LeBron James led the Lakers to an incredible comeback as they upset its neighboring host, 116-112, despite the Los Angeles Clippers leading by 19 points with one quarter remaining in their final home game at Crypto.com Arena.
This thus turned out to be the worst fourth-quarter deficit (19 points) that the Lakers franchise had overcome since April 4, 2003.
At the beginning of the third quarter, it looked like a blowout was about to occur, but that was before the Lakers went on a 29-8 run in only seven minutes.
In the end, this was because LeBron scored 19 points against the Clippers as a solo player in the fourth quarter, defeating them all. It should be noted that this is the third time the all-time top scorer in the NBA has done it while wearing a Lakers uniform, and it is the 16th time he has scored more points than his opponent in the fourth quarter.
After the game LeBron elaborated on the historic performance, “The game is not ever over until there is double zeroes, which you see over there. So we just kept fighting and getting defensive stops, and made some shots.”
LeBron finished the game with 34 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He certainly made some long shots, as he drained five three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Put another way, the guy who leads the NBA in scoring is currently just 40 points shy of becoming the first to record 40,000 points in a regular season.
Both teams had a dismal shooting performance to begin the game, going just 6-of-33 overall from outside the arc in the first half.
Without their co-star Paul George, the Clippers undoubtedly controlled the ball in all three quarters, especially when LA residents Kawhi Leonard and James Harden established a rhythm and scored 26 and 23 points respectively.
But as the Lakers defeated the Clippers 39–16 in the fourth, they began to fire up going into the final frame. The Clippers hit 1-for-7 from the three-point line in the final 12 minutes of play, while the Lakers shot 9-of-14 from beyond the arc. This difference in late-game shooting proved to be crucial in winning the game.
Coach Darvin Ham elaborated on the historic comeback, “After a tough first half, we just talked about at halftime, pointing some things out on our film, talking about being aggressive and active, giving resistance, not allowing them to just go and do whatever they wanted to do on the basketball floor
“We came out and fought through a tough third quarter… that group that started the fourth quarter really set a tone with their activity, their aggressiveness in that fourth… we needed one of these.”
The Lakers’ starting five finished with 102 points overall on 57% shooting from the field. Anthony Davis, who scored 20 points and had two thefts and three blocks, was the main defensive player.
The Lakers notably forced seven turnovers in the last quarter, which Davis claimed was crucial to their comeback at the end of the game, “Obviously Bron went to his little sicko mode, but you know we just had to get stops to get the win… we never folded, we never gave up, we stayed together and stayed resilient.”
Davis continued by discussing LeBron’s spectacular fourth quarter, “I was off the floor when he went through his little stretch… I’ve been around him long enough to see when he has those moments, he is who he is, phenomenal, phenomenal basketball player… to witness it from the sideline tonight, it was definitely a fanboy moment.”
Ham also spoke on LeBron’s late-game spectacle, “He had to take the cape tucked under his seat on the bench I guess, it was time for him to whip it out, and he definitely did that and put the cape on. He just got aggressive and got in a good rhythm, he’s been shooting the ball extremely well this whole entire season, that was just another case of it.
“Once he got in rhythm with his playmaking skills, he set the tone with his shooting and going down hill. Once they started scheming and double-teaming late, he was able to pick them apart with the pass.”
In the fourth quarter, LeBron scored or assisted on thirty-nine of the Lakers’ points. To illustrate, the Lakers’ teammates came through when they were left open, going 4-for-6 from three, despite the Clippers starting to double-team LeBron following his fifth three-pointer.
LeBron’s throw of the ball to Rui Hachimura, who made a game-winning three-pointer with 3:10 remaining in the quarter, was an important play in the game. Then, with 1:12 remaining in the game, D’Angelo Russell made a long-range three-pointer with help from LeBron, giving the Lakers a 114-108 lead. Russell then sprinted up the floor, hushed the crowd.
With a victory today, the Lakers advance to the ninth spot in the Western Conference, win the LA season series 3-1, and improve their overall record to 32-28. Conversely, the Clippers are now sitting in fourth place with a 37–20 record.
As previously noted, the Clippers’ visit to the Lakers in the facility formerly known as Staples Center—which the two teams have shared since the 1999–2000 NBA season—will be their final one. Because of this, Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Clippers, will have his $2 billion Intuit Dome facility in Inglewood ready for business come season.
“It’s a great carry over game, but tonight means nothing if we don’t come out and take care of business tomorrow night,” Ham continued in the postgame press conference.
Tomorrow night, the Lakers will play host to the NBA team with the lowest record—the Washington Wizards. However, the Lakers’ forthcoming schedule for the month of March appears to be very challenging.
The squad’s next 13 games include games against the Nuggets, Thunder, Kings, Bucks, Timberwolves, Warriors, 76ers, and Pacers, twice, which should be taken into consideration after facing the worst NBA team.
“We know where we stand right now in the standings, but health has always been our kryptonite, but we are starting to get healthy,” LeBron said in response to a question regarding the upcoming schedule. Notably, Lakers guard Cam Reddish made his first appearance of the season tonight after sitting out 14 straight games. He scored five points, pulled down three rebounds, and added a steal. But the squad still lacks its two most important big players, Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt, who will be sidelined for some time due to injury.
The Lakers still have a long way to go, but tonight was a positive start, and if the club can stay healthy in the last stretch, they will have a good chance of qualifying for the playoffs.