took a commanding 3-1 series lead last night against the Golden State Warriors thanks to an unlikely fourth quarter hero in Lonnie Walker IV. 

Walker, a Reading Pennsylvania native and University of Miami alum exploded in the fourth quarter for the Lakers, scoring 15 points to lead Los Angeles to a 104-101 win over the Warriors and a 3-1 series lead. 

Walker scored all his points in the fourth quarter, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and caught fire after drilling a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the final frame to cut the Warriors’ lead to four points. 

Lonnie Walker IV: 4th Quarter Takeover

Lonnie Walker played a TOTAL of 16 minutes in the first round of the playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies. He didn’t even play in Game 1 of the second round. In Game 2, he scored nine points and followed that up with a 12 point performance in Game 3. 

Last night, he hit the Lakers’ go-ahead jumper with under two minutes left on the clock and drilled two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to help secure the win for Los Angeles. 

LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis scored 23 points with 15 rebounds as the Lakers outscored Golden State 27-17 in the fourth quarter. 

LeBron James on Lonnie Walker IV’s 4th Quarter

As for the Warriors, Steph Curry’s third career postseason triple-double wasn’t enough in Game 4 and now Golden State finds themselves in a dreaded 3-1 series deficit. 

To note, teams with a 3-1 series lead have a 264-13 record all-time in advancing to the next round of the playoffs. For those who struggle with math, that’s a 95.3% success rate. You’re welcome. 

Assuming the dynasty of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green won’t pull off the impossible and come back from a 3-1 series deficit like LeBron James and the Cavaliers did back in the 2016 NBA Finals against Golden State, it looks like the seventh seeded Los Angeles Lakers will be four wins away from going to the NBA Finals. 

They’ll await the winner of the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets series, which is locked up at 2-2 with Game 5 in Denver tonight. 

Lonnie Walker IV – Postgame

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