LeBron James scored 35 points with 12 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from an early 19-point deficit and ended an 11-game losing streak against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers with a 130-125 overtime victory Wednesday.
Anthony Davis scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and D’Angelo Russell also had 27 for the Lakers, who improved to 3-0 in home games this season. The Lakers defeated the Clippers for the first time since July of 2020 in the NBA bubble near Orlando, Fla.
Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points and Paul George added 20 of his 35 in the fourth quarter as the Clippers lost on the same day James Harden’s trade to the team became official. Russell Westbrook scored 24 points with 11 rebounds against his former team.
Harden and P.J. Tucker arrived in the deal from the Philadelphia 76ers, with Tucker making his Clippers debut Wednesday with five rebounds in 21 minutes. Harden is expected to make his Clippers debut Monday in a road game against the New York Knicks.
The Clippers appeared to run out of gas on the second night of a back-to-back and were outscored 82-64 after halftime.
The Lakers led 115-109 with less than a minute remaining in regulation before George went to work for the Clippers, scoring eight points in the final 57 seconds to tie the score 117-all. Russell missed a would-be game-winning 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer.
George fouled out with 4:31 remaining in OT and the Clippers leading 119-117. The Lakers went on a 7-0 run from there, taking a 124-119 lead with 2:12 left after an alley-oop dunk from James.
The Clippers trailed 126-125 after a 3-pointer from Leonard with 59 seconds left in OT before Austin Reaves made two free throws and Christian Wood delivered a put-back dunk with nine seconds left.
The Clippers tied the franchise record for steals in a game when they had 11 in the first half and set the mark with 12 in the contest.
The season series between the teams is the last as co-tenants of their shared downtown Los Angeles arena. The Clippers are set to move into a new arena next season in Inglewood, Calif.
–Field Level Media