LOS ANGELES — The phrase Anthony Davis used to describe the run LeBron James went on during the Lakers’ 21-point comeback victory over the Clippers: sicko mode.
Because for a 7½-minute stretch, the Clippers didn’t have any answer for the James-led onslaught, in which the future Hall of Famer scored 19 of his 34 points in the final quarter to punctuate a 116-112 Lakers win.
“He had to take the cape, tuck it under his seat on the bench, I guess,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It was time for him to whip it out. He definitely did that, put the cape on, and just got aggressive and got into good rhythm.”
James made five of eight 3-point attempts in the fourth to help turn the Clippers’ 21-point fourth-quarter lead (98-77) into just a two-point Lakers’ deficit (106-104) with 4:36 remaining after he made his fifth 3-pointer of the quarter and his season-high seventh of the game.
The Lakers spammed pick-and-roll actions that led to James getting Clippers big man Daniel Theis guarding him from behind the 3-point arc.
“It’s like an action we call point rub,” Ham said. “It’s basically targeting the weakest defender or targeting where we feel like we can get [an] advantage. And he just caught fire.
“I told him in between quarters that we got to get up 3s. We got to score the ball. He did just that. He set the tone in that regard as well. Thank God he’s on our team.”
James described the zone he was in during the fourth as “a superpower feel.”
“I know we’ve kind of heard what it feels like to be in the zone during our sport and that’s just a feeling when you feel like everything that you put up is going in,” James said. “And for me, I just kept it consistent. I wasn’t taking ill-advised shots. I stayed in the course of the offense.
“When I was able to get the switches, I was able to give myself some space to get a couple more looks, so my teammates did a great job of continuing to find me. And then I just started to dictate the tempo, dictate the game and as we started making a run for it and getting the game closer and closer and closer. It’s just a zone and you can’t really describe it. You wish you could stay in it forever, but obviously it checks out once the game ends. But during it, you don’t feel anything.”
Teammate D’Angelo Russell said James gives the entire group confidence.
“How can you be surprised with some of the things he does?” Russell asked about James. “A lot of guys locked in defensively and gave us what we needed, but he’s a huge reason we won this game, just from him being him. As a group, we fought.”
But James’ hot shooting didn’t last the entire fourth period.
Once the Clippers started to send double-teams and extra bodies his way, it was on his teammates to help the Lakers get across the finish line.
And they delivered late, especially Russell and Rui Hachimura.
“It was reminiscent of what they did in the postseason last year,” Ham said. “That Memphis series, Golden State series. Those guys are very capable and willing shooters in big moments. And you saw it on display [Wednesday] in that stretch down the stretch during the fourth quarter. He made the right play and they finished the play.”
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James added: “My guys know I’m going to make the right play no matter what. So if I get doubled, they know I’m going to find the right play or find the right player. D-Lo started making himself available when I started getting doubled and he was able to find Rui, Rui hit a three. And then he found Rui again, he had a baseline reverse. Then I got doubled again, I was able to find D-Lo over the top for a catch-high, stay-high 3-ball which was a big play for us. It’s great that we can lean on our guys and everybody feels like they’re very comfortable making plays throughout the course of the game, no matter the time.”
Multiple Lakers acknowledged they needed this win, especially in light of the playoff push and having dropped two of their first three games since the All-Star break after winning six of seven before the break.
It was a reminder of what they could do with their backs against the walls.
“It was definitely a little reassuring for our team to get a win like this,” Davis said. “Guys made big plays, got big shots. This was a huge win for us. Not only just the Clippers, but also for ourselves in general. This is a big reassurance win for us to hopefully get us playing how we were playing right before the break.”