LeBron James tipped in a buzzer-beating rebound with 0.1 seconds remaining as the Los Angeles Lakers halted their three-game losing streak with a pulsating 120-119 road victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
A thrilling duel in Indianapolis saw the Pacers climb out of a 13-point fourth-quarter hole to snatch a 119-118 lead with 42 seconds remaining and leave the Lakers staring down the barrel of a fourth straight defeat.
But with the clock ticking down, Luka Doncic made one last drive to the basket — only to see his attempted 13-foot floater bounce off the rim.
James reacted fastest, leaping to palm the ball into the bucket for the winning score and give the Lakers a precious victory in the race for Western Conference playoff berths.
The 40-year-old James — who had failed to score from the field in the opening three quarters — finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Lakers coach J.J. Redick saluted the veteran superstar’s perseverance in dragging his team over the line despite having an offensive off-night.
“It’s another great example of where he doesn’t necessarily have it going early, and got off to a slow start offensively,” Redick said.
“But he was so good defensively for us. And then he takes over in the fourth quarter and gets rewarded by the basketball gods because he didn’t let go of the rope and didn’t stop competing.
James said he hadn’t been bothered by his low-key offensive performance.
“Whatever it takes to help your teammates win,” James said. “For me, I can always do other things that still impact the game, even when I’m not scoring.
“That’s the beauty of my game, I’ve always built that throughout my whole life — get my guys involved, rebound, defend and then sprinkle in a few points here and there.
Doncic led the Lakers scoring with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Austin Reaves provided offensive support with 24 points along with Rui Hachimura (14pts).
The win leaves the Lakers in fourth place in the Western Conference on 44-28. The top six finishers in the standings qualify automatically for the playoffs.
In other games, Nikola Jokic made an impressive return from a five-game injury absence with 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Denver Nuggets overpowered a short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 127-117.
The Bucks’ season was rocked on Tuesday after news that Damian Lillard faces an indefinite spell on the sidelines due to a blood clot. The Bucks also took to the court on Wednesday without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Denver’s win leaves them in third place in the Western Conference behind Oklahoma City and Houston with a 46-28 record.
In New York, the Los Angeles Clippers battled back from 14 points down to defeat the New York Knicks 126-113 at Madison Square Garden.
James Harden scored 29 points including six three-pointers while Kawhi Leonard added 27 to give the Clippers a crucial victory which leaves them on 41-31 and occupying the sixth automatic playoff spot in the West.
The Clippers however have little margin for slip-ups in a tightly contested playoff race that looks likely to go down to the wire in the final weeks of the regular season.
The Golden State Warriors are in seventh place in the West, also with 41 wins, with the Minnesota Timberwolves in eighth with a 41-32 record.
The Phoenix Suns fell to 35-38 after being mauled 132-102 by the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics at home.
Despite missing Jayson Tatum (ankle sprain), the Celtics were always in control after piling up 73 points in the first half and led by as much as 34 points at one stage en route to a wire-to-wire victory.
