Every time the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers square off against each other is appointment viewing, especially ever since the Clippers have stopped being the laughingstock of the NBA. But over the past three seasons, the results of these contests haven't been particularly kind to LeBron James the Lakers; in fact, their most recent win over the Clippers entering their Wednesday night matchup came on July 30, 2020 — around three years and three months ago to this day.

Since that fateful day, the Clippers have wiped the floor clean with the Lakers, taking home 11 straight victories over the Purple and Gold. And on Wednesday night, that trend looked like it was going to continue. The Clippers, thanks to a blazing first half from Kawhi Leonard, took an early double-digit lead over the Lakers, making it look like games of years past.

However, LeBron James put a stop to this nonsense for the Lakers. James dropped a cool 35 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists to lead the way in a 130-125 victory over the Clippers in overtime, snapping their 11-game losing streak against the Clippers and giving them their first win over their in-city rivals in over three years. Moreover, according to Clippers reporter Farbod Esnaashari of SI's Fan Nation, this is James' first-ever victory against his former head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tyronn Lue.

The Lakers needed a herculean effort, not just from James, but from the rest of the team to stop the bleeding in their rivalry with the Clippers. And they got impressive displays from D'Angelo Russell, who scored 27 points and kept the Lakers for most of the game, and they also received a head-turning performance from Cam Reddish, who was incredibly active on the defensive end after drawing the start in place of the injured Taurean Prince.

Their win didn't even come without its fair share of crunch-time stress; despite taking an eight-point lead late in the contest, they allowed Paul George and the Clippers to storm back and force overtime. In the end, with George and Norman Powell fouling out, the Clippers didn't have the necessary firepower to keep up, especially when they're in the second night of a back-to-back. But all Lakers fans will care about is getting the win, and that's exactly what they did tonight.