Location: Evergreen Ave.
Personnel: Me, KT, Johnny the cat, Olive the cat
T-shirt: Keep Calm and Curry On

This was a hard-fought nail-biter of a game, and though obviously I am not pleased with the result, I can’t complain about the entertainment value. The lead changed hands about 50 times and in the end, My Personal Savior had a good look at a 3 that would have won it, then inexplicably threw the ball out of bounds with a second and change left on the clock.

Though the Lakers’ stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both had decent nights, the game was won for them by someone named Lonnie Walker IV — who, after not scoring in the first three quarters, somehow poured in 15 points in the 4th. Several times I was seen to leap up from my couch and yell, “Who the fuck is Lonnie Walker?”

Fortunately Olive the cat was there radiating calm, which kept me from getting too exercised. She did a good job of closing the game after Old Man Johnny covered the first half. Next time I attend a game in person, I may take a personal comfort animal along.

So Tuesday morning dawns on a 3–1 series deficit. Teams have come back from 3–1 before — in fact, in 2016 it happened two series in a row. The Warriors trailed Oklahoma City 3–1 in the Conference Finals before coming back to win, then went up 3–1 over LeBron’s Cavs in the Finals before snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

But you can’t win three games at a time. Tomorrow night’s Game 5 now becomes an elimination game, and fortunately is at Chase Center. Home cooking is best; just ask Gary Payton II, who in the first quarter last night ran straight off the court into the locker room without checking out of the game, apparently in some sort of distress. Some of us watching guessed he had to go #2, but today word is he threw up in his mouth. In any case, on the next Warriors possession, Draymond Green fired a pass to where Payton was supposed to be and the ball was caught by a bemused Lakers coach.

That possession might have come in handy at the end of the game. But there are always so many could-have-beens and might-have-dones and what-the-fucks. Today’s mission: leave all that behind, clear the ol’ noggin, and look to the future.