The Los Angeles Lakers trailed the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-77, near the start of the fourth quarter.
Then LeBron James orchestrated the biggest comeback of his 21-year career.
As a team, the Lakers scored 39 points in the final quarter to overcome a 21-point deficit and take the win over their crosstown rivals in regulation, 116-112.
James, who is 39 years old, outscored the Clippers by himself in the fourth quarter with 19 points – 15 off of 3-pointers – to Los Angeles’ 16.
James and the Lakers helped their playoff aspirations slightly with the victory. At 32-28, Los Angeles is ninth in the conference and three games back from the sixth-place New Orleans Pelicans and avoiding an appearance in the play-in tournament.
The Clippers fell to 37-20, remaining at fourth place in the conference and four games back of the top seed in the West.
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Social media reacts to LeBron James’, Lakers’ comeback
Though James has been in the Greatest of all Time (GOAT) debate for years, social media users, sports analysts and former players alike shared the sentiment that Wednesday’s performance was something special.
James wowed former Laker and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
Gilbert Arenas, who played in the NBA for 11 years, expressed his feelings on James’ performance with a reaction video.
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LeBron James career points
All eyes will be on the four-time NBA champion over the next few games.
With 22 games left to play this season, James needs 40 points to become the first player to ever reach 40,000 career points. He’s averaging 25.2 points per game this season, good for 15th in the NBA. That being the case, the four-time NBA MVP could reach the 40,000 mark within the next few days.
James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record last February when he scored his 38,388th point in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers will take on the Washington Wizards at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night.
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