The city of Indianapolis As his teammates gathered around him to celebrate, LeBron James, who may have tipped in the game-winning basket to help the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, acknowledged he wasn’t sure how to respond.
James stated, “I really couldn’t really have too much emotion because I was trying to see if I got the ball off in time, to be honest,” following L.A.’s victory, 120-119. “But after they showed the replay on it, it was definitely gratifying.”
As time ran out, Luka Doncic’s missed floater was redirected through the hoop by James’ right hand touching the ball with 0.2 left, according to an official’s review.
The victory stopped the Pacers’ five-game winning streak and put an end to the Lakers’ three-game losing streak. In addition, James tied Joe Johnson and Kobe Bryant for the second-most successful buzzer-beaters in NBA history (eight), only surpassed by Michael Jordan (nine).
“Just shows you what he’s about,” Austin Reaves, a guard for the Lakers. “At heart, he is a winner. That’s the truth.
Indiana rallied from a 13-point hole to tie the game in the fourth quarter, which culminated in the thrilling finish. The Pacers then took the lead on a and-1 by Tyrese Haliburton (16 points, 18 assists) with 42 seconds remaining after trailing by six with 1:51 left.
Lakers coach JJ Redick remarked, “It felt like a game we won three times and we lost three times and we ended up winning the game.” Additionally, winning in the NBA is difficult. Winning against a top-tier club like Indiana is difficult. To be honest, they never receive enough national attention. They are an outstanding basketball squad.
This season, L.A. defeated Indiana in both games. Doncic scored 34 points and Reaves scored 24, but all five starters scored in double figures.
James’ fourth-quarter efforts were preceded by the quietest offensive night of his career through three quarters. Entering the fourth, he had scored only three points on 0-for-6 shooting, the first time in 1,553 regular-season games he was held without a field goal in the first three quarters when having played in each.
“You don’t really know if you are in a rhythm or if you are out of rhythm with six shot attempts,” James said. “It’s just about still what can I do to still affect the game.”
James quickly scored eight of the Lakers’ first 10 points to start the fourth to extend his own record streak to 1,283 straight games with 10 points or more. He finished with 13 points, a team-high 13 rebounds and 7 assists and logged 38 minutes in only his third game back from a left groin strain that sidelined him for two weeks.
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (14 points, four rebounds) also had his best game since returning from a 12-game absence because of tendinopathy in his left knee, hitting back-to-back 3s in the fourth to give L.A. its six-point cushion with under two minutes left.
“As a team, getting back to our rhythm is kind of hard,” Hachimura said. “We still know what we used to have. But we have like 10 more games left, so we got to get back to our rhythm before the playoffs.”
L.A. (44-28) sits at No. 4 in the Western Conference after the win, a game behind the No. 3 Denver Nuggets and in a virtual tie with the No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers’ four-game trip continues Thursday in Chicago for the second night of back-to-back against the Bulls, and concludes in Memphis on Saturday. And the win in Indiana served as a reminder that every game — and every second — will matter down the stretch.
“The game is never over until it says zeroes on the clock, literally, tonight,” James said. “And just keeping our composure throughout it all.”