In the most important game of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to put together a strong fourth quarter to come away with a 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors. And whether it was LeBron James, Lonnie Walker IV or Austin Reaves handling the ball, the plan was clear: attack Stephen Curry.
Down the stretch of the contest, the Lakers were setting screens and continually hunting Curry. More often than not, it worked out as the Lakers were able to get baskets or draw fouls when they needed and LeBron believes the strategy was a successful one.
“It’s just reading the game,” LeBron said after the three-point win. “Figure out the best ways we can be effective offensively and we felt like that was an opportunity for us to try and get some good looks. Obviously that was what we went to and we were able to be successful on a lot of those possessions in the fourth.
“There’s a couple of them I wish I could of had back, but for the majority of the quarter we were able to get some good looks with using either me handling the ball with Lonnie setting it or whoever Steph’s man was, or me just setting pick-and-rolls on to Steph and seeing how they reacted to that.”
Walker was undoubtedly the biggest story of the night after scoring all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, many of those coming with Curry defending him. But LeBron was in attack mode down the stretch as well and the Lakers also knocked down all of their free throws.
In the playoffs, it is all about getting wins however you can and LeBron made sure to remind everyone that the Warriors were employing a similar strategy as well.
“But listen they were doing the same thing to us,” LeBron added. “From the beginning of the game, Steph was literally playing angle pick-and-rolls targeting guys all night long and you got to sit down and defend and I think both teams did that tonight. We shot 45% they shot 46%, we were 24% from 3, they were 29% so both teams were defending at a high level. That’s what the postseason is about.”
It almost always comes down to defense in the biggest playoff games and the Lakers were just a little better when it mattered most down the stretch. Now, James and the Lakers find themselves just one win away from the Western Conference Finals and if that strategy is what it takes, they will do absolutely do it again.
Lakers’ Lonnie Walker IV calls Game 4 performance something he’s been dreaming of
After being out of the rotation down the stretch of the season, Lonnie Walker IV was absolutely huge in the Lakers’ Game 4 win and he made it clear how much this performance meant to him.
“The greatest feeling you could ever, ever imagine,” Walkers said. “As a kid, this is something I’ve been dreaming of doing. Not just being a part of the playoffs, but impacting it, let alone winning in the playoffs. I’m truly proud of myself. It really shows my capabilities and just my mental fortitude.
“I think the hardest thing of being able to play a lot and then not playing at all is sticking with it. There’s a lot of uncontrollable things that you can’t control and you just gotta take it day to day. Stack the days and every single day you’re trying to be better than who you were yesterday. That’s what I’m always trying to accomplish is to reach my best self.”
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