Though Wednesday evening’s showing in Denver was mostly a lost cause, the San Antonio Spurs received a spark of excellence from rookie swingman Lonnie Walker IV. With assistant coach Ettore Messina managing the rotation in place of Gregg Popovich, who was ejected from the game in a record-breaking 63 seconds, ‘the Skywalker’ was unleashed on the Nuggets.
In just 16 minutes of play, Walker scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. With sustained playing time and a supportive cast of players surrounding him, Walker moved quickly and confidently with the ball in his hands.