LOS ANGELES — LeBron James had a Wednesday night that made no sense for a soon-to-be-39-year-old. Then again, so much of what he does defies logic.

James was unequivocally the driving source in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 130-125 enthralling overtime win over the Clippers.

Both teams gave up sizable leads, but the Lakers were the ones left standing after James had 35 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. He also slammed home with one hand a perfect lob from Austin Reaves in overtime, an emblematic play if there was one for a player in his 21st NBA season.

Hey, whatever it takes to end a bizarre 11-game losing streak against the Clippers that stretched back to July 2020.

James, whose birthday is next month, shook off age and aching joints and whatever else might plague his body through almost 66,000 career minutes, including playoffs, on an NBA court.

It didn’t show as he scored 12 points in the fourth quarter of a designated Lakers home game at Crypto.com Arena. Then came the dunk that fully energized the pro-Lakers crowd.

“He’s been phenomenal down the stretch in this early season,” said teammate Anthony Davis, who had 27 points and 10 rebounds in a whopping 48 minutes. “He’s making the right plays. He’s getting to the basket.”

Newcomer Christian Wood had his first memorable moment with the Lakers, dunking in a miss by Cam Reddish with 9.1 seconds left in overtime to put the Lakers ahead by five. It was just enough to end a wild night.

“The party’s just getting started,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “They’re in our division, so we’re going to see them three more times. It should be fun each time.”

It wasn’t a fun first half for the Lakers.

Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points in the first quarter, the most he’d ever scored in the first 12 minutes, as the Clippers led, 37-24. They extended to a 19-point edge before taking a 13-point lead into halftime.

The Lakers turned things around in the third quarter in a big way, scoring 39 points in an incredibly efficient run.

The Lakers even led by a seemingly impossible-to-lose eight points on Reddish’s free throw with 1:44 left in the fourth quarter. But the Clippers closed within 115-114 after a flurry of scores, including three-pointers by Russell Westbrook and Paul George.

Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell made two free throws for a three-point edge, but then, Reddish fouled George on a three-point attempt with 17 seconds left. George made all three free throws to tie the score at 117-117.

The game went to overtime after Russell was just short on a good look at a three-point shot at the buzzer.

George made a fateful mistake early in overtime, fouling out with 35 points after trying to steal the ball from James. The Clippers wouldn’t overcome it.

Leonard cooled down somewhat for the Clippers, who were shorthanded themselves after trading a bevy of role players to Philadelphia for James Harden, who sat on the Clippers’ bench Wednesday but did not play.

“They dialed in, made sure they got to me,” said Leonard, who finished with a still-impressive 38 points. “They’re not going to just let somebody keep shooting the ball.”

Clippers guard Russell Westbrook seemed amped up to play against his former team, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

But his Lakers counterpart, Russell, lined up a second consecutive productive game, totaling 27 points and six assists. He scored only eight points in the first half.

Every point was needed on a night the Lakers went without three key players.

The Lakers hoped to be known for their depth, but it’s hard to field a deep team with so many injuries. Jarred Vanderbilt hasn’t played since the pre-season opener because of heel bursitis. He was joined on the sideline Wednesday by Rui Hachimura (concussion symptoms) and Gabe Vincent (sore knee). Taurean Prince felt soreness in his knee during pre-game warm-ups and also didn't play.

So Reddish jumped into the starting lineup and scored eight points while playing solid defense in 37 minutes. Christie, a second-year pro, received a lot of playing time off the bench (22 minutes) and scored five points.

The Lakers’ losing streak against the Clippers was a surprising trend after decades of absolutely dominating their intra-city rivals during the “Showtime” and Kobe Bryant eras.

It’s now officially over.

The Lakers now hit the road for a four-game trip that starts Saturday in Orlando and continues through Miami, Houston and Phoenix.