The Los Angeles Lakers earned a big victory on Monday in Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors, and it was quite a barnburner.
They came out on top 104-101, and afterward, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr complained that the Lakers allegedly flopped on some plays in order to get fouls called in their favor.
“We had three or four illegal screens called. That was disappointing. … [The Lakers] took some flops and were rewarded.”
– Steve Kerr
(Via @BenGolliver ) pic.twitter.com/7v7ytabJgQ
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 9, 2023
After Los Angeles had a big advantage at the free throw-line in Game 3, the officials let both teams play more on Monday. They weren’t nearly as many foul shots taken by either team, although the Lakers still managed to attempt eight more foul shots than their opponents. Overall, they were 20-of-20 from the charity stripe while Golden State was 9-of-12.
Anthony Davis had another strong game, especially in the first half. His 23 points and 15 rebounds were instrumental in the Purple and Gold coming through, and he also played some clutch defense on Stephen Curry with seconds remaining in the game, forcing him to miss two outside shots with L.A. clinging to a one-point advantage.
But the man of the hour was reserve guard Lonnie Walker IV. He has barely played for the Lakers over the last two months after multiple trades changed their roster and rotations, but he scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and was red-hot, not to mention fearless, down the stretch.
It was a good thing for the Lakers that Walker had such a gutsy performance, as LeBron James shot just 10-of-25 and D’Angelo Russell was 1-of-10 from the field.
The Lakers now own a 3-1 series lead, but the series is far from over. Game 5 will take place in San Francisco, and if there is one team that is capable of coming back from such a deficit, it’s the Warriors.
After all, they did exactly that in the 2016 Western Conference Finals against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, that Warriors team was different. This iteration has had trouble winning on the road all season long, and in order for it to come through this time, it would have to win a Game 6 back at Crypto.com Arena, which would be played on Friday if necessary.
