Sleepy’s 51 Points Awaken Warriors and Stun Lakers

Eric (Sleepy) Floyd prevented the Lakers from posting their second straight playoff sweep Sunday, scoring an NBA record 29 points in the fourth quarter to help the Golden State Warriors to a 129-121 victory.

The best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series heads back to the Forum for Game 5 on Tuesday with the Lakers leading 3-1. The Lakers swept Denver 3-0 in an opening-round series.

Floyd dazzled the crowd and the Laker defenders, hitting 12 of 13 shots from the field in the fourth quarter to bring the Warriors back from a 102-88 deficit at the end of the third period.

Floyd’s performance erased a single-quarter playoff scoring record set Friday night by Isiah Thomas of Detroit in a victory over Atlanta.

Floyd’s 51 total points were the most ever scored by an opposing player against the Lakers in a playoff game and a career high for the veteran guard.

“I thought we celebrated a little early. We should know better than that,” said Laker guard Magic Johnson. “He was doing it on transition and he was doing it on the set offense. We just didn’t get enough help over on him. Our weak side help was just awful in the fourth quarter.”

Floyd, who has been nursing a hamstring injury, said he decided to go out in the fourth quarter and try to make something happen.

“I decided to start penetrating and see what would happen,” Floyd said. “They cut down our half-court offense, so we tried our transition game. My teammates kept giving me the ball. I have never been hotter at any level of play.”

Warrior Coach George Karl, who questioned his team’s heart and intensity after their second game blowout in Los Angeles, had nothing but praise for his players.

“What you saw in the fourth quarter was a lot of guts and heart. Our guys knew their backs were against the wall. In the huddle, I said, ‘Get the ball to Sleepy and let him go.’ ”

Laker guard Michael Cooper, who has had a running verbal battle with Floyd throughout the series, said there was very little he could do once the Warriors guard found his rhythm.

“When a player gets hot like that, it’s hard to control him,” Cooper said. “One time I was right on top of him and he still hit a shot that looked as if it wasn’t going to hit the rim. It was just his day.”

Joe Barry Carroll scored 23 points for the Warriors and Purvis Short added 14. Byron Scott led the Lakers with 28 points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 27 and Michael Cooper added 17.

With Los Angeles leading, 102-88, at the start of the fourth quarter, Floyd scored on two driving layups and a three-point play to cut the deficit to 7.

Following a Magic Johnson basket, the Warriors went on a 14-2 run, Floyd scoring 12 points, to grab a 109-106 lead.

Johnson hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to a point. The Warriors responded with 4 straight points to build the lead.

The Lakers pulled within 119-117 on a Scott basket with 3:03 to go. Floyd then scored the next 4 points to give the Warriors a 6-point cushion, and the Lakers never threatened thereafter.

The Lakers went on a 24-5 scoring run to grab a 28-16 lead. But Floyd scored 7 straight points to pull the Warriors within 28-23.

The Lakers led 34-27 after 12 minutes as Scott scored 11 points in the quarter. Johnson picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and did not score until he hit a basket with 7:55 left in the second period.

The Lakers led, 65-57, at halftime.