THE Golden State Warriors will visit a place they have been twice before in the Steve Kerr coaching era when they seek to stave off elimination in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night (Thursday in Manila) in San Francisco.
Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker IV gave LeBron James and Anthony Davis the type of supporting cast Stephen Curry didn’t get from his more highly regarded teammates when the Lakers snatched a 104-101 home win in Game 4 on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) to go up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The second straight win brought the Lakers to within one game of their first venture to the Western Finals since 2020 and their first in a non-bubble season since 2010. The Lakers went on to the NBA title in 2020.
Over in New York, the Miami Heat were an unusual No. 8 seed in multiple ways. Now they are one win away from showing, yet again, why that seeding was beneath them.
The Heat will aim to close out an Eastern Conference semifinal series when they visit the fifth-seeded Knicks in Game 5 of the best-of-seven set.
Host Miami took a commanding 3-1 series lead Monday (Tuesday in Manila), when Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each posted double-doubles as the Heat beat the Knicks 109-101.
With one more victory, the Heat will become just the second eighth seed to reach the conference finals and the first since the Knicks did so in the spring of 1999. But the circuitous route taken by Miami, a perennial title contender, is unprecedented.
Reaves (21 points) outscored and seriously outplayed counterpart Klay Thompson (nine points), while Walker saved all 15 of his points for a difference-making fourth quarter, helping to put the Lakers in a commanding position.
“The job’s not finished,” Reaves said afterward. “We come back on (Wednesday) and try to win that one. Keep the same mindset (that) it’s not the first one to win one game, it’s the first four. We gotta keep a good mindset moving forward and stay locked in.”
It is a solid plan, especially against the playoff-tested Warriors, who took a been-there, done-that approach for a must-win Game 7 on the road at Sacramento in the first round.
Golden State played its best game of that series, riding Stephen Curry’s 50 points to a resounding 120-100 victory. — Field Level Media
