LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored 19 of his 34 points during a spectacular fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 21-point deficit for a dramatic 116-112 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
Kawhi Leonard missed a 12-footer with five seconds remaining, and James threw a long pass to Cam Reddish for a dunk, leading the way in the rivals’ final regular season game as co-tenants of their downtown arena. A great win for the Lakers. ,
The 39-year-old James was at the center of it all, hitting five of his season-high seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter (19-16) as the Clippers outscored. He either scored or assisted on 11 of the Lakers’ 13 baskets in the final period.
“It’s just a feeling when you feel like everything you put in is going in,” James said. “I kept it consistent. I wasn’t taking ill-advised shots. I stayed during the crime. My teammates did a great job of finding me, and I just tried to control the pace, dictate the game. …It’s just a zone. Really can’t describe it. I wish you could stay in it forever.”
Leonard scored 26 points and James Harden had 23 points and nine assists for the Clippers, who had back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 23 after committing seven turnovers and allowing 39 points in that disastrous fourth quarter. Lost. The Clippers played without All-Star Paul George, who missed his second consecutive game due to left knee soreness, and starting center Ivica Zubac, who was ill.
“It’s a game,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Played well for three quarters. The game is not over. I have never let a single loss or bad loss take away from what we are doing and what we have built. It’s a tough loss because we were up 21 points, but this is a good team, and when you don’t take care of the basketball and you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, you lose.
The Clippers led 98–77 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but James went on a 29–8 run in just 7:34. Anthony Davis’ free throws tied it at 106-all with four minutes to play, and James hit a Rui Hachimura 3-pointer moments later.
D’Angelo Russell’s 3-pointer put the Lakers ahead 114–108 with 1:12 left, before Harden and Leonard scored on drives to the hoop, while James missed two shots for the Lakers. But Leonard’s last shot was off target, and James found Reddish for the capper, to the delight of thousands of Lakers fans attending the “road” game.
“How can you be surprised by some of his actions?” Russell asked about James. “A lot of guys did a great job defensively and gave us what we needed, but he’s a big reason for us winning this game, just because of him. As a group, we struggled.”
The Lakers won three of four over the Clippers this season, winning the season series for the first time since 2011–12.
Davis had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, while Russell had 18 and Hachimura had 17 points.
The Clippers and Lakers moved into the building that was long known as Staples Center – along with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings – when it opened in 1999. The NBA franchises shared their home for the next 25 years, usually facing each other four times a year in a rivalry known as the Hallway Series because their locker rooms are about 100 feet apart in the same hallway. .
That era ends this fall when the Clippers move into the Intuit Dome, owner Steve Ballmer’s lavish new arena in Inglewood. Ballmer decided the Clippers needed their own home to step out of the shadow of the Lakers’ 17 NBA championships and the banners adorning the walls of the shared arena, and the billionaire promptly made it happen.
The balance of power in Los Angeles is still tilted squarely in the direction of the Lakers, but the Clippers have made progress: They have finished with a better record than the Lakers in 10 of the last 11 seasons, failing only in 2020. When the Lakers won their 17th title.
The teams always could have met in a playoff series this spring, but that never happened.
Reddish returned after a 14-game absence due to a right ankle sprain.
next
Lakers: Host Washington on Thursday night
Clippers: Host Washington on Friday night.
,
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
