LeBron James outscored the Los Angeles Clippers by himself in the fourth quarter en route to helping the L.A. Lakers overcome a 21-point deficit en route to a 116-112 win.
The Clips led 98-77 in the first minute of the fourth quarter after a Mason Plumlee layup. But it was all LeBron from there as he added another highlight to his legendary 21-year NBA career.
James scored 19 points in the fourth to the Clippers’ 16. He also assisted on 11 more points, so he was directly responsible for 30 of the Lakers’ 39 fourth-quarter points.
The biggest dime occurred with the game tied at 106, when James found Rui Hachimura to give the Lakers the lead for good.
Rui corner three puts the Lakers up 3, cutting a 21-point deficit on ESPN! pic.twitter.com/SbIXV9BBC0
— NBA (@NBA) February 29, 2024
That was part of a 12-0 Laker run which began with five LeBron points:
First the tough banker, then the top of the key 3… LeBron is going to WORK in the 4Q 😤💪 https://t.co/NEzeRvSfVf pic.twitter.com/e1qBKWvYl0
— NBA (@NBA) February 29, 2024
The Lakers then led 111-106 and also 114-108 a few moments later, but a pair of Kawhi Leonard buckets couple with some Clips stops gave the team a chance to tie or win the game.
Enter James, who forced Leonard to take a tough baseline jumper that was well off the mark. LeBron grabbed the ball and threw it down court to Cam Reddish for a bucket and the exclamation point on this game.
Lakers hold on and get the W!
Erased a 21-point 4Q deficit. pic.twitter.com/k79NKo726o
— NBA (@NBA) February 29, 2024
Afterward, James stressed the importance of never giving up:
"The game is not ever over until it's double zeroes."
—LeBron James after the biggest 4Q comeback of his career pic.twitter.com/i8f3GfZyc0
— ESPN (@espn) February 29, 2024
And with that, the 39-year-old James left a legion of fans and analysts in awe once again.
Lebron outscored the Clippers by himself in the 4th quarter pic.twitter.com/EwiB8MSeL7
— Sam Yeezy (@samstaydipped) February 29, 2024