Lakers survive Game 4 to take 3-1 series lead against Warriors
As purple-and-gold confetti fell from the rafters at Crypto.com Arena, the entire Lakers team surrounded Lonnie Walker IV on the court. This was the Lonnie Walker IV game.
Walker’s clutch 15 fourth-quarter points helped the Lakers survive a triple-double from Stephen Curry to win Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals 104-101 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Curry dazzled with 31 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds, but the Lakers got clutch performances from their role players in the second half. The Lakers can close out the series on Wednesday at Chase Center.
Curry missed a long three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining that would have put the Warriors up by two. When the Lakers gathered the rebound, the Warriors were forced to foul and Walker made two free throws to put the Lakers up by three.
Draymond Green turned the ball over on the next Warriors possession, and after a jump ball went to the Warriors, Curry fumbled the ball out of bounds.
The Lakers erased a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
LeBron James had 27 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Davis scored 23 with 15 rebounds.
Austin Reaves delivered 21 points, including seven in the third quarter.
Lakers lead close game down the stretch
LeBron James stretched the Lakers’ lead to three, 102-99, with two free throws as 1:19 remains in the fourth quarter.
Klay Thompson has been quiet for most of the night, but the Southern California native hit a big three-pointer from the corner to put the Warriors up by three with 3:01 remaining.
James hit two free throws on the next Lakers’ possession to cut the deficit to one. Lonnie Walker IV took the lead back for the Lakers with 1:38 remaining after a turnover from the Warriors.
Steph Curry is cooking
While the Lakers are getting help from their role players, Stephen Curry is trying to cook up a win all by himself.
Curry pushed the Warriors ahead 96-94 on a floater with 3:52 remaining. He has 29 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James each have 23 points, but Austin Reaves has broken out in the second half and has 21 points. Lonnie Walker IV, who was out of the rotation at the beginning of this series, has scored nine fourth-quarter points.
Davis has 15 rebounds, but has scored just four points in the second half.
Austin Reaves ties the score
Fan-favorite Austin Reaves received a smattering of “M-V-P” chants as he knocked down two free throws to tie the score at 94-94 with 4:58 left in the fourth quarter.
Reaves has 20 points.
Lonnie Walker IV carrying Lakers in fourth quarter against Stephen Curry
It’s in his name, right?
Lonnie Walker IV is carrying the Lakers in the fourth quarter, having scored all nine of his points in the period. He made his first four shots of the quarter.
But the Warriors lead 94-90 with 6:05 remaining behind Stephen Curry. He’s reached a triple-double with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
Lakers open fourth quarter on 7-0 run to tie the score
Well, that was fast.
The Lakers erased the Warriors’ third-quarter lead in 92 seconds and tied the score at 84-84 with a basket from Anthony Davis with 10:28 left in the fourth quarter.
Lonnie Walker IV opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer that cut the deficit to four. The Warriors turned it over on the other end of the court and LeBron James isolated against Klay Thompson for a mid-range jumper to cut the lead to two.
The home crowd rose to its feet following a missed three-points by Andrew Wiggins and cheered after Davis hit a turnaround jumper to cap the 7-0 run.
Warriors lead entering fourth quarter
The Lakers won a critical stretch of time with Anthony Davis on the bench at the end of the third quarter, but the Warriors still lead 84-77 going into the fourth quarter.
Davis sat with 3:17 left in the third and the Lakers trailing by nine, 77-68. With LeBron James on the court, the Lakers outscored the Warriors by three to end the quarter, but couldn’t close the gap by much against Stephen Curry.
Curry has 21 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. His nine rebounds are the second most by a player in this game, trailing only Davis, who has 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Curry flashed some Magic Johnson-esque skill with a thrilling behind-the-back pass to Donte DiVincenzo, who, after getting that pass, had no choice but to score on a reverse layup. On the next Warriors’ possession, Curry froze the Lakers defense with a hesitation dribble and laid the ball up high off the glass to put the Warriors ahead by six with 1:41 remaining in the third quarter.
Davis scored only two points in the third quarter. James has 21 points and seven rebounds. Austin Reaves is having his best scoring night of the series with 17 points.
Austin Reaves stepping up in third quarter but Lakers still trail
Austin Reaves has found his rhythm in the third quarter, but the Lakers still trail 77-68 with 3:17 left.
Reaves has 17 points on six-of-13 shooting, three of five from three-point range.
The Lakers have just 16 assists on 26 made field goals compared to the Warriors’ 24 assists on 31 made shots.
Teams alternate big runs in third quarter
It’s true what they say — basketball is a game of runs.
The Warriors responded to the Lakers’ 10-0 run with 11 unanswered points of their own, including seven from Gary Payton II.
Payton got back-to-back layups off assists from Stephen Curry and made an open corner three-pointer. After getting the starting nod in place of JaMychal Green, Payton has 15 points.
