LOS ANGELES – LeBron James led a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback as the Lakers beat the Clippers 116-112 on Wednesday night, the largest fourth-quarter comeback of James’ 21-year career, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
James single-handedly defeated the Clippers 19–16 in the final frame, including hitting 5 of 8 from 3 with four assists, ending the franchise’s “Hallway Series” in dramatic fashion. Wednesday marked the final regular season matchup for both teams sharing the same arena, with the Clippers opening the new Intuit Dome early next season.
James hit three 3s in the first 3:13 of the fourth quarter, quickly cutting the Clippers’ cushion to nine and prompting coach Tyronn Lue to call a timeout.
“It’s just a zone, and you can’t really describe it,” James said after finishing with 34 points and eight assists. “You wish you could stay in it forever, but obviously that comes into check once the game is over. But during it, you don’t feel anything. It’s like a superpower feeling.”
The Lakers looked anything but super in the first three quarters, continuing to show signs of post-All-Star break malaise after losing two of their last three games coming into the night.
Then, as he has done so many times in his decorated career, it was James to the rescue.
Lakers coach Darwin Hamm said of his star, “I think he’s got to take the cape, hide it under his seat on the bench.” “It was time for him to kill it. He definitely did that, put the cap on and got aggressive and got into a good rhythm.”
The final surge came from seven Clippers turnovers in the fourth quarter, leading to 18 points for the Lakers.
“I don’t think that’s ever happened in my career since I’ve been coaching to lose a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter,” Lue said. “But LeBron got hot. We talked about it before the game: You can’t turn the ball over against his team because it’s lethal.”
The Lakers now sit 9th in the Western Conference playoff picture at 32-28 – just three games behind the No. 5 Phoenix Suns with 22 games left to play.
Not only did James carry the offensive load on Wednesday, but he also guarded Clippers star Kawhi Leonard for the entire second half and scored on Leonard’s baseline fadeaway with 7 seconds left that could have tied it, but hit just wide of the rim.
“If I’m in the lineup, if I’m on the floor, I’ve got to make plays. Sometimes I’ve got to make even more plays,” James said. “And tonight was one of those moments where I had to make even more plays to get back in the game and ultimately win the game.”
Anthony Davis was ruled out to begin the fourth quarter, giving him a prime seat to take up James’ talents.
“Sometimes you sit on the bench and you get a chance to see greatness and be a fan,” Davis said. “And that was it for a lot of us tonight.”
Davis was on the floor when the Lakers completed the comeback, however, playing defense with Austin Reaves and Taurean Prince and enjoying every shot from D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura.
“I think it was a huge win for us,” Davis said. “Not only (because it was against the Clippers) but also for us in general. I think it’s a big reassuring win for us hopefully we’ll play like we were playing right before the break.” Were.”
