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.”
Doncic led the Lakers scoring with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura had 24 and 14 respectively.
The win leaves the Lakers in fourth place in the west on 44-28. The top six finishers in the standings automatically qualify for the NBA playoffs. (AFP)
