LeBron James entered the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ road game against the Indiana Pacers without a made field goal. It was the first time in his career that he had played the first three quarters of a game and failed to make a shot, and he was in danger of going make-less for the first time since Dec. 29, 2004, when he left a game early with an injury after going 0 of 5 from the field.
Forty-nine seconds into the final frame, James made sure that wouldn’t happen as he got on the board with a layup. And that was only the start of a memorable fourth quarter for James, who saved his best for last.
Just before the final buzzer sounded at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, James tipped in a Luka Doncic miss to give the Lakers a dramatic and much-needed 120-119 win to snap a three-game losing streak.
“Certainly there was a level of frustration from starting 0 of 6 or whatever it was,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “But never have I questioned that guy’s commitment to winning.”
After getting a key defensive stop with the Pacers leading 119-118 with 10 seconds to play, the Lakers decided not to call a timeout and rushed the ball up the floor. James had it in the corner and could have forced up a shot, but saw a double team coming and kicked it out to Doncic, who drove and got a great look. His floater rolled off the rim, but did so softly enough that James was able to tip it back in just before time expired.
“To be honest I don’t know how it felt because I was trying to look at the jumbotron to see if I got it off,” James said in his postgame interview with ESPN.
James, whose historic double-digit scoring streak appeared to be in jeopardy entering the fourth quarter, finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. He shot just 4 of 12 from the field, but was 4 of 6 in the fourth quarter to help ensure that the Lakers did not blow a 17-point lead.
Thanks to his big fourth quarter, James has now scored in double figures in 1,283 consecutive games, which is 417 more than Michael Jordan, who is in second place on that list. (This streak only counts regular season games. James infamously scored eight points in the Miami Heat’s Game 4 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.)
Speaking of Jordan, he is now the only player with more career buzzer beaters than James, who registered his eighth on Wednesday. Three of them have come against the Pacers.
Coincidentally, James had discussed his relationship with Jordan earlier on Wednesday during an interview with Pat McAfee, and said the two are “in a good spot,” but don’t talk because he’s still playing.
“MJ, we all know MJ. Even if you don’t know him personally, he’s one of the most ruthless competitors there is,” James said. “Until I’m done and he doesn’t have to look at me run up and down wearing the number 23 and every time my name is mentioned, it’s mentioned with his, he’s like, ‘I don’t want to f—ing talk to you.'”
The win over the Pacers was James’ third game back from a groin sprain that kept him on the sideline for two weeks and was the start of a downward spiral for the Lakers. Entering Wednesday, the Lakers had lost seven of their last 10 games to fall from second place in the Western Conference to fifth.
Beating the Pacers pushed them back up to fourth in a crowded middle of the pack. At 44-28, they are 2.5 games behind the second-place Houston Rockets and three games ahead of the seventh-place Golden State Warriors in the race for a guaranteed playoff spot. There are only a few weeks remaining in the regular season, but a lot can still change for the Lakers in terms of seeding and first-round matchups.
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