LeBron James' tip-in at buzzer wins it for Lakers 120-119 over Pacers to snap three-game losing streak

LeBron James called game.

The final few minutes of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers game had all the makings of a disaster.

The Lakers, having once led by 17 points, trailed 119-118 with 10 seconds left on the clock. They had already lost three consecutive games and their struggles had them spiraling in the western conference standings.

A fourth straight loss in the midst of a five-game road trip would have been horrific. It would have been the kind of loss that lingers, the kind that leaves a team staring into the void, searching for answers.

Instead, LeBron James saved the Lakers by delivering the final word with a last-second, buzzer-beating tip-in that gave the Lakers a stunning 120-119 victory over the Pacers.

"Whatever it takes to help your teammates win," said James of the tip-in at the buzzer. "I was trying to read the ball off the rim. Once it came off the rim, I just tried to tap it with enough time...it was a good play for us."

The win snapped a three-game losing streak in the most dramatic way possible. It was equal parts desperation and destiny, a fitting punctuation mark on a game that had no business being this wild.

For three quarters, James had been little more than a bystander. He entered the fourth with a grand total of three points, missing all six of his field-goal attempts. The streak—his quietly legendary double-digit scoring streak that has spanned 18 years—was in serious jeopardy. But James, ever aware, flipped the switch.

"It was a little weird. The main thing is the main thing, and that's just trying to win the basketball game," said James of not making a basket through three quarters. "I was out of rhythm. It was about what I can do to still affect the game. I was able to make some plays early in that fourth quarter and help build us that lead."

Like clockwork, he rattled off four straight buckets in a three-minute span early in the fourth quarter, pushing his total to 11 and keeping the streak alive. That same burst ignited a 10-0 Lakers run, building a 13-point lead that should have been enough.

Only, it wasn’t. Because nothing is easy for this team.

The Pacers stormed back with a 13-0 run of their own, erasing the deficit and even taking the lead. The Lakers responded, wrestled control back, and found themselves up six with two minutes to play. Again, Indiana refused to fold, stringing together three straight scores to snatch the lead in the closing seconds.

Then, chaos.

Luka Dončić—who had been the Lakers’ offensive engine all night with 34 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists—took the final shot. It missed. But there was James, moving through the mayhem, rising above the fray, and tipping in the game-winner as time expired. Bedlam.

James finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists on an uncharacteristic 4-of-12 shooting night, but none of that will matter. The streak lives. The losing streak is dead. And the Lakers, now 44-28, remain in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, just a half-game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for fourth place.

But concerns still linger. This is a team that looked like a legitimate contender just a few weeks ago, riding an eight-game win streak and playing some of their best basketball of the season. Then came the injuries, the slide, and the question marks. James missed two weeks with a groin strain, and when he returned, the Lakers got steamrolled by the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic.

This win doesn’t erase those doubts, but it does provide a pulse. There are only 10 games left in the regular season. The time for fine-tuning is running out. If the Lakers are going to find their rhythm, it has to be now.

For one night, though, none of that mattered. Because LeBron James called game. Again.