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Dave McMenamin
INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron James might have tipped in the game winner at the buzzer to lift the Los Angeles Lakers over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, but as his teammates mobbed him to celebrate, the Lakers star admitted he didn’t quite know how to react.
“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,” James said after L.A.’s 120-119 win. “But after they showed the replay on it, it was definitely gratifying.”
An official’s review confirmed that James’ right hand touched the ball with 0.2 seconds remaining, redirecting a missed floater by Luka Doncic through the hoop as time expired.
The win snapped a three-game skid for the Lakers and halted a five-game winning streak for the Pacers. James also tied Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson with the second-most game-winning buzzer-beaters in NBA history (eight), behind only Michael Jordan (nine).
“Just shows you what he’s about,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “He’s a winner at heart. That’s really it.”
The dramatic finish capped a wild fourth quarter during which Indiana surged back from a 13-point deficit to tie it. Then, after falling down by six with 1:51 remaining, the Pacers took the lead on an and-one by Tyrese Haliburton (16 points, 18 assists) with 42.0 seconds left.
“It felt like a game we won three times and we lost three times and we ended up winning the game,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And it’s hard to win in the NBA. It’s hard to win against a great team like Indiana. Frankly, they don’t ever get talked about enough nationally. They’re a phenomenal basketball team.”
L.A. swept the season series with Indiana 2-0. All five starters scored in double digits, led by Doncic’s 34 points and Reaves’ 24.
James’ fourth-quarter heroics were preceded by the quietest offensive night of his career through three quarters. Entering the fourth, he had scored just three points on 0-for-6 shooting, the first time in 1,553 regular-season games where he was held without a field goal in the first three quarters when appearing in each quarter.
“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 seven assists and logged 38 minutes in just 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 in 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 road trip continues in Chicago for the second night of back-to-back Thursday 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.”
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