In the last regular-season showdown between the Lakers and the Clippers in their shared arena, LeBron James delivered an epic performance in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to an improbable comeback victory. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the 21-point fourth-quarter comeback stands as the largest of James’ illustrious 21-year career in the final frame.
James dominated the final quarter, outscoring the Clippers 19-16 en route to the Lakers’ 116-112 win. In addition to drilling five three-pointers, James dished out four assists in the quarter. With the Clippers set to move to the new Intuit Dome at the beginning of the next season, the Clips blew their chance to win the final head-to-head matchup at Crypto.com Arena.
James’ explosive start to the fourth quarter — three consecutive three-pointers within 3:13 — narrowed the Clippers’ lead and prompted a timeout from coach Tyronn Lue.
“It’s just a zone, and you can’t really describe it,” James said. “You wish you could stay in it forever, but obviously it checks out once the game ends. But during it, you don’t feel anything. It’s just like a superpower feel.”
After three underwhelming quarters, Los Angeles took its game to another level in the fourth alongside James.
“He had to take the cape, tuck it under his seat on the bench, I guess,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It was time for him to whip it out. He definitely did that, put the cape on and just got aggressive and got into good rhythm.”
“I don’t think that’s ever happened in my career since I’ve been coaching to lose a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter,” Lue said. “But LeBron got hot. We talked about it before the game: You can’t turn the ball over against his team because it’s deadly.”
Anthony Davis, arguably the Lakers’ best player this season, was amazed by LeBron’s performance, as well.
“Sometimes you sit on the bench and you get to witness greatness and be a fan,” Davis said. “And that’s what it was for a lot of us tonight.”
Behind James’ 34 points, the Lakers improved to 32-28 (9th in the West). The Clippers fell to 37-20 (4th).
