He is 39 years old and has already been in the league for 21 seasons, but LeBron James never tires of leaving everyone with their mouths open and this Wednesday he signed a masterpiece so that the Los Angeles Lakers, who trailed by 21 points at the start of the last quarter, They sealed a memorable comeback against their neighbors and rivals the Clippers (112-116).
LeBron dazzled with 34 points (13 of 21 in field goals, impressive 7 of 12 in triples), 6 rebounds and 8 assists, but the most spectacular thing was his incendiary last quarter with 19 points and a brutal 5 of 8 from the perimeter that He woke up the Lakers after three periods in which they had been very inferior to the Clippers.
“The game isn’t over until you see the double zeros up there (on the clock),” LeBron said as soon as the game ended on the ESPN broadcast.
The top scorer in NBA history, who defended Kawhi Leonard’s shot by the Clippers to force overtime, is only 40 points away from reaching 40,000 total points in his career. This is the fourth biggest comeback for LeBron in his entire career. Furthermore, the Lakers had not achieved such a big comeback in the fourth quarter since 2003.
The incredible collapse of the Clippers in the outcome was such that only LeBron scored more points than them in that last quarter (a huge 16-39 for the Lakers).
With a 3-1 this season, the Lakers won their series against the Clippers for the first time since the 2011-2012 season.
With Cam Reddish back, the Lakers also had 20 points and 12 rebounds from Anthony Davis and key contributions in the outcome from D’Angelo Russell (18 points and 6 assists) and Rui Hachimura (17 points). The entire Darvin Ham quintet added double figures in scoring.
This was the first game of seven in a row for the Lakers (32-28, ninth in the West) in Los Angeles and on Thursday they will have a very affordable duel against the Washington Wizards, sunk with 12 consecutive losses.
But then the curves arrive with five fearsome opponents: the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Sacramento Kings, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Unless they meet in the playoff, this was the Clippers’ last home game against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena (previously Staples Center) before moving to the Intuit Dome, their new stadium.
The two Los Angeles teams had shared a home since the 1999-2000 season.
Kawhi Leonard (26 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists) and James Harden (23 points and 9 assists) were the best for the Clippers without Paul George.
Clippers dominance until LeBron’s awakening It seemed like a good day for Davis to take the whip in the zone with Ivica Zubac out due to illness and with Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis in the Clippers’ inside game.
The center scored 8 points in the first quarter but also had 2 fouls. Kawhi also rose against the Lakers, very active with 10 points that gave his team the advantage by closing the initial period with a clap at the horn (30-29).
Those in purple and gold had stumbled upon 5 turnovers in the first 12 minutes but the situation did not improve in the second half.
The main person responsible was Harden, extraordinary in the second quarter with 16 points and who dedicated himself to piercing the Lakers’ fragile defense at will.
Darvin Ham’s team began to fall apart: without intensity or energy on both sides of the field, with 9 losses at halftime, with a weak attack…
The 66-52 score at halftime made clear the superiority of the Clippers after a half of astonishing lack of accuracy on both teams from the perimeter (6 of 33 between the two).
It seemed like 20 for the Clippers was just around the corner. But in the resumption the Lakers woke up with a run of 0-8 and two baskets in a row by Austin Reaves after two steals (71-62 with 8.24 left).
It seemed like the ideal moment for the Lakers to make a push from defense, but the wind blew against them again, they got tangled up in several mistakes and the Clippers once again created a very large cushion (81-63 with 6.18 on the clock) .
The situation was repeated on several occasions: the Lakers tried to get closer but the Clippers shook them and sapped their morale. The best example of this was a triple at the buzzer by Norman Powell that seemed to leave the game half resolved before the last quarter (96-77).
But with LeBron on the court nothing is guaranteed. “King James” unleashed a furious streak of three-pointers and the Clippers’ defense collapsed like a house of cards before a hurricane.
The set was a scandal: a humiliating 10-29 in eight minutes for the Lakers to tie the score (106-106) driven by LeBron who did practically everything from the perimeter.
After playing with the Clippers defense like a puppet in his hands (he always got the weakest defender), LeBron also solved it with precision when Tyronn Lue ordered two for one. Then Hachimura and Russell appeared successfully and scored a 6 with 1.12 remaining (108-114).
Kawhi gave him excitement with two baskets in a row and had one more shot to force overtime, but LeBron closed the door on him and put the signature on a magical night for a legendary career full of unforgettable evenings.