Curry is nearing a triple-double with 19 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
Anthony Davis has a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists, although he is scoreless in the second half. LeBron James has 16 points.
Re-introducing Austin Reaves
Hello again, Austin Reaves.
The Lakers are on a 10-0 run with Reaves scoring or assisting on four consecutive baskets. He knocked down a corner three to give the Lakers a 59-57 lead with 8:57 to go in the third quarter. and force the Warriors to call a timeout.
Reaves has 12 points, including a mid-range shot that sparked the run. He assisted on back-to-back baskets by LeBron James, then James returned the favor on the three for Reaves.
Reaves is five-of-11 shooting from the field tonight and two of four from three-point range. He also has two rebounds and four assists.
Back for more
And we’re back for the second half. The Warriors inched ahead late in the second quarter behind the brilliance of Stephen Curry and lead 52-49. The Lakers are getting production out of their stars with Anthony Davis and LeBron James scoring 19 and 11 points, respectively, but are still searching for support elsewhere.
Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry duel in first half
A small group of fans in the upper concourse were chanting “M-V-P” while Anthony Davis toed the free-throw line with about three minutes remaining in the first half. The Lakers forward is certainly playing like his team’s most valuable player right now.
Davis has 19 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Golden State’s Stephen Curry is matching his efforts with 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds as the Warriors lead 52-49 at halftime.
Curry scored or assisted on the Warriors’ final 14 points of the first half. Curry finished the half fby making two free throws after he drew a blocking foul on Austin Reaves with 7.5 seconds remaining. Lakers coach Darvin Ham unsuccessfully challenged the call.
LeBron James has 11 points, but Austin Reaves is the next-highest-scoring Lakers player with seven. Davis has already played 22 minutes and looked tired toward the end of the first half when he was standing with his hands on his knees while Curry was taking a free throw.
Game 4 is tied late in second quarter
Anthony Davis has a game-high 12 points as the Lakers and Warriors are tied 38-38 with 4:37 remaining in the first half.
Davis is five for eight from the field with five rebounds.
Despite a cold start from three-point range, the Warriors are sticking with the Lakers by finding open layups in the paint. They’re four for 17 from three-point range and 13 for 20 from inside the arc. Andrew Wiggins has nine points while Stephen Curry has seven points and five assists.
Austin Reaves made a three-pointer with 6:34 remaining in the second quarter that put the Lakers ahead 35-33 and received possibly the loudest cheers of the night. That is, until LeBron James hit another three on the next possession.
Reaves, who has seven points, hasn’t made more than two threes in a game since Game 5 against Memphis. He is one for three from distance tonight.
Lakers forced to call early timeout in second quarter
The Lakers called a timeout after the Warriors opened the second quarter with four consecutive baskets to take a 29-26 lead with 10:16 remaining in the first half.
Two of the Warriors’ shots were in the paint. In an unexpected role reversal, it’s the Warriors who are winning the paint early with an 18-10 scoring advantage.
Lakers clinging to slim lead after first quarter
The Lakers lead 22-21 after an offensively challenged first quarter.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James each have six points to lead the Lakers, while Andrew Wiggins leads the Warriors with six points.
The Warriors are just three-for-12 shooting from three-point range and are outscoring the Lakers 12-10 in the paint.
The Lakers are shooting just 34.8% from the field.
Lakers lead despite cold shooting from both teams
The Lakers lead 18-16 with 1:58 remaining in the first quarter as both teams are struggling to make open shots.
The Warriors are two for 10 from three-point range and seven for 18 from the field. The Lakers have missed all three of their three-point attempts and have six made field goals on 19 shots.
Anthony Davis leads with six points and three rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins leads the Warriors with six points.
Austin Reaves trying to find his flow on offense
LeBron James’ first points ended an 8-0 Warriors run, but a mid-range floater from Austin Reaves on the next possession earned a bigger cheer from a Lakers crowd hoping that the slumping second-year player can find his offensive rhythm.
Reaves has four points as the Lakers lead 16-11 with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter. He is two-for-six shooting from the field and has missed two three-pointers.
The Warriors, who led by as many as five, have three turnovers, including an inexplicable pass out of bounds by Draymond Green as he threw the ball straight to the Lakers’ bench. Lakers assistant Phil Handy got some good camera time after catching the errant pass.
Anthony Davis attacking early
Anthony Davis said he hasn’t paid attention to criticism of his inconsistent scoring this postseason, but the Lakers’ early strategy seems to indicate that the team is listening.
With Davis as the offensive focal point, the forward has scored four early points to help the Lakers to a 6-3 lead with 9:46 remaining in the first quarter.
The Lakers are attacking the basket and have drawn three fouls already, including two on Andrew Wiggins. They’ve already taken four free throws with Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt each sinking two.
