LeBron James is inevitable.
The Los Angeles Lakers star saved his quietly legendary streak of double-digit scoring, then loudly won the game Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers with a tip-in buzzer-beater off a Luka Dončić miss.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Lakers.
James entered the fourth quarter with only three points on 0-for-6 shooting from the field, but he scored on four straight possessions in the span of three minutes to bump his total to 11. He appears to be very aware of the streak.
The flurry coincided with a 10-0 Lakers run to take a 13-point lead early in the fourth. The game nearly turned into a disaster, though, as the Pacers erased that lead with their own 13-0 run and even took the lead at one point. Los Angeles took back control enough to lead by six with two minutes left, but Indiana responded with scores on three straight possessions to take the lead.
That set up James, who was scoreless since reaching 11 points, to get to 13 points on the night in dramatic fashion. He also finished with 13 rebounds and seven assists, with 4-of-12 shooting. Dončić had the more productive night overall, finishing with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
James initially wasn’t sure his tip-in came before the buzzer.
James’ eight career game-winning buzzer-beaters is tied with Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson for second behind Michael Jordan’s nine.
James hasn’t scored fewer than 10 points in a game since Jan. 5, 2007, a span of more than 18 years, meaning there are legal adults who weren’t alive the last time James didn’t have two numbers in his scoring column. It’s a health accomplishment as much as it’s about performance, as many of these streaks die because a player is forced to leave early due to an injury.
The second-longest streak belongs to Michael Jordan, with 866 games.
James’ heroics saved the Lakers from further tension. The team has been dealing with significant injuries over the past weeks — most notably its two weeks without James due to a groin strain — but had everyone back last weekend. And such, it was a surprise when they got run out of the gym by the Chicago Bulls in James’ first game back.
Another lopsided loss to the Orlando Magic followed, but the Lakers got back in the win column Wednesday. They currently hold a record of 44-28, good for fifth in the Western Conference and a half-game behind the Memphis Grizzlies, who are currently in line to be L.A.’s first-round opponent in the NBA playoffs.
Wednesday obviously wasn’t all good for the Lakers, and they have only 10 games remaining on the regular-season schedule. The team appears to have the talent of a contender; the question is if they can get healthy and back up to speed, like they were during their eight-game win streak, before the games start really counting.
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