The Lakers (32-28) were down 98-77 in the 4th quarter, the Clippers (37-20) seemed to be in control of the game. Then it happens that LeBron decides that it’s not over until it’s really over: “Never until the final siren, we found defensive stops and baskets and we are recovering players, now Reddish. He helps to win”. It helps that he scores 19 points in the last period, of the Lakers’ 39, alone, more than the 16 scored by the Clippers, who went short, without George and Zubac, in the last 12′. James finishes with 34 points, 40 from the epochal goal of 40,000, he is already the leading NBA scorer in every era. In the tense point-to-point finale, the triples scored by Hachimura and Russell, who then provocatively silenced the crowd, and Reddish’s dunk, the exclamation point for the victory, at the last second, deserve mention. Leonard scores the two baskets that bring the hosts to -2, but with 5″ to go he misses the mid-range shot for the equalizer, scored by LeBron. Short.
LA Clippers: Leonard 26 (8/13, 3/6, 1/2 TL), Harden 23, Mann 16. Rebounds: Leonard 7. Assists: Harden 9.
LA Lakers: James 34 (6/9, 7/12, 1/1 TL), Davis 20, Russell 18. Rebounds: Davis 12. Assists: James 8.