LeBron James orchestrated an impressive turnaround against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, showcasing his ongoing dominance over the passage of time. In what marked the most significant comeback of his illustrious 21-season career, the Los Angeles Lakers icon spearheaded a remarkable 21-point fourth-quarter resurgence to stun their local rivals, clinching a thrilling 116-112 victory. During this stunning comeback, James delivered a masterclass performance, tallying 19 points in the final quarter alone, which included five successful 3-pointers along with four assists. Remarkably, James individually outscored the Clippers by 19-16 in that decisive period, and when factoring in his assists, the disparity widened even further, resulting in a commanding lead.
Despite the absence of All-Star Paul George, the Clippers initially surged to a 98-77 advantage at the start of the fourth quarter, only to falter defensively as James relentlessly capitalized on mismatches and defensive lapses. The Clippers’ defensive strategy appeared lackluster, as they frequently resorted to soft-switching, allowing James to exploit their vulnerabilities with ease. With James consistently finding the basket and the Clippers’ offense losing momentum, the Lakers capitalized on the opportunity and gradually turned the tide in their favor.
This latest victory continues a trend of setbacks for the Clippers against James, as they have now suffered three consecutive defeats to him, all characterized by impressive comebacks. Notably, they squandered a 19-point lead in November and a nine-point advantage in January. This pattern of defeats against their crosstown rivals does little to enhance their legacy as co-tenants of the Crypto.com Arena. Furthermore, with no remaining regular-season matchups between the Lakers and Clippers, unless they meet in the postseason, Wednesday’s game represents the Clippers’ final “home” encounter against the Lakers at the arena before relocating to the new Intuit arena.