Lakers seek commanding series lead vs. Warriors
Hello, this is Thuc Nhi Nguyen driving the Game 4 live blog from the rafters in Crypto.com Arena. My colleagues Dan Woike, Brad Turner, Bill Plaschke and Helene Elliott are court level as the Lakers look to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series against the Warriors.
Gary Payton II moves into Warriors starting lineup
The Warriors are making another change to their starting lineup for Game 4, starting Gary Payton II in place of JaMychal Green.
Payton will start with Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. Wiggins, at 6 foot 7, is the tallest player in the Warriors’ starting lineup.
Payton scored eight points in 13 garbage-time minutes during Game 3. JaMychal Green, who jumped into the starting lineup in Game 2 because of an illness to Kevon Looney, had two points on Friday.
“Gary is a very unique player,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before the game. “Obviously an excellent defender, but a very unique offensive player. Sets screens, he plays more like a big than a guard but he moves like a guard and finishes well and he can knock down threes, does a lot of good things. Obviously helped us dramatically in the playoffs, has big game experience, so we trust him.”
The Lakers are sticking with their usual starting five of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Which Anthony Davis will show up in Game 4?
With a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers are hoping for a good performance tonight from Anthony Davis in Game 4 to take control of the series, but Davis will have to reverse a worrisome recent trend.
The Lakers forward’s scoring has oscillated dramatically this postseason, and after scoring 25 points during a Game 3 blowout win, the pattern would suggest a letdown tonight against the Warriors. Davis has not scored more than 20 points in consecutive games this postseason.
The inconsistent scoring has been a topic of conversation as pundits analyze the highly anticipated series between the Lakers and Warriors, but Davis said he hasn’t listened to any criticism.
“It’s a miss or make league,” Davis said after Saturday’s Game 3 victory. “The same shots I had Game 1, I had Game 2. I made Game 1, I missed Game 2. Same shots I had Game 2, I had Game 3 and I missed Game 2 and made Game 3, so I just look at it as missed shots. I didn’t do anything differently. … I just do my best every night to help my team win. Sometimes it don’t work out that way when we win, but I know, especially this time of the year, I leave it all out on the floor, that’s what I do.”
When asked about his 30-year-old star’s up-and-down scoring, Lakers coach Darvin Ham said the team keeps the objective simple.
“We just ask him to go out and play as hard as he possibly can for 48 minutes,” Ham said. “Whichever game it is, it doesn’t matter if it’s odd or even, we just want the best possible AD night in and night out. As long as we get that, whatever the numbers say, we’ll live with the results.”
The Lakers are 4-1 when Davis has scored more than 20 points this postseason and 2-2 in the others.
Although his impact on offense has wavered, Davis has been a consistent anchor on defense. He has 37 blocked shots in nine postseason games and had three steals on Saturday.
“Davis is dominant,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr when asked of Davis’ defensive impact. “He’s having a great season. We knew coming into the series how good the Lakers were. We saw them a couple times late in the year and their defense is excellent with him anchoring things. That’s a big part of it, trying to see where best to attack and how to account for him.”
‘They controlled it’: How the Lakers dominated Warriors in Game 3 win
In the moment, it was the most mundane of plays.
In hindsight, it signaled the shift of momentum that was called the tipping point of Game 3 in this second-round NBA playoff series.
Fouled by Golden State’s Stephen Curry midway through the second quarter with the Lakers trailing by five, LeBron James shot the Lakers’ first free throws of the quarter.
They would not be their last.
Over the last 6 minutes 32 seconds before halftime, the Lakers took 15 free throws and made 11, the Warriors produced more technical fouls (three) than free throws (one), and the Lakers’ 11-point deficit with 7:35 remaining in the quarter became an 11-point halftime lead.
Lakers show how good they can be in Game 3 win over Warriors
D’Angelo Russell lost the ball and the Golden State Warriors were off to the races, Stephen Curry slanting a pass ahead to a wide-open Andrew Wiggins.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, LeBron James leaped into the frame.
James broke up the play, his momentum forcing him to jump over the fans seated behind the basket and run up the stairs of a nearby aisle.
As he returned to the court, the subjects inside of Crypto.com Arena paid tribute to their king with a standing ovation.
The Lakers were on their way, this time to a 127-97 victory over the Warriors in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series.
LeBron James and Lakers reclaim control of series with Game 3 rout of Warriors
It was a slow start for LeBron James, but he kept grinding and grinding, eventually his play building and sending the fans at Crypto.com Arena into a frenzy.
James was the leader the Lakers needed him to be against the Golden State Warriors, and Anthony Davis and the rest of his teammates followed him.
One moment James was chasing down a loose ball, leaping over courtside fans, flying into the stands. Another moment he was barreling down the court for a layup on the fast break. At other times he was emphatically blocking a shot and scoring on layup by doing a 360-degree spin around two would-be defenders.
Game 4 betting odds and lines for Lakers-Warriors
Here are the latest betting lines and odds for Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.
