Gary Payton II didn't have much of an impact in the Warriors' Game 4 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, but three days later, the 29-year-old bounced back with the best performance of his playoff career.
GP2 helped the Warriors rally to beat the Nuggets 102-98 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series as Golden State won the series four-games-to-one.
In 26 minutes off the bench, GP2 finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point line. He grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists, had two steals and blocked one shot.
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GP2's incredible effort in the Game 5 was noticed by LeBron James, who was at home watching the game because his Los Angeles Lakers didn't make the NBA playoffs.
As the Warriors started to make their comeback early in the fourth quarter, GP2 made a sick pass to Draymond Green for a dunk.
GP2 capped the comeback with a corner 3-pointer to give the Warriors an 86-84 lead and then gave Golden State some breathing room with another 3-pointer as the shot-clock was winding down.
GP2 and the Warriors now will have a few days off as they await the winner of the series between the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves. Memphis leads the series three-games-to-two with Game 6 scheduled for Friday night. If the Grizzlies win Game 6, the second-round playoff series against Golden State would begin Sunday at FedExForum.
It has been a long and winding road to get to this moment for GP2. He went from fighting for his NBA life to contributing productive minutes in a closeout game in the playoffs, earning praise from one of the greatest basketball players of all-time.