In the playoffs, an entire series can come down to a role player having the game of their life. That might be the case for the Los Angeles Lakers as they got an unexpected clutch performance from Lonnie Walker IV to beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead.
Walker scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, giving the Lakers a massive lift and bringing them just one win away from the Western Conference Finals.
Walker couldn’t help but express how excited and proud he was of himself after his masterful Game 4 showing.
“The greatest feeling you could ever, ever imagine,” Walker said of his performance. “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.”
The young shooting guard was celebrated by his teammates shortly after the final buzzer sounded, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis being the first ones over to say something to him. Walker revealed what the two stars said to him.
“Just how happy they are for me. There’s…like I said, there’s things that are uncontrollable. I got injured, fell out of the lineup, fell out of the plan, but I stuck with it. I stayed in the gym, was still being a great teammate and just being a professional. So I think most importantly it was just to give me gratitude on how hard it is to do what I done did, but just being proud of what I did today, too.”
Walker is the true definition of a pro who was able to stay ready despite all the trials and tribulations. He’s the biggest reason the Lakers are where they are right now and he should enjoy every last bit of his moment in the spotlight.
Darvin Ham explains importance of free throw line to Lakers’ success
Outside of Walker’s fourth-quarter heroics, the Lakers helped themselves at the free-throw line as they were a perfect 20-of-20 from the charity stripe. Darvin Ham previously explained how important it is for the purple and gold to get to the line.
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