SAN ANTONIO – Lonnie Walker IV’s standout performance Tuesday night kept San Antonio Spurs fans on the edge of their seats — and hyped for what the rest of the season holds.
Walker scored a career-high 28 points as the Spurs rallied from a late 10-point deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 135-133 in double overtime.
It marked the Silver and Black’s second straight home game win amid a 7-14 start to the season.
“My teammates kept me going,” Walker said in a post-game interview. “It just shows how good we can be when we want to play, and we want to play hard.”
Lonnie Walker lifts Spurs to 2OT win over Rockets despite Harden’s 50
Walker later posted on Instagram a photo of his dunk with the caption, “Wayyyy to WINNNNN.”
Walker scored 18 points in the fourth quarter while DeMar DeRozan added 23 points, nine assists and five rebounds overall.
The Rockets’ James Harden played a season-high 49 minutes and scored 50 points.
While the Spurs’ locker room feels “focused,” “ready” and “excited,” now is the time to “humble back down” and continue to the next game, Walker said in the interview.
Lonnie Walker IV postgame #Spurs #Rockets...says this effort shows how good this team can be...and squad is growing and learning together...but it’s got to continue to next game. LW4 finishes with 28 pts. #ksatsports #ksatnews #NBA pic.twitter.com/pDPM7xqPoh
— RJ Marquez (@KSATRJ) December 4, 2019
Patty Mills praised the young Spur — as well as fans for “hanging with us” during a struggling season — on Instagram.
“As a teammate, it’s super rewarding to see one of your young boys go through the process of working hard, asking questions, learning, growing, staying patient and staying ready,” Mills wrote on Instagram. “To see it unfold tonight is incredible and gets me hyped.”
MIlls added the double-overtime thriller was a great start to a much-needed two-day break.
“Thanks for hanging with us #spursnation,” he wrote.
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The Spurs will host Sacramento on Friday night.
Dejounte Murray and Jakob Poeltl also sang praises for Walker on their Instagram stories.
Sports TV personality Skip Bayless called the match “NBA’s game of the year so far.”
GO, SPURS, GO. James Harden finally DOESN'T get a call - called for offensive foul to ice double-OT win for Lonnie Walker IV and the Spurs. NBA's Game of the Year so far.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 4, 2019