LeBron James on Lonnie Walker IV's Game vs. Warriors: Lakers 'Don't Win Without Him'
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James heaped praise on unsung hero Lonnie Walker IV following L.A.'s 104-101 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series Monday night.
Walker came off the bench to score all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, and James declared that the Lakers would not have won the game without his efforts:
"I've seen a lot of young guys lose confidence in themselves," James said. "... For [Walker] to be a young guy in this league and consistently every day show up, be a professional, great energy, high character. It showed why he was able to throw everything to the side and be him tonight, in that moment. Game ball definitely goes to him. We don't win without him."
Walker scored 15 of the Lakers' 27 points in the fourth quarter, including two clutch free throws with 15 seconds remaining to extend the lead from one to three.
With the win, Los Angeles took a 3-1 series lead and is one victory away from eliminating the reigning NBA champions.
Late in the 2022-23 regular season and into the playoffs, Walker was used sparingly, as the Lakers integrated new pieces alongside James and Anthony Davis, such as D'Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Walker did not appear in nine of the final 16 games of the regular season, and he was barely used in the Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies.
In the six games against Memphis, Walker didn't play twice, saw less than one minute of action twice and played only 4:40 and 9:10 in the other two games.
Walker didn't play in Game 1 against Golden State either, but he has gradually seen more playing time over the past few contests.
In Game 2, Walker scored nine points in 12 minutes, which earned him 24 minutes of playing time the next game. He parlayed that into 12 points.
Walker set a new career high for points in a single playoff game with 15 in Game 4, and he saw 27 minutes of action, which was his most playing time since a February loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
On Monday, Walker made six of his nine attempts from the field and added three rebounds, two assists and two steals to his stat line.
His efforts were especially significant since Davis dominated in the first half only to be barely involved offensively in the second half. Walker picked up the slack and helped will the Lakers to a massive victory.
The Lakers went with a short rotation Monday, as only nine players saw any action, and only six played 15 minutes or more.
Given what Walker has done over the past few games, he figures to continue playing a key role for the rest of the series and perhaps beyond if the Lakers can find a way to finish off the Dubs.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka went to great lengths to put a better supporting cast around LeBron and AD at the trade deadline, but it was a player who was on the roster all along who made the biggest impact aside from the superstars Monday night.
