LeBron James, the oldest player in the NBA, provided another epic night by scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter and leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a tremendous victory over their neighbors Clippers, who won the game by 21 points in the fourth quarter.
In total, LeBron James scored 34 points Wednesday night by making 13 of 21 field goals, including 7 of 12 on three-pointers, three of which propelled the Lakers in a fourth quarter in which he scored more than the Clippers (16).
James also defended Kawhi Leonard in the decisive play when the game was dying and The Clippers were two points behind, but Leonard’s shot fell short and the Lakers sealed the 116-112 victory. It is the first victory for the Lakers in which they come back from 20 points in the fourth quarter in more than 20 years.
This was the last regular season game between the Los Angeles neighbors in which the Lakers were the visiting team at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown LA, which is actually their home. The Clippers will open a new arena in the city of Inglewood next season, in front of the complex where SoFi Stadium is located.
The Clippers, who took a 98-77 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, fall to a record of 37-20, in fourth place in the Western Conference. The Lakers improve to 32-28 – in ninth position – after winning for the seventh time in their last 10 games
James added 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks, one of them impressive to prevent Amir Coffey’s close-range basket, an action that reminds us of some of the best blocks behind the best scorer in the history of the league.
Anthony Davis scored 20 points, D’Angelo Russell 18 and Rui Hachimura 17 for the Lakers, who desperately needed to win a game like this while trying to reach the level of basketball that a year ago allowed them to reach the conference finals. For the Clippers, Leonard scored 26 (11 of 19) and Jeff Harden 23. Paul George did not play due to a knee injury.
LeBron’s second 3-pointer of the fourth quarter brought the Lakers within 12 points with 9:36 left to play. His third three-pointer put them within five with 6:54 left. Another basket of his made the game 106-104 with 4:36 left, taking advantage of the fact that the Clippers slowed down in their shooting (they finished 10 of 37 in triples).
Hachimura, with a three-pointer from the corner, put the Lakers up 109-106 with 3:10 minutes left and they would not lose the advantagealthough the Clippers managed to get within two (114-112) without Leonard being able to tie the game with his final shot when he had space in front of James’ mark, who then took the rebound, assisted Cam Reddish and he nailed the ball for the final marker.
With this, the annual series ends in favor of the Lakers by 3 to 1, starting with a victory in November that ended an 11-game losing streak against the Clippers. They will try to continue their upward trend by hosting Washington this Thursday and on Saturday, in a main event, the champions Denver Nuggets.
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