During a sensational fourth quarter, James scores 19 of his 34 points and makes five of his seven three-pointers, leading the Lakers to a tҺrilling 116-112 victory.
During the first half Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena, Lakers star LeBron James shoots while Clippers guard Norman Powell defends. James scored 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, rallying the Lakers to a 116-112 victory after trailing by 21.
Los Angeles— LeBron James scored 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Lakers overcome a 21-point hole and win 116-112 over the Clippers on Wednesday night.
With five seconds remaining, Kawhi Leonard missed a 12-footer, and James fired a long pass to Cam Reddish for a slam, capping a shоcking victory for the Lakers in their final regular-season game as Crypto.com Arena co-tenants.
HARDEN ️ AMIR ️ TMANN
The 39-year-old James was at the centre of it all, making five of his season-high seven three-pointers and outscoring the Clippers alone in the fourth quarter (19-16). He scored or assisted on 11 of the Lakers’ 13 goals in the fourth quarter, finishing 13 for 21 from the field (7 for 12 from behind the arc) with six rebounds and eight assists.
Leonard had 26 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while James Harden had 23 points and nine assists for the Clippers, who lost consecutive games for the first time since December 23. The Clippers were missing All-Star Paul George, who missed his second straight game with a painful left knee, and starting centre Ivica Zubac, who was sick.
The Clippers led 98-77 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but James ignited a 29-8 rally in 7:34. With four minutes remaining, Anthony Davis’ free throws knotted the game at 106-106, and James Һit Rui Hachimura for the go-ahead three-pointer moments later.
D’Angelo Russell’s 3-pointer put the Lakers ahead 114-108 with 1:12 remaining, but Harden and Leonard scored on drives to the basket, while James missed two shots. However, Leonard’s final attempt went off goal, and James found Reddish for the finish, much to the pleasure of the thousands of Lakers fans in attendance at a “road” game.
The Lakers (32-28) won three of four games against the Clippers (37-20) this season, winning the season series for the first time since 2011-12.
Davis led the Lakers with 20 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Russell with 18 and Hachimura with 17.
Terance Mann led the Clippers with 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists, while Norman Powell scored 14 points.
Before the game, Lakers coach Darvin Ham made it clear that the absence of George and Zubac would not lull him or his team into a false sense of complacency.
“They still have (James) Harden, they still have Kawhi (Leonard), they still have Powell, they still have Russ (Westbrook),” he remarked.
And Ham wasn’t done going through the list.
“Amir Coffey has been playing nicely. (Daniel) Theis is a very experienced and accomplished veteran. I meаn. “They still have a lot of firepower,” Ham explained. “The tendency to relax needs to not even exist,” he stated.
Ham was correct to be concerned about the Clippers players that did suit up. The Clippers made life difficult for the Lakers for much of the night, leading by double digits as early as the second quarter.
By the end of the third quarter, the Clippers had expanded their lead to 19 points. Powell sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Clippers a 96-77 lead heading into the fourth quarter, while being surrounded by Austin Reaves.
The Clippers showed an aggressiveness that had been missing in their previous three games, and they built their early lead by outhustling the Lakers without throwing the ball over, which has been a cause of aggravation for Coach Tyronn Lue.
The Clippers’ turnover ratio has dropped from ninth to 29th in the league during the last seven games, averaging 13.3 per game.
In their previous three games against the Lakers this season, the Clippers had forced 16.0 turnovers per game. The Clippers forced the Lakers into 17 turnovers while also recording 12 of their own.
Following a competitive first quarter, the Clippers opened up the game in the second and led 56-42 at halftime, despite the Lakers shooting 53.3% from the floor. That, combined with limiting their turnovers to eight in the first 24 minutes, allowed them to secure closeouts.
Lue has preached the need of developing good habits for months. And the squad has usually listened, building winning streaks that have put them in a good position heading into the last 20 games and given them some wiggle space in the win-loss column.
“You’re not going to play great for 82 games,” he remarked. “That is something we understand, and you must also. However, you can still play properly and develop excellent habits.
“You are not going to Һit shots every night, and you will not have energy every night, but you must do things correctly every night. That ought to be our mindset. “We get it.”
END OF AN ERA.When Staples Centre opened in 1999, the Clippers and Lakers, as well as the NHL’s Kings, relocated there. For the next 25 years, the NBA franchises shared their home, typically playing off four times per year in a rivalry known as the Hallway Series since their locker rooms are just 100 feet apart in the same corridor.
The Clippers’ heyday will come to an end this autumn when they relocate to the Intuit Dome, owner Steve Ballmer’s extravagant new stadium in Inglewood. Ballmer determined the Clippers needed their own home to complete their transition out of the shadows of the Lakers’ 17 NBA championships and the accompanying banners on the shared arena’s walls, and the billionaire moved rapidly to make it happen.
The balance of power in the region still favours the Lakers, but the Clippers have made strides: they have ended with a better record than the Lakers in ten of the last eleven seasons, failing only in 2020 when the Lakers won their 17th championship.
The teams may have met in a postseason series, but that has never occurred.