LeBron James needed a comeback against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, but that's not much when you dominate Father Time like he did.
In the biggest comeback of his 21-season career, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar led a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback to stun his team's cross-town rivals and secure a 116-112 victory in thrilling fashion. James scored 19 points in that fourth quarter, including five three-pointers and four assists.
He personally outscored the Clippers 19-16. Add those assists and it was a blast.
The Clippers, playing without All-Star Paul George, took a 98-77 lead looking to score first in the fourth, then fell behind horribly on defense. The team didn't seem to mind giving up easy matches against James, constantly switching softly and getting punished for it.
Watch this video to see how often Norman Powell and James Harden, not exactly defensive heavyweights, guard James:
With 11:45 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Lakers trailed 98-77.
Then LeBron took over and scored 19 goals in the quarter, including 5 three-pointers, leading the Lakers all the way ‼️
Watch the takeover and the final minutes of the Lakers comeback W 🍿 pic.twitter.com/rFS7WKroZZ
– NBA (@NBA) February 29, 2024
James continued to make shots and the Clippers slowed down just enough on offense to open the door for the Lakers. Or, as James put it to ESPN:
“Go on. The game is only over when there are double zeros. We just kept fighting, kept getting defensive stops and made a few shots.”
The Clippers debuted their new look on Monday, but by Wednesday it was an old story. The team still has an 11-7 record against James since he joined the Lakers, but it has now lost three straight to him, all comebacks. A 19-point lead was lost in November and a nine-point lead was lost in January.
That's not exactly a way to end your term as a co-tenant of the Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers and Clippers will not play for the remainder of the regular season. If they don't meet in the postseason, the Clippers' final “home game” will be Wednesday against the Lakers at the arena before they move to their new Intuit Dome next season.