It had not been LeBron James’ night. He started the game shooting 0-of-6 from the floor and at the start of the fourth quarter his 18-year streak of scoring in double-digits was at serious risk.
But with the game on the line, it was LeBron who was in the right place for a buzzer-beating tip-in that gave the Lakers a 120-119 win in Indiana.
🚨 LEBRON FOR THE WIN 🚨@KingJames tips in the #TissotBuzzerBeater!#YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness pic.twitter.com/OBpFFuaAPy
— NBA (@NBA) March 27, 2025
” I really couldn’t have too much emotion because I was trying to see if I got the ball off in time,” LeBron said of the tip-in postgame.
This was a wild back-and-forth ending where the Lakers — who led much of the game — were up six with less than two minutes to go but saw the Pacers take the lead as the teams kept exchanging runs and buckets.
MYLES TURNER FOR THE LEAD.
— NBA (@NBA) March 27, 2025
LUKA RESPONDS.
Get to ESPN for the finish 🍿 pic.twitter.com/YiLrEk1Ncb
The Lakers got 34 points from Luka Doncic and 24 from Austin Reaves, but there were a lot of players making clutch plays, like a couple of late 3-pointers from Rui Hachimura (the Lakers missed him, his return has been a boost). With the win, the Lakers are just half a game back of the Nuggets for the No. 3 seed in the West.
Indiana had a far more balanced attack with Bennedict Mathurin leading the way with 23 points and seven players in double digits. The loss was a blown opportunity for the Pacers — and not just because they had a foul to give on that final play — because they could have gone up two full games on the Bucks for the No. 4 seed in the East.
