Game Rewind: Pacers 116, Lakers 124 (OT)

The Pacers went blow for blow with the Lakers on Wednesday night in a thrilling game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. But as he has so many times over the years, LeBron James dashed the Pacers' hopes with his shotmaking in crunch time, lifting Los Angeles (10-10) to a 124-116 win over Indiana (8-12).

The loss prevented the Pacers from putting together their first three-game win streak of the season and spoiled some serious heroics from rookie Chris Duarte.

Duarte's miraculous three sent the game into overtime, but the extra session belonged to James. The Lakers took a 117-114 lead on James' 3-pointer with 2:51 remaining in the extra session, then he hit another 30-footer to double the lead with 1:52 to play.

That proved to be enough to seal the win, as Indiana went just 2-for-11 in overtime.

James finished with a game-high 39 points, going 13-for-29 from the field, 5-for-12 from 3-point range, and 8-for-9 from the free throw line, while also tallying five rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. It was his first game back after serving the first suspension of his 19-year career on Tuesday in New York.

"He's one of the greatest players of all time," Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon said. "He's been in that situation a thousand times. So he's not going to shy from the moment. I think that's what we experienced tonight. He hit some tough shots."

Brogdon had a team-high 28 points and seven rebounds for Indiana, going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, while Duarte added 17 off the bench.

The Pacers led most of the night, but the Lakers took their first lead on Malik Monk's 3-pointer with 4:35 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the other end, however, Russell Westbrook clotheslined Domantas Sabonis and was assessed a flagrant-1 foul. Sabonis hit both free throws to put the Pacers back in front at 102-101.

Two Monk free throws at the 3:00 mark allowed the Lakers to retake the lead. Just under a minute later, Brogdon missed a potential go-ahead layup. While fighting for the rebound, Sabonis inadvertently hit James across the face. A subsequent review declared that, too, to be a flagrant-1 and James made both free throws to extend the Lakers lead.

Then after a Duarte turnover, the Lakers got out on the break, with James' layup pushing their lead to 107-102 with 1:42 to play.

After a timeout, T.J. McConnell hit two free throws with 1:37 left to make it a one-possession game. James ran down the shot clock, then drained a deep three over Myles Turner to push the lead back to six.

Brogdon hit two free throws with 1:09 remaining and this time James missed on the other end. Justin Holiday then hit a fallaway three with 26.3 seconds left to make it a one-point game.

The Pacers elected to foul Westbrook with 22.6 seconds remaining, and he hit both foul shots. After a timeout, Brogdon drove baseline, then kicked to Duarte in the corner. Avery Bradley was right in his face, but somehow the rookie was able to get off and swished the game-tying three while falling down.

The play was originally designed to set up a shot for Holiday, but the Lakers switched on a screen and denied him the ball. Brogdon then audibled, eventually finding Duarte.

"Justin wasn't open so I then had to go one-on-one and try to create," Brogdon said. "I got caught in the air and Chris was open in the corner just for a second and then he made a tough shot."

Duarte and some of his teammates, including Holiday, said they thought he drew a foul on Bradley, but the refs swallowed their whistles.

"I thought I was going to get fouled," Duarte said of his mindset when he let the shot fly. "...Once I felt that contact on top of me, I threw it up. I thought I was going to get a foul, but they don't call fouls on rookies, I guess."

James then missed a deep three on the other end to send the game to overtime, but he dominated the extra session.

Seven Pacers scored in double figures in the loss. Holiday had 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Sabonis stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Turner added 12 points, six boards, and two blocks, McConnell had 10 points and eight assists, and Caris LeVert also scored 10.

Turner scored five early points to help Indiana jump out to an early 9-4 lead. The Lakers rallied to tie the game at 11, but Caris LeVert and Duarte combined for six straight points from there to give the Blue & Gold a lead they would maintain for the remainder of the opening quarter.

The hosts continued to extend their lead, with Duarte leading the way. The rookie hit two more jumpers — a long two and a three — as part of a 16-7 Pacers run to open up a nine-point lead. Indiana led 31-26 at the quarter break.

The Pacers pushed the lead to double digits for the first time in the the opening minute of the second quarter. McConnell converted a high-arcing layup off the glass on the first possession of the quarter, Brogdon dished to Sabonis for another bucket the next time down, and then Sabonis intercepted a Westbrook pass and then scored again to cap a 6-0 spurt over the first 65 seconds of the frame.

James did his best to keep the Lakers within striking distance, scoring seven points during a 16-9 run that trimmed the deficit to 48-44 with 5:20 remaining in the second quarter. That was the closest Los Angeles got until the final minutes of the half.

