CNN
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The unforgettable moments of LeBron James’ NBA career are exhaustive. On Wednesday night, I added another one to my highlight reel.
James scored 35 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists and became the catalyst for the Lakers’ comeback. The Lakers defeated the Clippers 130-125 in overtime, overcoming a 19-point deficit.
Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell both scored 27 points, but James was the purple and gold’s figurehead, as he has often been in the past.
For a short-handed Lakers team — missing five key players due to injuries — James filled the scoring and helped his team snap an 11-game losing streak to the Clippers.
The exclamation point to the impressive performance came in overtime, when James powerfully converted an alley-oop from Austin Reeves to effectively declare victory.
The moment drew strong reactions from the next wave of basketball stars, including James’ son Bronny, but after the win, James said he was “glad he was able to get them.”
“At this point in my career, (Reeves) believes I can get it, so I just want to go out there and I understand how dynamic these games are, especially after the turnovers and we get good fast breaks.” James told reporters after the game.
“Obviously, Magic (Johnson), Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and those guys created ‘Showtime’ and things of that nature, so you just want to try and keep it going. These fans love the fast here. Attack, to end the game with an alley-oop at that point to put us up by five and have them call timeout and the crowd keeps going… gave us a lot of momentum and it was great to be on the side that they were on.”
The Clippers got off to the fastest start of the night, though, with their duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George leading the way. Leonard scored 38 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while George scored 35 points and 6 rebounds.
James wowed the crowd midway through the second quarter when he lost his shoe during the game but managed to put it on and run all the way up the court for a dunk.
In a game where the Clippers led for much of the game, James took over late in the day.
The 38-year-old played nearly the entire game in the fourth quarter and scored 12 points, a remarkable achievement for the league’s oldest player.
However, George scored 8 points in the last 57 seconds to force the game into overtime.
But over the next five minutes, Reeves scored seven of his 15 points on the night and the Lakers clinched an important victory.
For the Clippers, it was their second loss of the season as they played without new signing James Harden, whose trade from the Philadelphia 76ers was officially announced earlier Wednesday. information.
The 2018 MVP will reunite with Russell Westbrook, who played alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, and will provide the Clippers with additional firepower as they compete for the title.