With 19 of his 34 points coming in a dominant fourth quarter,
LeBron James helped the Los Angeles Lakers overcome a 21-point deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 116–112 on Wednesday night.
In the last regular-season game between these Los Angeles rivals as co-tenants of their downtown stadium, James fired a long pass to Cam Reddish for a slam that highlighted a surprise win for the Lakers. Kawhi Leonard missed a 12-footer with five seconds remaining.
James, 39, was the focal point of it all, scoring more points in the fourth quarter (19–16) than the Clippers combined while making five of his season-high seven 3-pointers. Of the 13 baskets the Lakers made in the last quarter, he either scored or assisted on 11. #LeBron James
For the first time since December 23, the Clippers have lost back-to-back games. Leonard led them with 26 points, while James Harden finished with 23 points and nine assists. The Clippers were missing starting center Ivica Zubac due to illness and All-Star Paul George, who missed his second straight game due to a painful left knee.
In the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Clippers had a 98-77 lead, but James led a 29-8 run in only 7:34. With four minutes remaining, Anthony Davis’ free throws knotted the score at 106-106. James then found Rui Hachimura for the game-winning three-pointer.
With 1:12 remaining, D’Angelo Russell’s 3-pointer had placed the Lakers up 114-108; however, James missed two attempts for the Lakers, and Harden and Leonard scored on drives to the basket. To the pleasure of thousands of Lakers fans attending a “road” game, James found Reddish for the game-winning basket after Leonard’s last attempt missed the mark. #LeBron James
This season, the Lakers defeated the Clippers three out of four times, taking the season series for the first time since 2011–12.
For the Lakers, Davis finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Russell finished with 18 and Hachimura contributed 17.
When the long-named Staples Center opened in 1999, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the Clippers and Lakers also moved in. For the next twenty-five years, the NBA teams lived together in the same building. They played each other four times a year in a rivalry known as the Hallway Series because their locker rooms are located in the same hallway, roughly a hundred feet apart. #LeBron James
This September, the Clippers will bid farewell to this period when they relocate to Steve Ballmer’s opulent new Inglewood venue, Intuit Dome. Ballmer saw that the Clippers needed a permanent home in order to fully emerge from the shadow of the Lakers’ 17 NBA titles and the banners that accompanied them on the walls of the shared stadium, and the billionaire moved fast to make that happen. #LeBron James
The Clippers have made improvement, however, as they have ended with a better record than the Lakers in 10 of the previous 11 seasons, losing only in 2020 when the Lakers won their 17th championship. The power dynamic in Los Angeles still entirely favors the Lakers. #LeBron James
The clubs have never faced off in a postseason series, but it is always a possibility.
Reddish made his 14-game absence on the field due to an injured right ankle go back.
The Lakers struggled, making just two of their first 18 3-point tries and missing 15 of their first 18 3-point attempts, as the Clippers opened up a 17-point advantage just after halftime. In the first half, Harden scorched the Lakers for eighteen points, demonstrating once again his ability to shoot while one of his prolific colleagues is out by injury. #LeBron James
Source :- foxsports
