Please excuse the confusion, but do playoffs start in February?

It sure seemed like it Sunday when the Lakers came back from a 27-point deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks, 111-108 in the type of improbable, intense victory that wasn’t part of the equation often enough this season.

The Lakers were left for dead in Dallas and then they weren’t — getting drilled from the three-point line before deciding to pummel the Mavericks in the paint over and over again. It led to the third-largest comeback win in Lakers history.

“It’s huge the way we were able to scratch, claw, fight and compete,” Lakers Coach Darvin Ham said.

A few days earlier, Ham was the one who set a goal for the Lakers for the rest of the regular season: finish among the top six in the Western Conference and avoid a trip to the play-in tournament. It seemed a lot to ask, especially with the Lakers marooned in 13th place in the West.

But the Lakers (29-32) moved within 2.5 games of Dallas for sixth place after Sunday’s win. Maybe Ham knew what he was talking about.

Anthony Davis had 30 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, and LeBron James scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter after suffering a foot injury in the third.

Not to be overlooked, Jarred Vanderbilt helped shut down Dallas All-Star guard Luka Doncic in the second half and also had 15 points, 17 rebounds and four steals. He had eight points, eight rebounds and three steals in the third quarter alone.

“Each and every game we’ve gotten better, we’ve got more chemistry,” said Vanderbilt, who was acquired two weeks ago from Utah as part of the Russell Westbrook trade. “We need every game right now. Just continue to fight and play every game like we need it. I think we did that tonight.”

It started off poorly for the Lakers. Incredibly poorly.

They missed their first 12 three-point shots and trailed in the second quarter, 48-21.

In fact, the Lakers were outscored by 42 points from the three-point line, but somehow it didn’t matter.

James, Davis and Vanderbilt hammered away at Dallas as the Lakers easily won the battle of the paint, 62-32. The Lakers finally retook the lead, 83-81, on James’ up-and-under lay-up early in the fourth quarter.

James gave Lakers fans a scare late in the third quarter when he injured his right foot while driving to the basket. He was down on the court for a couple of minutes and could be heard telling teammates he heard a pop in the foot. He stayed in the game but received treatment from a trainer while on the sideline during time-outs.

“It’s been better. That’s for sure,” James said of his foot after the game. “I definitely wasn’t going to go to the locker room and not finish the game… We’ll monitor the next couple days and see how it feels and go from there.”

Davis looked like the player who dominated the league earlier this season before sustaining a stress fracture in his foot and missing 20 games.

“Absolutely. It’s great to see,” Ham said. “I know he’s having fun again playing pain-free. That’s when you see it — when he’s emotionally, spiritually involved in a game, not just physically.”

And to think the Lakers were short-handed as D’Angelo Russell sat out because of a sprained ankle.

Regardless, it was a big comeback in a big game. Playoffs are still more than six weeks away. The Lakers will be part of them if they keep winning the way they did Sunday.