LOS ANGELES (AFP) — LeBron James staged the biggest fourth-quarter comeback of his two-decade career on Wednesday as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 21-point deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-112.
The 39-year-old National Basketball Association icon reeled off 34 points — 19 of them in the fourth quarter — to help the Lakers claim a pulsating victory over their in-form city rivals at the Crypto.com Arena.
It was another storybook performance from the evergreen James, who along with the Lakers had looked to be heading for an emphatic defeat after the Clippers jumped into a 98-77 lead early in the final frame.
But an inspired James helped the Lakers outscore the Clippers, 39-16, in the fourth quarter to see them home.
“The game is not ever over until it’s double zeroes (on the play clock),” James told an on-court interviewer after the win.
James was backed by 20 points and 12 rebounds from Anthony Davis, while D’Angelo Russell added 18 and Rui Hachimura 13.
Kawhi Leonard topped the Clippers scoring with 26 points.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue took responsibility for the loss.
“When you’re up 21 points you can’t lose a game like that,” Lue said.
“I don’t think that’s ever happened since I’ve been coaching — to lose a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.”
In other games on Wednesday, Nikola Jokic bagged his fourth straight triple-double as the Denver Nuggets overpowered the Sacramento Kings, 117-96.
Two-time former NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists to bag his 19th triple of the season.
The Serbian star had gone into the game facing an intriguing duel with Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis, who himself has been in blistering form since the All-Star break with three consecutive triple-doubles.
But Sabonis was effectively bottled up by Denver as the Nuggets staged a superb second quarter rally to turn the game around after trailing by 15 points.
Sacramento, missing injured playmaker De’Aaron Fox, had swept into a 47-32 lead to raise hopes of a morale-boosting road victory.
Denver roared back with a 21-4 run to regain control with Jamal Murray, who finished with 32 points, outstanding as the Nuggets opened up a 65-55 half-time lead at the break.
Denver outscored Sacramento 35-17 in the third quarter before coasting to victory by a 21-point margin.
The win leaves reigning NBA champions Denver third in the Western Conference with a 40-19 record, while Sacramento slipped to 33-25 in eighth place.