James' layup with 1:58 remaining made it a 57-54 Pacers lead. Carmelo Anthony then drew a foul and hit both foul shots to make it a one-point game with 1:16 to play. Brogdon answered with a deep three over Westbrook on the left wing, but James raced right back down the court, hitting a tough shot while being fouled, then made the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play.

Once again, Brogdon pulled up from the wing, this time draining a trey over Anthony on the right wing. Anthony drew a foul and hit one of two free throws before the Pacers got a wide-open look for Justin Holiday in the right corner to close the half and push the lead back to 66-60 entering the break.

Indiana opened up its lead once more at the start of the third quarter, as Holiday and Brogdon both made threes during an early 8-0 run that pushed the margin back to 12 and forced a quick timeout from Lakers coach Frank Vogel.

The Blue & Gold maintained a somewhat comfortable lead for much of the frame, but the visitors eventually mounted a rally. Indiana led 83-73 when Monk hit a jumper with 2:19 remaining in the quarter. Westbrook added a layup at 1:30, then Monk drilled a step-back three at 1:00, and suddenly it was a one-possession game.

Out of a timeout, McConnell missed a layup and Westbrook was fouled during the ensuing fastbreak. The former MVP hit both free throws, trimming the Pacers' lead to one. Torrey Craig was fouled and hit one of two free throws with 2.2 seconds left in the quarter to give the hosts a 84-82 advantage entering the fourth.

The Pacers created some breathing room once again with another strong start to a quarter. Craig scored on a layup, Brogdon hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night, and then LeVert added a bucket as Indiana opened the final frame with seven unanswered.

The Lakers quickly answered, however. Monk and Ellington hit back-to-back threes to force an Indiana timeout, then Ellington's trey from the left corner tied the game at 93 with 7:54 remaining.

Brogdon then took the ball into the defense, drawing a foul on James and hitting both free throws and Holiday added a corner three a minute later to give the hosts a five-point lead with 6:26 to play. The Lakers took the lead less than two minutes later, however, on Monk's trey with 4:35 remaining. On the other end, Westbrook committed a hard foul on Sabonis, the start of a wild end to regulation.

The back-and-forth game made for an entertaining finish, and with a number of Lakers fans in attendance, there were loud cheers after every bucket regardless of who scored. James relished the moment, playing to the crowd after each shot he hit down the stretch.

"Superstar players put you up against it in so many different ways," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of James' performance. "But as a team and the way we're structured, we've just got to be completely on point with every single thing we're doing on both ends of the floor to beat a guy like that, and we didn't do it."

Westbrook finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for the Lakers. Monk added 17 points and eight rebounds, while Anthony and Ellington each scored 14.

The Pacers continue a three-game homestand against the last three NBA champions when they host Toronto on Friday and Milwaukee on Sunday.

James' 39 points were his season high. An abdominal injury and Tuesday's suspension have limited the 17-time All-Star to just nine games so far this season.

Brogdon entered the night shooting just 32.9 percent from 3-point range, but went 5-for-10 on Wednesday. His five threes were his most in a game this season.

After scoring in double figures in nine straight games to open his NBA career, Duarte had failed to reach double figures in four straight and six of his last eight contests. His 17 points on Wednesday were his most since scoring 18 in a win over San Antonio on Nov. 1.

The two teams tied the battle of the boards, each pulling down 52 rebounds, though Indiana had a 14-9 advantage on the offensive glass.

Turner added two blocks to his league-leading total and has now blocked a shot in each of the first 20 games to start the season.

"James is a great player. He got hot. We needed to do a couple of things to limit touches in the overtime. We did not and so we paid a price. Simple as that." -Carlisle on the difference in overtime

"Chris is confident in his ability. It shows on the court and it shows by the shots he takes and makes. We need his shot-making ability. He was great tonight." -Brogdon on Duarte

"Chris is going to come out and play that way and not be afraid. The kid's from the (Dominican Republic). If you know many people from there, they're not afraid of anything. He represents his country in that way, for sure, when he comes out and plays the way he does. There's a reason why he's here. There's a reason why he was drafted where he was." -Holiday on Duarte

"LeBron, he's one of the best, maybe the best guy in the league right now. It's unbelievable what he does. I was just talking about that with Myles, how he took over like he did. He's (36)...that's crazy." -Duarte on sharing the court with LeBron for the first time in his career

The Lakers hit just two more threes than the Pacers, but shot a significantly better percent from beyond the arc. Los Angeles went 15-for-37 (40.5 percent) from 3-point range, while the Pacers were 13-for-46 (28.3 percent).

The Pacers continue a three-game homestand at Gainbridge Fieldhouse when they host Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors on Friday, Nov. 26 at 8:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »